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I do both, and the store most likely to get my business is the B&M that has a tightly connected online presence.
Home Depot is a good example, allowing me to examine its inventory online and then giving me a very easy option to buy online with either fast and free delivery to the store or an in-store purchase. It will even tell me how many items my particular store has in stock and where the item is located in the store. The stores are hyper-mapped in Google Maps so when I arrive at the store, I can use my phone to locate the items in the store. I can purchase a stack of items online and in a day or so pick them up without even being concerned with whether they had actually been in stock.
I also know of more than one ma-and-pa business that has gone completely online and greatly increased their business. I work with a custom frame-maker out of Missouri who has an eBay presence. Checking Google maps, they're working out of a farmhouse in the foothills of the Ozarks...but they do a brisk business with a number of artists and photographers that I know of.
I've only purchased clothing a couple times online. Each time, the item did not fit and I had to return it, so have to do the dreaded fitting room experience after all. I hate going to the store, sorting through clothes, trying to find clothes I dislike the least (not really like), drag them in the fitting room, get naked, find they look ugly on me, I don't like them, or they don't seem worth the price, lather, rinse, repeat until I leave with one lousy shirt/pants/skirt. I wear my clothes until they are threadbare because of this awful experience.
When it comes to clothes, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and buy what fits you and looks good.
I hate shopping - go once a year to the mall, but I love online browsing.
Read the reviews, accept the fact that you might have to return something. I've been doing this for years, so no big deal to me.
There are certain businesses that will never really be totally replaced by internet sales because most customers for those products have no idea how to use them and need an actual person locally to guide them through the purchase and installation.
For example, I work in a marine retail store, and people complain about our prices all the time. But what they don't take into account is that we have to pay for a store, ship the items to that store so they can simply walk in and get them, and there is an Associate there who either knows how to use and install that item or knows where to get the customer the answers he needs. That comes with a cost.
I spend half my day instructing people on the proper way to do things, making detailed drawings for them, calling vendors to research some question or obsolete part, and generally, doing all the leg work they are not willing or capable of doing. A lot of the time we spend with customers never results in a sale, it is done as a courtesy and for goodwill. When you order on line all you get is a product in the box and you have to do all the research to (hopefully) install it or use it correctly.
I don't think I've ever bought anything online. (gasp!)
But I'm old-school like that, don't trust the internet with my financial deets
and gotta' lay my eyes & hands on an item before deciding if I want to purchase it & bring it home.
There is something to be said about going to a store, seeing and feeling what you are buying, and talking to someone about the product. I have purchased products on-line and more often than not, not been pleased with the purchase, unless I know exactly what I want.
Some people will tell you go to a store, find what you want, then order on-line for a cheaper price. That just strikes me as wrong. If I go to the store, and a sales clerk goes out of their way to assist me, only to be told I will think about it, I know that if enough people do that the store will close and that person will be out of a job.
Don't get me wrong on-line shopping definitely has its benefits. We all want to buy cheaper, but someone's time is worth something. The store owner employing locals and paying rent and giving back to the community is worth a few dollars more.
Technology has changed everything, including the shopping experience. Although I am one of the most diehard fans of online shopping there is, I have lately become a bit disenchanted with having to buy so many items online due to lack of selection in-store, or because stores penalize shoppers who want to buy their items in-store. I have found that many stores do not offer discounts unless you purchase their items online, even if the same item is available in the store. More importantly, being able to physically view an item or try it is an important aspect of the shopping experience, in many cases. That goes double for clothing. I went to purchase a small speaker that I saw on Amazon. Since I wanted it quickly, I went to Fry's to try it out and buy it and the speaker was only available by ordering it online. I like shopping on-line, but I don't want to have to buy EVERYTHING that way. What are your shopping experiences? Do you prefer online shopping, or brick and mortar?
I hate it when I am forced to buy something online and I need it quickly. Even one-day delivery doesn't help if it takes a week for them to even put it in the ****ing box and ship it!
My labor day weekend this year was partially RUINED because I could not get a replacement cell phone battery from RadioShack (they tell you to get it online), and amazon.com could not send it to me quickly enough.
Due to the added cost of vehicle reservation for extra hours this past week while moving since I could not use my phone without a battery, I spent extra money on that.
If RadioShack would have sold me a $3.00 battery in-store for $100.00 on Wednesday, I would have bought it. No kidding. You don't understand how much suffering, cost, and inconvenience this lack of battery has inflicted on me over the past week!
Technology has changed everything, including the shopping experience. Although I am one of the most diehard fans of online shopping there is, I have lately become a bit disenchanted with having to buy so many items online due to lack of selection in-store, or because stores penalize shoppers who want to buy their items in-store. I have found that many stores do not offer discounts unless you purchase their items online, even if the same item is available in the store. More importantly, being able to physically view an item or try it is an important aspect of the shopping experience, in many cases. That goes double for clothing. I went to purchase a small speaker that I saw on Amazon. Since I wanted it quickly, I went to Fry's to try it out and buy it and the speaker was only available by ordering it online. I like shopping on-line, but I don't want to have to buy EVERYTHING that way. What are your shopping experiences? Do you prefer online shopping, or brick and mortar?
No, companies give shoppers an incentive to buy online because it's cheaper for them to sell online. Lot's less overhead, so the more online shopping the more profit. If you want the full service experience then why shouldn't you be willing to pay a bit more for it? It costs the companies more to have employees order, deliver, stock and display mdse, assist and ring up customers than it does to just ship an item directly to your home or to the store for a quick pick up.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ncole1
I hate it when I am forced to buy something online and I need it quickly. Even one-day delivery doesn't help if it takes a week for them to even put it in the ****ing box and ship it!
My labor day weekend this year was partially RUINED because I could not get a replacement cell phone battery from RadioShack (they tell you to get it online), and amazon.com could not send it to me quickly enough.
Due to the added cost of vehicle reservation for extra hours this past week while moving since I could not use my phone without a battery, I spent extra money on that.
If RadioShack would have sold me a $3.00 battery in-store for $100.00 on Wednesday, I would have bought it. No kidding. You don't understand how much suffering, cost, and inconvenience this lack of battery has inflicted on me over the past week!
I buy many of my books online because of my Kindle, although I love going to bookstores.
My husband loves buying technology (computer parts, etc.) online.
However, for clothes and shoes, only brick and mortar stores will do. My husband has to have all of his pants altered so he must buy them in the store.
I must try on clothes and shoes before buying them, because I wear petite clothing and have hard to fit feet. Shopping for clothes online would never work for me, especially since there is no consistency in clothes sizing. A size 4 in one brand is NOT the same as a size 4 in another brand.
Besides, I love browsing through the new clothes in the store! I also love HomeGoods! My husband just doesn't understand
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