Online Shopping

Advantages of online shopping: Online shopping is accessible round the clock. You can buy whatever you want even at 3 a. m. in the morning. You can choose from a wider variety of things available for you to shop which may not be available in the local brick and mortar stores. You also have the benefit to do all from the comfort of your own home. When you buy from online store you have the comfort to take your time while checking for the things of your choice, this will lead you to a simple and quick way to perform price comparison unlike the dissatisfied and hurried shopping you do in the local stores.

In addition, unlike local stores, you can avail discount coupons and get a thing at a lower rate when shopping online. Besides, when shopping online you can also avoid long lines to wait in and the unnecessary contact with cranky people. If you feel uncomfortable dragging your kids for shopping, online shopping is the best way to counter that. Most of us are sometimes concerned with private shopping; online shopping offers you a great platform to do so with comfort. Also, when you are buying gifts, online mode is the perfect way to send your distant friends or relatives the gift you wanted to send.

When it comes to payment, you can use anyone’s credit card when shopping online. A lot of us are concerned about the identity theft when hear about online shopping. Identity theft cases take place in reality in brick and mortar store itself and not online. Websites are secure these days with powerful encryption procedures that keep your identity safe and secure. Although there are a few where your information may not be secure, you can take a peaceful breathe when dealing with the vast majority of online shopping website.

Consider websites that offer free shipping and this is definitely the way to go. As the price of gas is increasing, shipping and handling might be cheaper anyway. Disadvantages of online shopping: Although online shopping is 24/7 available, you cannot feel or touch items rather can just see what is present on a webpage whereas in brick and mortar stores you can see many things at a glance and buy after you feel or touch the product. As the term suggests, online shopping is only possible through the internet, therefore, the connection speed matter a lot here.

Unlike conventional stores which don’t close unexpectedly, online stores incurs frequent malfunction. The most common grumble people have with online stores is regarding warranties and some sort of guarantees, which they fail to offer in most cases. Apparently, these would mean nothing if the online store went bankrupt. Similarly returns are also very much difficult on online stores than in local stores. It very normal that many online stores don’t accept cash or checks, although some sites do, you still have to use the credit cards.

When purchasing online, billing errors are the common things you may encounter whereas in local stores these errors are nearly impossible. The very big disadvantage an online website may have is the credit card security issue, despite the fact that how secure the website claims to be, you can not always trust them. There have been many cases where people realized that their credit card number has been stolen and has been used by others. The bottom line is, online shopping is the ultimate solution people are finding today, but conventional stores are still here to stay.

I will be showing you the comparison and contrast between online shopping and going to an actual retail store. When you sit and think about it, there are many differences between the two, but which of the two would you find more convenient and save you the most money. Many consumers have their very own preference when it comes to shopping. When I think about the two, I find online shopping a bigger advantage, and also a wider variety of items I may not find in a retail store while walking around.

The benefits of online shopping and what it offers to our consumers. With the click of the mouse all your Christmas shopping can be done – now all we have to do is teach our computers to wrap them as well. Thanks to the internet and online stores we can shop in any store, anywhere in the world from the comfort of our home, without the hassle of crowds, queues and parking. While there is a strong online presence, shoppers still love hitting the stores for experience of Christmas gift giving.

Brands Exclusive and Living Exclusive head buyer Garth Allan said online shopping has definitely become the new trend in retail. Brands Exclusive is Australia’s leading online shopping club and offers savings of up to 70%off RRPs for more than 800 international and Australian brands. More than 80,000 new members are joining each month with two million Australian members overall.

Brands Exclusive recently launched an iPhone app and iPad app for members to gain access to sales anytime. “Browsing and buying in the store can be a very time consuming process, especially if you have a busy schedule as it. Online stores such as Brands Exclusive are accessible any time of the day or night offering genuine products at significantly Compare and contrast essay over online shopping verses retail shopping PG 3. reduced prices.

