A couple of weeks back, I went shoe shopping and found something I liked. Just before buying the shoes, I checked the price online and was shocked to discover that it was cheaper by about 20%. Of course I did not buy the shoes at the store, I bought them online instead.
The curious thing is, I'd have never bought them online without checking them out in a store first, and on the other hand, I'd never pay 20% more for instant gratification.
So what is the future of commerce in this scenario? In the short term, I think online players will win big as people go to buy things in-store, but smartphones make it easy to check the price online. But if enough people start doing that (and I guess they will), the stores will close and then what? Will people be forced to buy things online without trying them out first? I don't think I'd do that.
Another scenario is that a whole new breed of 'lean stores' will crop up which will be run with very little manpower (salesmen) and will serve the sole purpose of giving a real feel of the product to the consumer. You can't buy anything there, any order will go through the online store. Still, if the product is not distributed via a single distribution channel, there will always be a cheaper option online.
I don't know how this will pan out, but the future is certainly going to be interesting!
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