Check out this story as online clothing sales have surpassed the online sales of computers and software for the first time in history. What are the implications for so called "brick and mortar" stores like Dillards, J.C. Penneys, etc. . .
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Will trips to the mall become a thing of the past?
Check out this story as online clothing sales have surpassed the online sales of computers and software for the first time in history. What are the implications for so called "brick and mortar" stores like Dillards, J.C. Penneys, etc. . .
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33 comments:
I guess its not necesarily a bad thing if a majority of the stores go online, unless you work full time in one. I guess i have a bias because i kinda of hate the fashion and media world, but from an economical stand point, more spending meens a more active economy for Americans. As for Dillards and JC Peny, well they will have to modernize, or be left in the dirt like Montgomery Wards(look it up, i had to ask my folks what that was).
My last concern though, is that people will not always know if something fits them, they will need to go try things on. Here's something kind of crazy. Remember back in the day when you could go online only to look, but would have to go into the store to by the item? Well, maybe in the future people will go into the store to look and try on, an buy online. Maybe it's a little implausable because hopefully we are a more "rational" group but, so are some of the other things we do...$300 for jeans and $5000 purses, "grills", Rims...ect.
But hey what do I know?
I think that the internet market is never really going to be able to replace going to the store because buying clothes isn't the only reason you go. In such a boring town as ours, there isn't much of anything to do but see a movie or hang out the mall or town center or some crap like that. Many people (myself included) don't even go there to spend money, just to hang out.
Online shopping is convenient because some particular colors and sizes wouldn't be available in stores, and many people consider the shipping cost worth the drive to the mall. But online shopping lacks those displays and other unexpected things you'll find in stores, which could mean spending more money than you wish, but also might help you find your new favorite shirt.
Personally, I hate going to the mall and walking around and trying clothes on. I guess I'm just not much of a shopper. The idea of online shopping is very convinient but not always accurate. You aren't able to try on things through the computer; if someone could figure that out then we would be set, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Neglecting the concept of the mall alltogether is kind of crazy, though. Could you imagine not going to the mall during Christmas time and seeing Santa and going through all of that chaos? I couldn't, so for now I think the mall should stay. It's a big part of the American economy.
Even though online shopping does work for some people, I feel like this is just like online music. Although some retailers and consumers are benefitting from it, the actual stores and workers in the stores are not. I wonder if people will start losing their jobs because fewer employees will be necessary?
ven if online shopping has increased , people will continue visiting malls. Most of the stores are targeted at the teenage age group and many times teens go to the mall just for the sake of getting out and hanging out with friends. Online shopping is probably much easier and saves time but some people just enjoy the whole process of going out shopping. I also agree that this would cause numerous people to lose jobs, especially in the teenage group.
I definitely don't think that the internet will ever fully beat out the experience of a Sunday full of actual shopping; just because it's making a rise, doesn't mean that the real stores will just cease to exist. I belive people are just taking advantage of the fact that they don't actually have to get off their hineys to get a pair of pants, while other people still enjoy making that trip. Besides, shopping is not the only reason people go to the mall; it's a place for some to just hang out or spend time with the family, and a great place to get some food=).
There will be people in the mall all the time, even if buying things online has become more popular. Some people like to see what they are buying before they buy, some don't put too much stress on that and just buy it online. Although buying online is quicker, people will still go to the mall just to hang out. So the idea of the "trips to the mall becoming a thing of the past," will probably not happen anytime soon.
I really don't think that trips to the mall will be come things of the past. Firstly in the article it stated that only 10% of sales were made online, meaning 90%, majority of the shopping is still done online. Then if the malls did go away you would loose the shopping experience that comes with shopping with family and close friends, which alot of people value that time spent together. Finally you never know when you order something online if it will actually fit or not, and if it doesn't you have to take the postage and send it back, or take it back and exchange it in the store that you would orginally trying to aviod. So wouln't have just been easier to go to the actual mall and get your shopping done?
