Back in the day, shoppers would flock to their favorite retail stores to buy items such as clothes and shoes that they fancy. Aside from the wide assortment of things, the store layout is essential to attract your target customers. Companies in places like Australia specialise in commercial fit-outs. They help achieve the shop owners’ business objectives.
However, well-known brands filed for bankruptcy and shut down their physical stores around the world. Imagine how it felt for these famous brands to be among the global ones, only to declare bankruptcy after decades in the business. But why has this happened?
The rise of e-commerce
Over the years, man has found ways to make our lives more convenient and as trouble-free as possible. One of these innovations is the rise of e-commerce. This industry has revolutionised the way we shop. Through online stores, we can buy the things we need with only a few clicks and wait for the delivery to bring the item to our doorstep. There are also payment options to choose from, depending on your preference.
With the rising popularity of online stores was the gradual decline of retail establishments in fancy shopping malls. A lot of these stores blame online stores for “killing” the retail industry. Amazon, eBay, Sephora, and other popular e-commerce websites took over in popularity, while a lot of physical stores struggled behind.
With this, it cannot be denied that e-commerce continues to thrive today and, most likely, in the years to come. But the question remains: is the retail industry dead?
There’s still hope for brick-and-mortar stores
Despite the popularity of online stores, the retail industry is not going to die out anytime soon. For one thing, the retail sector can be considered relevant these days. People still want to experience shopping in person, seeing and knowing the items for themselves.
Also, there are possible ways to combine both digital and in-store shopping experience. Some methods are through loyalty programs, store integrations, and other enticing promotions.
Even Amazon is investing in acquiring retail locations. Why is this so? A reason is that there is still a need for human-to-human interaction – a feature that only retail stores can give to their customers.
As for online stores, live chats can assist you with your concerns. However, some use chatbots as a replacement for live customer service chat agents. In such instances, a lot of customers still value empathy over actions that are transaction-based only.
Customer behaviour plays a vital role in the success of a business. It will constantly change. That is why companies should be able to adapt or risk shutting down later on. Because e-commerce is in these days, it doesn’t mean it’s already the end of physical stores.
There are still ways that e-commerce and physical stores can work together. These can be in the form of loyalty programs, store integrations, and other enticing promotions that will encourage customers to patronise both shopping channels. That said, we can safely say that the retail industry is not dead and will be here to stay.