“Online retailers also provide access to a broad range of brands and products in one place, making it much simpler for shoppers to browse and buy. ” “Today, people really value the time and effort saved from being able to purchase products at the click of a button verses going to a store. ” He said because of that online shopping was a key part of the retail sector and was set to grow 14. 1% to $26. 9 billion by 2016, according to PWC’s 2012 Australian and Bew Zealand Online Shopping

Retail shopping and the many benefits it offers to our consumers. Consumers have become increasingly sophisticated and demanding with the availability and abundance of products, services, information, technology, as well as retail stores and channels (Terblanche and Boshoff, 2004). From the consumer’s viewpoint, obtaining value is a fundamental consumption goal and pivotal to all successful exchange transactions (Holbrook, 1994).

In response, many retailers are seeking to turn shopping into a high-value pursuit and are highlighting consumer value as an important source of competitive advantage (Woodruff, 1997). Despite the importance of value in creating consumer shopping experiences, existing literature on shopping value is limited. Researchers have conceptualized consumer shopping value from different perspectives and disagree upon dimensions of shopping value. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of consumer shopping value is needed.

This research seeks to understand consumer shopping value and its dimensions from a holistic view by connecting shopping motivations and processes to the ultimate outcome of shopping through exploring consumers’ shopping experiences in two major shopping contexts: department stores and mass merchandisers. Department stores and mass merchandisers are of interest because they have reigned as primary retailers in the U. S. and have had a significant impact on the retail marketplace due to their size, longevity, national profile and large Compare and contrast essay over online shopping verses retail shopping PG 4.

number of consumers they serve (Wellman, 1980 and Rabolt and Miler, 2009). Department stores are large retail units, such as Macy’s, Dillard’s, and JCPenney in the United States, which generally carry an extensive assortment of merchandise organized into separate departments (Rabolt and Miler, 2009). Mass merchandisers are large retail discount stores such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target, which serve the mass market (Rabolt and Miler, 2009).

Department stores and mass merchandisers have applied different merchandising strategies and focused on different value propositions. Department stores emphasize fashion goods with higher markups, extensive service, and a pleasant shopping experience with the value propositions of entertainment, service, and scale. Mass merchandisers, on the other hand, offer a broad range of merchandise at lower prices, provide limited service, and tend to focus on moving merchandise quickly with the hallmark value propositions of low price and shopping convenience.

Therefore, comparing consumer shopping experiences at department stores and mass merchandisers may capture key dimensions of shopping value in the retail marketplace and can shed light on the relationship between retail formats and the type of shopping value that consumers gain. Consumer shopping value: An investigation of shopping trip value, in-store shopping value and retail format Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

When you compare the two, you see that they both are a shopping experience that is a preference to one person. If you think of a difference in the two, one is online with modern technology in the comfort of your home or office and retail shopping requires you to drive your car, fight with crowds, search for parking, and stand in long checkout lines. Compare and contrast essay over online shopping verses retail shopping PG 5. In conclusion you can see by the compare and contrast there were several advantages and dis-advantages of the two.

In my personal opinion I would consider the retail for my groceries and small trips for the necessary items that I may need to get by. When I am searching for a gift I usually turn to the internet, because it allows me to browse many stores and sites to find the bargains and pricing in my budget that I am willing to spend towards my purchase. I have got great bargains at retail shops and stores in the past. An example was recently on black Friday, I went to our local Wal-Mart and it was so overcrowded and long checkout lines I wished I would of reconsider that trip I made, but I was able to by many Christmas presents at a bargain price.

To the corporate world, it is all about making a profit. To the corporate world, efficiency is a means to achieving that profit. To the corporate world, one can not achieve profit with logistics. To modern researchers, the corporate world has just truly begun to turn its eyes towards reverse logistics. To us business students today, without reverse logistics there can be only limited profit. Within the scope of this analysis we shall be examining the significance of reverse logistics.

To comprehend the importance of this study we must first ensure that the reader understands that reverse logistics is an acutely fascinating yet highly misunderstood concept which differs from company to company. Reverse logistics is a manner of reversing the supply chain. In this analytical reversal lies a world of opportunities to businesses. In a manner of speaking, reverse logistics is a highly analytical procedure which calls for the usage of statistical tools and highly trained managers and financial accountants to understand how to place products back into a supply chain in order to achieve profits.

