Why eCommerce Is The Future Of Retail
Businesses everywhere are being forced to twist and contort themselves into new shapes in order to remain financially viable for the duration of this challenging economic crisis. For the most part, that means that small businesses and massive corporations alike have been embracing eCommerce operations like never before. Even before COVID-19 shut the global economy down and forced shoppers online, it was growing increasingly clear that eCommerce was becoming the new norm when it came to shopping.
From COVID-19 to other digitization trends, here’s why eCommerce is the future of retail.
Technology is pushing us towards eCommerce
Perhaps the simplest and most compelling reason that so many people are saying that eCommerce is the future of retail is that technology is increasingly pushing us toward it. People have been shopping for items and services online for nearly as long as the internet itself has existed, but these days a number of technological trends are supercharging the pivot towards eCommerce that many businesses started to make just a few years ago.
Virtual and augmented reality technology, for instance, is enabling shoppers to try on clothes from the comforts of their home. Soon, you’ll be updating your wardrobe with the help of augmented reality tech that enables you to see whether or not that dress or pair of jeans looks good on you. This won’t take place in the dressing room of a brick-and-mortar retailer, but rather in the living rooms of consumers who are relying on AR and VR tech to make it happen. This sort of innovation is precisely why eCommerce is going to get more and more appealing as time goes on, especially when public health crises force people to remain within their homes more than usual.
More common eCommerce websites will also appeal to customers who can sort through a wide variety of offerings without having to get up from the couch. We already know what customers want in an eCommerce operation – the only thing left to do is provide for their desires. Some brands will find this easier to manage than others, however, which is why we’ve already seen a massive surge in traditional retailers going bankrupt. Nevertheless, according to one recent report from CNN, some retailers are literally too broke to go bankrupt right now. Mad world, indeed.
Survival of the fittest
We have good reasons to believe that, even with bankruptcy concerns considered, some brands will survive better than others. Those like Franklin & Ben which do a good job catering to modern consumer desires will survive and thrive, whereas those lackluster retailers who refuse to change with the times will find themselves in a financially difficult situation. This cut-throat competition has always existed in the retail world, and the process of digitization will likely exacerbate that trend rather than ending it.
The explosion in digital technology that’s defined the world for the past two decades will keep resonating throughout the retail marketplace for years to come. Don’t believe the doubters who insist the eCommerce will never surpass traditional retail – there are already reasons to believe that the former is beginning to outpace the latter.