I don't think the mall will ever die out - different people like different things, so there will always be shopping purists out there who love spending hours at the mall. I find online shopping more convenient - it's quicker, you don't usually run into the problem of nothing being in your size, and sometimes it's cheaper (free shipping is great). Maybe in the future someone will come up with something that allows you to accurately size yourself online - I wouldn't be surprised. What I was surprised at was how many people shop online for clothes. I'd never thought about it much. I guess in the future if they improve online shopping to make it more realistic, they might need to employ more people to run the online store (I don't really know how that works), although I guess you'd have to know what you were doing, so teenagers might be out of luck.
I think it's pathetic people have to rely on the internet for pretty much everything now. Pretty soon we aren't going to even need malls or stores if people are mainly going to be spending their time buying all their clothes and etc. online. However, it is an easy way to buy something if it is truly something you want right away, in stead of driving all the way to the store and realizing they don't carry that in that certain store location..
Somethings are convenient to buy online, say if you know the size you want or need and the store is out of it, but people generally tend to need to see how something, especially clothes, look on them before they buy it. Not everyone is going to feel the same, however, i do not think the mall will every go out of business.
Well as a girl i absoutely love to shop, online or at the mall. There are ups and downs to both. At the mall you get the full social experience..seeing friends, meeting people. Also you're able to actually try on the clothes, and if you buy the clothes then they dont fit, you know exactly where to return them. On the otherhand online, you dont have to leave you house, deal with lines, or people or all of the mess at the mall. I honestly dont think interent shopping will ever beat the traditional mall shopping but it will certainly keep growing for a while as more people get used to it.
Just because online sales are becoming extremely successful, especially in apparrel doesn't mean that it will replace the stores. Online sales are growing tremendously but malls are still crowded stores are still seeing vasts amounts of customers and they're still making money. Online sales are jus kinds of bonuses to everything else (really nice bonuses). Stores and malls will be prevelant for many years to come because people even though inherently lazy, still like to see things for themselves and touch things too, So even if online sales are growing increasingly, stores are still where the scene is.
I think that trips to the mall will not become a thing of the past. The internet is the big thing of the century. You can buy clothes, books, movies, and even order food off of the internet. As our society is expanding each day, so are the different options that are available to us. The internet is not 100% accurate, so we cannot rely on it to get the right shirt size, jean size, etc. You have to try it on and actually see what you're buying in person. The internet is not safe when buying clothing. Some sellers are frauds that may copy and paste a picture of what you like and what you buy may be the complete opposite of it. There will never be a way to try on clothing via internet. Unless your computer can magically let a shirt appear next to you, it's humanly impossible. Internet shopping will become popular but I don't think it will ever beat out shopping trips at the mall.
I don't think going to the mall will be a thing of the past. The reason for that is for the fact that some people don't trust the internet. They fear that people are going to steal their credit card numbers. Also people worry about if the stores get their orders wrong. Besides going to mall is fun. The reason for that is because its a way for you to interact with people and get to see your friends outside of school. Besides more people perfer going to the mall because their able to see which store gots what they need at a convient price. So really I don't think going to the mall will be a thing of the past.
Personally I feel that internet shopping, but on the other hand it can be your worst enemy. Walking around the mall is a hasle and can get aggrevating. But I would rather put up with an hour at the mall then ten minutes buying something that isn't what I want.
I personally am HORRIBLE with computers, so i will stick to actually going to the store to buy my clothes. As for the future, i dont think online shopping will COMPLELTEY replace going to the mall because actually going into the store will always have one advantage, and that is ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO TRY ON THE CLOTHES!
Although i do love online shopping for actually buying stuff, i go shopping as an activity as well. Thus, if stores are going to disapear somethign will have to take their place for friends and family to hang out at. ONline shopping would be very beneficial for companies, however, because they would no longer have to pay rent or employees salary.