Part of this definition means that businesses should be aware of which products they can expect to see as ‘returned items’. These items should be anticipated to be sold to another supplier to be turned into scraps for another project. Also customization needs to occur to increase the positive user experience; including warranty programs as well to increase the satisfaction level of customers. Businesses highly dislike having items returned to their inventory. Items returned that fail to sell are regarded as a loss in profits and revenue.

For companies seeking to understand why such rates of returns occur they must turn to reverse logistics, as a seemingly modern tool, used towards understanding why this occurs to begin with. For businesses it is vital that they analyze, among other information, why such items are returned, how to alleviate this revenue loss, what techniques or selling tools can be used to prevent this from occurring, and perhaps how to protect the entire company should this occur in various divisions within the company. In analyzing why this occurs we must turn to reverse logistics management.

This management solution takes crucial time and effort to look at how to manage the entire returns process. By managing this process, companies can increase the recovery of net assets and revenue goals. As the introduction paragraph points out it is all about ensuring that the profit margin and supply chain is being fulfilled. At this time we shall examine how textile and apparel industries are adversely affected by returned items. When examining the online marketplaces, researchers have determined that typically garments are in danger of being returned by consumers who purchased them online.

Purchasing decisions are driven by a consumer’s feelings about themselves and their bodies or physical image of themselves. For instance, when a woman is seeking to purchase clothing which is dependent on a fashionable image they expect the color, feel, fit, image, and expectations to match what they thought they ‘saw’ on the internet. As you can not ‘feel’ or ‘wear’ the garment when purchasing online, you are making the decision to purchase based upon other factors. These factors include color and style.

Because consumers are attempting to make an effective choice on what to purchase they are often disappointed by what actually arrives in the mail. As a process hierarchy situation businesses are finding it pertinent to have marketing and sales staff which are willing to communicate with the supplier chain about how to survey consumers and generate more purchasing power in the online stores. Engineering teams are being used to modify the online appearance to appeal to more consumers (Hammond, website).

The article, “In the Virtual Dressing Room Returns are a Real Problem” by Jan Hammond and Kristin Kohler, it is emphasized that “…high return rate of apparel products purchased online…mirrors the rate of catalog apparel purchases…returns for apparel bought from catalogs ranged from 12 to 35 percent.. ” This return rate process is a serious concern of companies marketing apparel online and in catalogs. On the other hand, the article shows that decisions to buy generic goods like books, music, electronic, etc..

are less reflecting a return rate because less emotional factors tie in to the consumer’s decision to purchase those items. This article indicates that accuracy of color plays a crucial role in decision making of consumers on the web. Surveys conducted, including one by InfoTrends Research Group, indicated that 88% of consumers will shop at online stores which guarantee that their products reflect “true and accurate” color standards and schematics. Because of feelings of insecurity about acquiring the items which meets their color standards and expectations, consumers are less prone to make the initial decision to purchase.

Because of this ‘risk’ of purchasing an item “unseen”, “untouched” , and “unworn”, consumers surveyed have become interested in companies which use the new initiatives to improve the color on their websites. For example, detail and color would be greatly improved with companies using zoom technology such as HP Open Pix and Live Picture (Hammond, website). Other companies are seeing products such as BodyMetrics LTD, which can ‘on-line visualize’ body dimensions on a mannequin to see how the item would fit the consumer’s body composition.

These tactics are all methods of reverse logistics management, because they improve the online visibility of items which can increase the purchasing of consumers while decreasing the rate of return behavior that companies experience. In addition, as companies are seeking to place their products in online supply markets they can provide those supplier companies with an up-selling tool which aids in their own sales protection. For instance, let us closely examine IKEA’s effective operation management. IKEA, a furniture retailer, has invoked in its company a strong usage of operations management.

