Future Of Shopping

Attributed to World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation

If the accepted wisdom is to be believed, traditional brick-and-mortar stores are considered a dying breed, and only corporate behemoths like Tesco, Walmart or Aldi will be left standing when the Great Retail Wars of the early 21st century have left a trail of destruction across the global consumer retail landscape. The same outlook says that retail has become an all-digital industry and e-commerce is set to take over completely.

The truth is much less dramatic than the headlines. Recent data suggests that up to 85 percent of consumers still enjoy the in-store shopping experience. The general retail trend had been moving against traditional stores.

ADAPTING STRATEGIES

Despite the massive shift toward online shopping, there’s undoubtedly still a place for real stores proving there’s much more to the continuing evolution of the retail sector that first meets the eye. Southeast Asia is a perfect example of how the two sectors are blending in a mutually beneficial fashion.

Traditional shops are adapting their strategies and no longer strictly rely on walk-in customers. They’ve opened virtual stores and do business via smart phone apps and desktop websites run by e-commerce retail giants like Alibaba-owned Lazada, Shopee, Zalora and many others. Online stores display their products and information, while the e-commerce provider processes orders, payments and shipping. The result is a seamless shopping experience for the customer.

UPSWING CONTINUES

Google and Singapore sovereign fund Temasek reported the region’s digital economy grew to approximately USD72 billion by the end of 2018. The upswing is continuing as Southeast Asian consumers led the way, spending an average of 3.6 hours per day on social media, which is a key entry point to online shopping