I think online shopping is great if you know exactly what you want to buy from a certain store becasue then you have no lines or hassle to worry about. On the otherhand, if you are unsure about what your looking for and know that you will need to try it on, i still think going to the mall and buying it is the best option because then you know that you are buying something that fits. In the end i think malls will never be a think of the past becasue it's a place for shopping and socializing.
I dont think that the internet could ever replace online shopping because some people will always like to go to the mall to try things on because nothing ever fits like it says it will online even if you know all of your sizes. The online shopping market might continue to grow because people keep getting more lazy but it will never eliminate the malls
I dont think that clthing stores will ever leave the malls. A huge part of their advertising is by people walking around through malls and seeing what is inside the window of the store. People also like to touch and see things in real life. You have to get a feel for what kind of material the store uses and what their sizes are like. I dont think a sigle person who has bought clothing online has ever not been to that store at least once before to try on something.
i know trips to the mall will never be a thing of the past, because its not only a place for purpose shopping its a place for little mallrats to socialize. Online shopping however will most likely become bigger because people like shannon and I get hungry and bored and just want to stay home. I just got a job at the mall too, and im paid really poorly as of now, so for my own good and the economy everyone should shop at the mall. Even shannon and I.
Even though online shopping is becoming more popular I don't think the mall will become a thing of the past.I personally like online shopping over going to the mall because it saves time in a way. But I still benefit from going to the mall because if I am not sure if I'll like what I see online I like to see it in person, plus they have sales in the stores that they don't promote online. I think that online shopping is just growing with the rest of our technology but will still have our original ways.
Well let me just say i love the mall ! and with my girls and I we could provide a lot of buisness to the major stores. ha just kidding. honestly online shopping is overrated, but its convient for those who are busy or dont have certain stores wherever they live.
I truly don't believe online stores could wipe out real stores in the mall, strip centers, etc. I hardly ever purchase an item without seeing it physically first. Too many things can go wrong when you don't know exactly what you're buying. Car shopping for instance. Its a tedious task that i may be faced with in the future if i were to purchase a car on say, eBay? Even though the seller/buyer relationship becomes very close, nothing could compare to seeing the car as opposed to pictures sent by the seller. I don't know about you, but if i were buying a subaru impreza WRX STI, i wanna know exactly what i'm getting.
I don't think malls will be a thing of the past. Me personally i rather prefer to go to the mall and buy my clothing and other items. Purchasing items on the internet doesn't give me that security that i prefer. You can't try on clothes or shoes over the internet, so when you do receive it in the mail sometimes its to late to take things back. From past experiences i will NEVER but clothing or any other items off the internet.
I personally have never shopped online, I don't see it as a better alternative to actually shopping in a mall. The malll is someplace yuo hangout, shop, eat or just window-shop, hey we all do it. Sometimes it's just a way of distraction. Online shopppingis of course useful in some ways, but I hope people don't start favoring it more than actually going to a store. A lot of people would lose their jobs.
I'm not sure if shopping online will become more common but I would have to agree with kelly in that you wouldn't be able to tell if something fit you well. I shop online for clothing stores that are solely online such as alloy.com and sometimes the clothes that look like they will fit me definitely do not. But, I also would have to say that I disagree with Kelly Hines when he said that spending $300 on jeans is "irrational" because for most designer things the material is quality made and not as mass produced.
I personally dislike going to the mall and walking through the crowds of people to reach one particular store I wish to shop in. However, I am a hands on type of person and I prefer to try on my clothing before purchasing it rather than viewing it on a computer screen. Online stores also eliminate the job opportunities for the many high school students and other people with jobs at the malls. Although, online shopping may be more economically efficient for the company because more people may visit the website to make purchases, it would raise the unemployment rate because of the fewer jobs offered. I don't think malls will become a thing of the past because it's the place you can go to make all your purchases from shoes to purses. Ultimately, online shopping may be convinient, but not accurate.
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