Shopping in stores is being substituted by online shopping. This is a positive development because this increases customers’ accessibility to more products and reduces land cost due to housing.
As online shopping becomes popular, customers gain access and buy goods that can be far from their living proximity. With the ability to purchase any products without the necessity of going to stores, it is apparent that more brands are able to reach out to more people in different parts of the world, allowing them to increase their sales and reputations. Two prime examples, Nike and Adidias – two stores that originated in the Western Hemispheres – can sell their sport’s equipment to the Asian populations as these products can be pre-ordered on their websites, which evidently increases their customer’s pool.
Beside increasing the product’s accessibility, online shopping also drastically reduces land cost due to housing. It is mostly prominent in Vietnam, as most thrift stores can register their businesses through online platforms such as Shopee and Grab, thus can sell their products without requiring a shophouse. With the ability to open shops solely through online platforms, this reduces the need for housing, which increases more space for other commodities and city projects. This, in turn, not only increases the prospects of the nation’s economic status due to new projects, but also solves the issue of space scarcity for housing due to overpopulation.
In conclusion, the rising trend of transitioning from shopping at stores to online shopping is a positive development, as brands can have higher sales due to the increase of products accessibility and also decreases land compensation for shophouses.