Most companies have stopped using traditional selling methods due to the rapid development of technology, as the Internet has become the leading trading platform. In 2022, it is difficult to imagine a severe organization selling any products without a website where you can pay for purchases. E-commerce has no space restrictions, and websites can carry various products; it helps customers to get what they need. The following factors logically explain the popularity of online stores (Gunawan, 2021):
- the buyer saves time by purchasing this or that product in the virtual store;
- the online store is open every day and for 24 hours;
- goods in an online store are usually cheaper than in traditional outlets. Since it is not necessary to maintain a large staff, purchase and maintain professional commercial equipment and spend money on renting and repairing premises;
- a virtual site can offer a wide range of products, which is often impossible for traditional stores, limited by the size of the trading floor and warehouse;
- the purchase on the site can be paid in any way convenient for the client.
However, despite the rapid development of online shopping, physical retail stores are still not losing their popularity. The purchase of goods in the online store can be complicated. I bought jeans in a popular online store not so long ago, but I was not satisfied with the purchase. Although this is not the first time I have used the Internet, the problem of the inability to evaluate the quality of a product and receiving products that do not match in color, size, and consistency is still the most common. Advanced online stores do their best to combat this and add, for example, the ability to contact a consultant via video link to evaluate the product. In addition, most retailers also seek to connect their activities with the Internet, so I believe that the utility of online commerce is undeniable.
Reference
Gunawan, R. (2021). Online retail pattern quality improvement: From frequent sequential pattern to high-utility sequential pattern. 2021 4th International Seminar on Research of Information Technology and Intelligent Systems (ISRITI).