shopping

shopping, prices, local, shipped.

why some brick and mortar stores fail compared to online shopping

 

 

While  many brick and mortar retailers will pull their hair out to woo shoppers to them, they fail when it comes to competing with internet sales. The “shopping experience” becomes an effort to study the consumer, set up sales floors to force the shopper to either search for what they want or engage sale persons (if available) to find what they need by the “did you find everything your looking for today” query ? Even casual browsing in some establishments put sale persons on guard giving the consumer a move it along feeling as stores defend loss prevention, prevalent in some areas. The shopping experience can’t compare to the  mindset Amazons of the online business models the consumer may be used to. (Note: while brick and mortars may study the patterns of shoppers in their establishments, the same can be said online though it can be more tansparently done and effective to the consumer such as storing recent purchases and recommending other items for purchase.)

Not just the physical retail landscape has changed, but realize that  so has the consumer. Where as the malls and shopping centers were a place of gathering for people some may not view shopping as a productive or worthwhile social activity. Perhaps in the past shopping was a place to go as a change of scenery or quest to find items and a pastime, the mindset of some has, reinforced by the drive to automate the process, that other activities of their life are  more productive than the time, effort and energy to travel,select and move goods to their household and/or business.  The fact that some items shipped free, at that same price as obtained at the brick and mortar is a powerful incentive to have someone deliver goods to your household for free. As the supply chain becomes more automated after pushing the “submit” button, and now measured by metric of human touch, it seems that shipping and handling cost can be minimized and even reduced.

In some department stores, (who this shopper has not been in often, perhaps because of the highly organized online shopping  and payment system business models) , it’s a hodge podge of signage, posters and unclear price markings that makes the shopping experience fatiguing. Clothing especially is, to me, somewhat  ill organized as I am not exactly fashion conscious either  . The layout of such department stores can also make the consumer wander to find his or her area pertaining to the items needed, even locating the checkout area can be  an  exercise as most of the signage indicates sales discounts, clearance items, branding  or flashy artwork (not to mention use of video monitors). Then when locating the checkout area, it’s poorly marked to indicate queue lines to the checkout desk. (Are there self service checkouts available?)

Keep in mind not all stores are like this, some are clearly more organized, marked, arranged and more inviting to the consumer, especially those who have done a fair amount of shopping online and expect possibly the same organization in a brick and mortar  store.

While people don’t expect every brick and mortar to be like an Ikea ,for example, where the uncluttered and organized stock doesn’t change as often as the styles of clothing , in Ikea the mapping of the stores are more pronounced in the signage giving the consumer a more comfortable approach to shopping.

Another important factor that will bridge the online shopping experience to the brick and mortar is the syncing of data, that is when an item online is located, in the store the consumer can travel to, that item has a location marked and corresponds to the exact physical  location within the brick and mortar, (aisle 39 bay 3 as an example) and the consumer is assured that the item(s) is in stock and the store is properly signed so the consumer can easily find the location. This of course assumes that this type of consumer has all ready made their shopping decision and most likely will want to see the actual product before purchasing versus just continuing the purchase online,  also  they want the product immediately, this will draw the consumer to a brick and mortar purchase.  Some brick and mortar store personnel,  when queried about an item found online, dismiss it, as it’s products don’t mirror the online structure, or it’s sold out or unavailable. The consumer has now made an needless journey to the store.

To some, a well laid out brick and mortar store will make a sale while those unorganized stores may have the consumer reaching for their smart mobile device, filling their online shopping cart and purchasing the item in cyberspace.

Now the best retail experience that may not be so effected by technology may be the corner store or bodega where the person behind the counter is a friendly face, a confidant, a sage, a problem solver and an advisor. Though those operators must exhibit the dedication that comes from  balancing a magnitude of stock and eking a profit to stay in business.

 

 

 

 

 

Shopping

Farmers market, Providence, Thursday 

shopping

recent shopping, prices

shopping

shopping , prices,

shopping

shopping

recent prices, shopping, groceries