Operations management is a means towards which a company organizes its hierarchy, sales structure, approach to service, strategic operations, systematic direction of the company, and finally the control of internal and external processes which turn inputs into completed goods and services. IKEA’s experience in operations management is highly organized and analyzed by reverse logistics management. In understanding IKEA’s operations management style we must first recognize that IKEA believes in a self-service concept.

This means that IKEA believes that customers service their own needs by picking up their furniture themselves from the warehouse. IDEA’s furniture is built with high quality in mind and displays a wide variety of choice for the every day consumer. Showrooms have been explicitly designed to reflect various rooms and items related to the household goods. Because the ordering and picking up of items is performed by the customer, there is no chance that the consumer be unaware of what they are purchasing. Catalogues and notices are placed around the store explicitly showing the illustrations, dimensions, and availability of color of the goods.

These room settings also allow customers to make educated decisions and comparisons about items without being infringed upon by sales personnel hoping to make a sale. As part of the reverse logistic management, this customization of user experience allows for the customer to examine and make decisions while not being under sales pressures (Slack 14-15). As the customer knows exactly where in the store they are purchasing the items from they have the opportunity to return to the area for further decision making.

This operational strategy is very successful to IKEA because of the piece of mind given to customers. Customers see how smooth the process is from selecting their items, to loading their items in a large loading area explicitly for customers, to non-pestering salespeople, to sufficient variety of quality goods at less expensive prices, to well-designed showplace environments, and to staff which willingly help customers at request. This attitude fosters a good mindset in consumers and presents the every day customer with a pleasant environment.

Should consumers seek to return items the customer service is guaranteed to be a pleasant one. For customers this operations management has considered all reverse logistics and countered them with a steady aptitude for impressing the every day customer. This situation is truly a competitive advantage for IKEA over the competition. While reading this case study I was impressed with the idea that they have an eatery and a location where parents can drop off their children for daycare services while they shop peacefully.

In general, this design contains such attractive features which allows for the operations of the organization to be seen on various levels (Slack 14-16). The case study also relates how the transformation process model works at IKEA. In this concept lies the idea of how the resources are used to “change the state or condition of something to produce outputs. ” The nature of this operational concept is that a company can use its resources to literally transform itself and its resources into goods and services. IKEA has done both.

It has used quality items from global companies and its in-store services to create the groundwork for a pleasant customized experience. Customers experience a variety of feelings about the IKEA stores while shopping which has a positive affect upon their decision to make purchases. For instance, the daycare allows parents to cope with making the decision to purchase while not have the added responsibility of watching over rampant children. Considered a customer processing strategy, this helps the psychological state of customers.

In addition, IKEA stores have allowed for showroom settings and customized ideas to help differentiate one product from another. Non-lingering salespersons also alleviate any pressure of making an immediate decision to purchase versus feeling hounded by expectant salespeople. The nature of this process allows for the consumer to feel that they are making the right decision making the purchase. Like all competitive companies they feel that the inputs to the transformation process needs to be “error-free, fast, and efficient information processing.

” Customers feel that this information is an aid for allowing the consumer to be satisfied that their concerns and questions on how to use or install the items will be handled in a professional and efficient manner (Slack 17-23). In general, all these processes from business processes to the customer-supplier relationship and interacting relationships are vital to competitive businesses. Whether it be an online stores or a physical store, it is important to recognize that reverse logistics plays a key role in ensuring a satisfied customer while providing a way to generate revenue.

Works Cited: Reverse Logistics Management: Manage Returns Processing Across Multiple Channels. Viewed March 26, 2007. http://www. manh. com/reverse_logistics_management/index. html? g=4&gclid=CNG4kM HsjYsCFQlQWAodVUPdWA In the Virtual Dressing Room Returns Are A Real Problem. Published: April 15, 2002 . Jan Hammond and Kristin Kohler. Viewed March 26, 2007. http://hbswk. hbs. edu/item/2883. html Slack, Nigel, Stuart Chambers, Christine Harland, Alan Harrison, and Robert Johnston. Effective Operations Management. 1998. London, Pitman