Online vs In Store shopping scene in India

Ecommerce was a buzzword few years back, everyone was excited about the possibility of buying things online without having to even get down from bed and at the same time there was a doubt about the whole process from quality to delivery and so on. Looking back at that time we have progressed a lot in this journey though everyone is not at same pace but still the journey has begun and its proving to be successful in country like ours so far. In this post we will discuss a few points about Online vs In store shopping.

Which one do you prefer?

• Convenience: Online shopping offers you the convenient option of selecting your favorite shirt or phone or even a luxury yacht (yes, you can check it out on Snapdeal) while sitting at your home without even moving an inch from your most comfortable position on your couch. Online shopping saves you time, saves you from tiredness and also from bargaining in different outlets. However its a distant dream now to have hassle free offline shopping, trouble starts right from home, just to visit that market you will change your clothes, join the mad traffic on the roads and if you have opted to take your vehicle out with you then you need a different skill set to just get a parking slot before anyone else sneaks in the place you are eyeing on from 30 yards. After that you actually start shopping for your desired product hopping from shop to shop to try out different styles etc and also trying to get the best deal. Online shopping is winner here, but what is that you miss in this is that personal rapport with the shop owners, having street food while shopping, knowing other people choices and meeting new people. This last line includes things which has its own unique experience but still for the rest of the part on this point I would prefer Online shopping over offline. Online 1, Offline 0

• Touch and Feel: Online portals are sometimes not the best place to identify exact quality of products the size how something will fit, the color in outdoors and indoor lighting, the quality of the fabric of the material and a number of other physical aspects which cannot be judged by carefully taken pictures in online catalog. The online space is just missing this factor and it is a great deal breaker for many including customers looking for electronics appliances. Online 0, Offline 1

• Variety : Here comes the tricky part, you ought to know the shops for what you want to buy and be sure that the shop has the stock for you when you opt physical stores over Online portals you have to hop from one shop to another to look for your desired items. Whereas in Online shopping its just at your fingertips a few filter here and there give your color, size, price preferences and hundreds of matching products are waiting for your nod to make their place in your wardrobe. You get multiple brands choices, from multiple portals so in this case Online has a clear upper hand over traditional shopping. Online 1, Offline 0

• Discounts and Coupons: Shop owners are there to convince you about the prices and discounts they are offering it can be a good deal or it can be a trap as well. Most places now a days you will see fixed price board in all shops in the market so you have to have some real good bargaining skills even if the prices are not that fixed. However in Online shopping you don't have to be blessed with some extra skills you just need to be smart enough to look out for available discounts on the portal you are shopping, you get discounts on various types of cards etc. And then you have the coupon websites which can aid you in getting some extra discount all you have to do is search for coupons like Ebay coupons , Jabong gift codes etc to get the codes to get extra discount and apply the same in the shopping website. I find Online portals quite transparent and offers accessible to all hence I prefer Online shopping rather than going over the personal rapport or bargaining skills.Online 1, Offline 0

• Payment options: Online shopping provides you with variety of options such as payment in installment using credit cards, use credit cards, debit cards or net banking or mobile wallets or even Cash on Delivery where as in offline mode you have to rely on cash or at max you can use credit or debit cards which is also not widely available as of now in India. Paytm is getting physical stores on board on mobile wallets but its just not enough as of today to completely rely upon. Online 1, Offline 0

• Delivery Time: This one is again a tricky point, physical stores deliver right there in your hands so you see the product before buying , select it , buy it and take it home whereas in Online shopping you see the images you select them and make payments and then you wait for the package to arrive. Things are getting better with one day delivery and other options but still its a lot of time to wait for someone who has just ordered a new dress or a new phone. So in terms of satisfaction over the time lapsed between your purchase and before you can actually use the product Offline scores a big 1 here. Online 0, Offline 1

Conclusion: From above scores Online shopping emerges as winner with scoring 4 points out of 6. However there can be many other aspects which will give Offline shopping a favorable position. Thus Online shopping and Offline shopping compliments each other and can be best chosen based on scenario for example you want to buy a Tshirt just get it online , you want to buy your wedding dress go to the physical stores try as many as you can and get the best one for your requirements.