If you told someone a decade ago they would be getting their groceries delivered via drone one day, they probably would have laughed at you. There were plenty of people who didn’t take online sales seriously in the early days of the internet. But as more and more businesses offered the convenience of online sales and more and more people started using debit cards, online sales skyrocketed. Now most of us make online purchases on a regular basis. Why would we drive all over town looking for something when we can click a mouse a few times and have it delivered right to our doors?
Even if you look at something as simple as movie rentals, you will see how the internet has changed everything. Stopping by the video rental place at the end of the work day Friday used to be a ritual for many families. Everyone would fan out and find a video they wanted and then plead their case to the rest of the family. Now we have videos delivered right to our doors. Sometimes we can even stream them right from our devices. No one has to agree on a movie anymore because everyone can watch something different. Blockbuster turned down an opportunity to buy Netflix in 2000. Now Blockbuster is a ghost of retail past and Netflix dominates the market.
Brick and mortar stores are dropping like flies these days. It’s just no longer that convenient for customers to come to you when they need something. Retailers who became early adopters of eCommerce are surviving the mass exodus of the traditional shopping mall, while retailers who held out are not faring so well. Radioshack is in its final death throes after failing to keep up with the times. Gap is closing 140 stores and Barnes and Noble will close 223 stores over the next decade. As much as people like to go to a bookstore a few times a year, it’s just not enough to keep the doors open and the lights on. Convenience is king.
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By contrast, Amazon started as an online bookseller in 1994 and now dominates much of the online retail market. EBay started in a living room in 1995 and now it’s a worldwide powerhouse. Google started in a garage in 1997 and made over $66 billion last year. People want the convenience of clicking and having things delivered right to their door steps. We’re too busy as a society to drive around all day shopping. Learn more about the importance of online sales from this infographic!
Author: NowSourcing is an award-winning nationally recognized infographic design agency. Founded in 2005, NowSourcing has strong roots in the human and technical nuances of the web.
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