Allen Weiss (@allenweiss)- CEO and founder of MarketingProfs - wrote a great piece looking at online shopping and its surprisingly smaller-than-expected piece of the retail pie, in an internet age where we’re able to do exponentially more each day from the comfort of our PCs (or Macs).
While concerns over security and delayed gratification are sure to impact online shopping’s growth, for me an entirely different problem is curbing my adoption.
Tradition.
By no means am I a “shopper”. I tend to loathe malls and big box stores. As much as retail outlets try optimize their layouts for traffic flow and relative ease-of-spending… I’ll never truly enjoy a shopping experience. (now my wife on the other hand…)
But even still, I’m not flocking to online stores to bypass the madness. There is an element of tradition in the retail shopping experience that even I cling to.
“New Music Tuesday” was always a staple for me. I made a point to venture over to the local music store after class on Tuesdays like clockwork. Most of the time I didn’t have any
inkling as to what new music and/or movies would be hitting the shelves that day, and it always turned out to be an adventure of sorts.
In today’s world, delivery of music and film is wrought with options. Services like iTunes are dead-simple, filled with little bonuses and user-experience enhancing options. Unlike the physical stores, there’s no possiblity of understocking, or selling out before you get your copy. The selection in iTunes is ridiculously vast, giving users access to product that would never see the light of day on a Future Shop shelf. And of course, there’s the lovely value-add of being able to pick up your new tunage in the comfort of your favourite pair of boxers, briefs, towel, etc.
But again, the experience is not the same. I’m emotionally attached to that tradition of being in store, getting my product in hand, and rushing home to enjoy. It’s not the most convenient. It certainly isn’t the simplest. But it’s what I love doing (even if it means running around to 3 different stores to pick up that copy of Muse’s The Resistance on release day as the first two underestimated demand).
The traditional shopping experience can be a very tough habit to break away from.
Especially at this time of year.
There’s something magical about being in the herd of wallets going from store to store picking up gifts for the Mrs. and the little ones, struggling to find parking, waiting in line for charity gift wrapping, and (if I’m lucky) stealing away a moment of indulgenge at the Second Cup or Starbucks.
Xmas shopping is a beautiful chaos. And as much as I might dislike it in the moment, it’s one of those things that makes Xmas for me. It’s like eggnog, mandarine oranges, and After Eight chocolates. Its just not xmas without it.
That traditional experience essentially vanishes with shopping online. And while I can certianly see the attraction to online shopping, for me, there are certain shopping experiences that can’t be duplicated online.
Now, give us a few years, and I’m sure when I put the ideal shopping experience question to my kids, the answer will be entirely different.