I mean short-term, a couple of years tops. It’s clear to me that the e-commerce is the future and that retail as we know it is changing. More precisely, do we need to be afraid that we’re gonna start losing our jobs on a mass scale due to the expansion of online sales in the next couple of years?
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@1inw I agree that brick and mortar will probably never go away completely, not because people enjoy it, but because some aspects of brick and mortar may cost too much/be too difficult to create online. Every piece of user research I’ve seen in the last 10 years, across multiple commerce companies including Walmart, is that younger people consider shopping a chore. They don’t like it, it is not an “experience” they want to have. The more that a company can automate that experience away, the likelier they are to get and keep buyers.
I think it will evolve into a mix of the two. On line is going to boom, then bust, then settle into a steady pace; B & M will continue to decline, lots of stores will close, others, will reduce their floor space, many will lose their jobs, others will have their hours chopped....and then that, too, will bob the surface and settle into a new pace.
The toughest part will be the transition as all this falls together. It's going to be very ugly and stressful for some time to come.
On-Line will grow but Brick and Mortar will NEVER go away.....Not everyone has a computer nor do they all have a smart phone that they can order their product from. Centennials have grown up with the internet and always being connected - they do not like all this connectedness - shopping in a mall or a store is an experience - palm shopping is not....on-line shopping does not allow you to see, touch and feel the product you are buying.....Humans are a social animal - yes we like our privacy but not everyone wants to sit at home and wait on UPS or Fed Ex. Unfortunately the current leadership is throwing all their eggs into one basket - this will most certainly come back to bite the company but not those in charge that are initiating this change -because they will all be retired sitting on their boat in the Caribbean......just my three cents
What will happen to the low volume stores 40-60 million? How will they get by without OGP and pick up towers?
If gas prices soar so will shipping rates and people will be less likely to order as much as they do now online.
My guess is yes, but not only to online shopping sites. Automation will play a big role, as well as IOT. How can people compete with a smart refrigerator or pantry? How about just telling your AI device that you need mustard and it automatically finds the best deal and orders it for you? How about it automatically orders a standard set of consumables for you each month based on the history of your purchases? All this and much more may soon be coming to a town near you.