Jane DoeYour niece’s birthday is coming up and you are confused about what to buy. You don’t have time to go to shopping malls, so what do you do now? Open the app of your favorite e-commerce website, browse through the category for toys for girls and click on order now. Voila, your gift is ready! So convenient, quick and easy.
Convenience of E-commerce
In this day of technology permeating every small aspect of our lives, shopping has become more convenient than ever. When you shop online, your packages are delivered right at your doorstop. Who doesn’t like that kind of convenience? It fits right into our busy schedules. Also, the whole process of driving to the mall, finding a parking space, paying for parking, walking to the store and browsing in aisles and interacting with the sales staff is eliminated.
Importance of Shopping Malls
But do we really want that kind of convenience? Are we that lazy that we cannot be bothered to get up and go shopping? After all, retail therapy is the best kind of therapy to cheer you up. Besides, shopping is a science. The way we shop and the reason we shop are backed by science.
“Why We Buy” by Paco Underhill is a popular book used by marketing professors all over the world. One of the most significant things that Underhill points out in his book is that consumers are more likely to buy items that they have touched. The sense of touch plays an important role. Thereby making malls and shops an important part of our shopping experience.
What happens when we shop online?
When we shop online, we are likely to add something in our cart and then forget about it. Eventually, we might not even buy it. However, when we go to the mall, the story is different. Walking among the aisles, feeling the fabric of that dress you really liked, or trying on those brown leather shoes makes it more likely that you will end up buying them. After all, we do have horror stories about online shopping. Consumers place an order after looking at the pictures, but when they receive the package, the item inside is completely different.
Shopping Malls is more than just shopping
And yet, the discounts, the wide variety of products, and the presence of almost everything under one roof keeps drawing us to online shopping. Malls, apart from shopping, also hold a different type of attraction. With the presence of food courts, gaming zones and cinemas, shopping malls have become a popular place for youngsters to hang out.
“Mall Culture”, as it is called, is also a driving force in bringing consumers to the mall.
Despite the convenience afforded by online shopping, we still cannot bring ourselves to completely shift to online shopping. There is always a slightly nagging feeling in your head about the right size or fit. Going to the mall means examining what you want to buy up close and then buying it when you are satisfied that it fulfills your requirements. As much as we enjoy the convenience of having everything delivered right to our doorstep, perhaps the experience of shopping at a mall or store is still too enjoyable to let go of.
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