CEO Today Magazine May 2018 Edition

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 18 SPECIAL FEATURES Online shopping has grown massively within the last ten years, with more and more consumers opting to update their homes, wardrobes and pick up gifts from the comfort of their own homes. This digital uprising has obviously had a huge impact on the lives of High Street shoppers and businesses alike. The Demise of the High Street? Why Are So Many Consumers Shifting to Digital Shopping? More and more modern-day consumers are trading walks down the High Street for their laptops and duvets. Buying behaviour has changed more in the last decade than it has in an over a century, with shoppers wanting an easier, instant and more cost-effective shopping experience. Convenience Nowadays, all you need is a relatively decent WiFi connection and basic internet know-how to buy something online. You don’t need to worry about the weather, bus times, traffic, or ‘being back in time to make dinner’ - you can buy pretty much everything you could ever need or want from the likes of Amazon, ASOS and eBay - all whilst under the covers of your warm bed or your sofa. The 21st Century consumer wants ease and minimal leg-work when shopping, they want to be comfortable whilst they browse; they don’t want to walk around a multi-storey shopping centre for hours, only to find nothing they like or can afford. Consumers also don’t want to spend their time lugging copious amounts of bags around for hours on end and would rather buy those 20+ items via the internet and have them delivered to their home. Add features such as Reviews, Wishlist’s and Live Chat and you get a non- pressuring, consumer-friendly, environment that is instantly more appealing to shoppers. Time Shopping on the High Street has become more of an investment than an enjoyable activity. It takes time and relative planning. You have to account for busyness, weather, traffic, parking and whether or not the shops will actually have anything you actually like. In today’s world, people are busy and time is an incredibly valuable commodity - working in the time to go shopping on the High Street often takes more effort than is viable for the consumer, especially if you are after one item, which you could buy from the comfort of your home and have it delivered the next day. You have literally millions of options whilst shopping online, you are not limited to what is in the X amount of sq. footage that brick and mortar shops have. Don’t like what is in one online shop? Open another tab and find another, no need to walk or drive somewhere else, just a few clicks and you have a whole shop full of products on your screen. Price Why pay £100 for a dress on the High Street, when there are multiple online shops offering it for £75 or £50? The internet is full of retailers all competing for your custom, lowering their prices and offering deals to win you over. You have services such as Google Shopping which will show you the best prices for the item you are looking at, as well as hundreds of comparison websites and apps offering the best deals to ensure you, the consumer, pays less. The Marketplace Effect ASOS, Amazon, eBay, FarFetch and Etsy - all of these are what are referred to as ‘online marketplaces’; hub websites By Partha Goswami, CEO of OOSTOR.com