The closure of a couple of big retail chains expanded across the country doesn’t necessarily mean the death of the entire brick and mortar retail industry. It would be premature to build up this idea based off of a few reported cases of bankruptcy. One cannot follow the crowd and come up with a bold stance inspired by some industry veterans who believe,” it’s the end of brick and mortar retail stores.” Instead, you need to make a realistic analysis of the industry in the light of real facts.
What Do Stats Reveal About the Fate of Brick and Mortar Retail?
Ever-increasing online stores and e-commerce platforms with sales of billions of dollars each year can give us an illusion that brick and mortar retail is dying but believe you me, they can never die as long as the humans are alive. Online retail stores may have aggregated global sales of billions of dollars. Still, they can never match a multi-trillion-dollar brick and mortar retail industry, no matter what one may argue! From roadside small retail shops to big branded shops in malls and retail hubs, there are millions of brick and mortar retail stores all over the world that are present on the face of Earth, and they bear testimony to the fact that physical retail is not dying!
Brick and Mortar Retail is in The Safe Zone!
According to a study, 84% of the total products or commodities that are manufactured all across the globe are sold in brick and mortar retail stores. This indicates that online store or e-commerce has been able to grab a little percentage of the total market share and brick and mortar stores are still in the safe zone where they can reacquire what they have lost over the years.
That is going to be a challenge for the entire brick and mortar retail industry, and veterans believe, it might be impossible to regain the loss. Research that was conducted by a group of students concluded that you could prevent losing your brick and mortar market share to online competitors by making serious efforts to improving your in-house shopping experience. Getting your customers involved and navigating them to what they want surely ensures more sales and hence profitability.
Why the Retail Industry Experienced A Dramatic Shift?
With rising shoppers’ expectations, increased competitive pressures, the proliferation of data and evolving touchpoints, retailers need to come up with something new and must focus on delivering and elevating the overall customer experience if they expect to succeed in today’s highly competitive market. The reason why online stores have been able to grab a significant market share is due to evolving retail dynamics and changing industry patterns and preferences. Customers capitalized on easy-buying options at competitive rates and found convenience in purchasing their desired products online from their mobile devices. A significant shift from brick and mortar retail buying to online buying had shaken the industry to its core and made people believe that brick and mortar retail is dying. However, this wasn’t so!
What’s more?
Online retail giants such as Amazon, eBay, and Walmart that have operations all across the globe made it convenient for people to buy products at the hour of their choosing at discounted rates cheaper than the products offered in the brick and mortar retail stores. This significant gap made people think that online stores are cost-effective, and brick and mortar stores are exploiting them by charging more for the same products offered for sale on online stores. Online stores have some limitations such as loss of sensitive data, vendor details, and threats to cybersecurity, which limits the trust of some customers and drives them to brick and mortar stores despite the online discounts.
A Well-Crafted Illusion of Brick and Mortar Retail Dying
So, it makes me feel safe to say that online retailers or marketers have been quite successful in establishing an illusion that brick and mortar retail store is dying. Well, the concept is mostly exaggerated, and the physical retail is not dying no matter what. However, brick and mortar retail may witness a little breakdown in the market share in the upcoming years due to changing market dynamics and changing customer preferences, but it won’t completely die! If you don’t trust me, just trust the stats!
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