A Comparative Study of Traditional and Online Shopping

I) Executive Summary:

The advancement of retail market in India is one of the quickest globally. Indian customers are quite picky when it comes to their purchases. Depending on whether they favour online or offline shopping, consumers’ preferences vary. It is one of the pillars of the economy and contributes roughly 10% of the GDP of the nation.
Customers may visually inspect things when purchasing in person, which is not possible when shopping online. Both online shopping and offline shopping have benefits and drawbacks. Online shopping offers more diversity, is available around-the-clock, is more convenient, requires less travel time, offers steep savings, and expands the availability of consumer feedback. Customers may use both traditional and digital buying methods based on their preferences at a given time, resulting in qualitatively distinct behaviours between the two.
This article makes an effort to shed some light on the distinctions between offline and internet shopping habits.

II) Introduction:

In a developing economy such as India, the majority of people still make purchases in various categories in the traditional stores. Although internet shopping has gained popularity over the past several years, especially among teenagers and young people, in terms of sheer volume, offline shopping still outpaces its online counterpart. Making purchases online, especially for clothing, has practically become standard in industrialised nations like the United States.

The true competition between online retailers and their offline, traditional rivals has ushered in a new age where consumers can select the method of delivery that best suits their needs. The ability of consumers to obtain comparable types of products in accordance with their tastes, perceived risk, and methods for gathering product information are some of the significant differences between the two purchasing methods.

The market is driven by consumers. Learning and analysing consumer behaviour is crucial for a business’ success today, whether it be an online or offline one.

Consumer interests are taken into consideration in all commercial operations. Online shopping, a relatively new phenomena in India, has gained popularity in recent years because to rising internet usage, leaving consumers with an abundance of options. Online advertising on the internet aids in the promotion of goods.

The methods for acquiring product details, risk involved, and the capacity of customers to acquire similar types of things in accordance with their choices are some of the major distinctions between the two shopping methods.

III) Methods and material

1. Review of Literature:
   
   M.S.F. & U.L (2021), In this study, traditional and online shopping are compared on the basis of safety, price comparison, wide variety of production, and efficiency. The objective of the study is also to determine the cost difference between traditional and online shopping in Dharga Town area. This study is based on primary data sources, and information was gathered using a well constructed questionnaire from people who participate in both traditional and internet purchasing. For this study, 188 samples were chosen using the snowball sampling technique. Graphs and an arithmetic mean model were also used in this study, along with a descriptive analysis of the data using SPSS software. The questionnaire had questions to determine the similarities or differences between the two shopping techniques, and the answers ranged from 1 to 7.
   The researchers concluded that, the major distinction between traditional and online shopping have been identified as being that online shopping is more convenient, online shopping offers more potentials for price comparison than traditional shopping, and traditional shopping is safer because there is a vulnerability of online fraud and security concerns like hacking in online shopping. Additionally, there are pricing differences between various purchasing options, and conventional shopping that cannot match the prices offered by internet retailers.
   The study also concludes that, convenience should be improved when buying traditionally. Online purchasing should offer return options and should guarantee security at the same time.
   
   Sarkar & Das (2017), India’s distinction between online and offline buying. The researchers say, one of the fastest-growing retail sectors in the world is in India. Indian customers are quite picky when it comes to their purchases. Depending on whether they prefer online or offline shopping, consumers’ preferences influence their selections.
   A five-stage consumer decision-making model was applied in the study, and contrasts were made based on convenience, variety, consumer reviews, comparison shopping, discounted rates, the ease of access of unique products, tangibility and trialability, the shopping experience, product delivery, and product returns.
   The study concludes that even while internet sales in India have increased quickly and are expected to continue to expand, the majority of Indian shoppers still favour the “authentic” shopping experience provided by brick and mortar stores. It was also determined that teens were mostly responsible for the phenomenal expansion of internet shopping in India.
   
   Sukhwinder & Vikramjit (2018), This study examines the substantial differences between online and offline customer groups in terms of demographics, technological preferences, accessibility, and consumer attitudes. The paper also focuses on the elements that cause consumers to migrate from offline to online and online to offline buying are examined. The study also analyses if customer qualification has an impact on traditional and online purchases.
   The Moga region in Punjab has been the site of the study. The target audience for this study consists of students, workers, and homeowners with a sample size of 40 respondents.
   A survey was conducted to compare online & offline shopping with the help of questionnaire to interview the respondents. Pre-testing of the questionnaire, usage of research instruments for data collecting, and statistical tools are used for data analysis.
   The aggregate findings demonstrate that respondents had a favourable opinion of internet purchasing. This amply supports the nation’s projected expansion in internet commerce. Online purchasing is still not very common in the nation, though. Consumer groups appreciate the outdoor shopping experience for social purposes, such as getting together with mates, and have time to spend in traditional stores and malls. These customers appear to be better informed since they research products online before making purchases in physical places.
   It was also found that ladies purchase more frequently than men do on the internet, therefore online retailers should pay greater attention to the female market.
   It was also seen that according to internet users’ demographic characteristics, gender, age, and education are significantly related to web buying in the context of contemporary India.
   The researchers add, the study’s significant characteristics and aspects may be used by online retail companies to create their country-specific strategies and goals.
   
   Rick L. Andrews Ourso and Imran S. Currim (2004), used real decision data from an online supermarket and traditional scanner panel data to evaluate behavioural differences between people drawn to online shopping and traditional supermarket shopping. According to the study, internet shoppers have greater choice set effects than traditional grocery shoppers do, prefer larger sizes over smaller sizes, screen more products based on brand names than on sizes.
   
   
   Askalidis & Malthouse (2016), Examine the impact of the number of customer reviews on people who are exploring a product page’s likely to make a purchase. The study investigates how conversion rates fluctuate with the quantity of reviews, the exponential learning curve model has been used in this study.
   The distinction between possessing no reviews and having an unlimited amount in terms of conversion rate has also been studied.
   Methodss
   And Conclusion.

IV) Results and Discussion

Using specific criteria, a comparison of online and offline purchases is made:

1. Convenience: Online stores are accessible around-the-clock, and customers may choose to have their purchases delivered to their homes or any chosen address. Another advantage of making purchases online is that online shoppers are not required to travel far to a physical store, contend with other shoppers during busy holiday seasons, or struggle to locate adequate parking for their automobiles, as they would when making an offline purchase. So a customer may order any electronics or some clothing in the middle of the night. This is one of the main factors contributing to the prevalence of internet purchasing.
2. Variety: An online shop is a customer’s delight (Sarkar & Das, 2017). Online stores provide a wide variety of products at the same platform since they are not constrained by a lack of space. Consumers now have a wide range of options, something that was not possible before the invention of this technology. No traditional store can provide the same level of choice in several product categories as an internet store.
3. Tangibility and Trialability: Tangibles are described as features of a service that may be “felt” without paying for it. Businesses use tangibles, or the “seen” parts of the service, to increase external consumer satisfaction (Panda & Das, 2014).
   Studies show that when service quality dimensions; tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy are positively applied, it usually results to customers being satisfied (Parasuraman et.al 1988; Gronroos, 1984).
   Customers may physically interact with products in brick-and-mortar storefronts, get a first-hand demonstration of them, and in the case of apparel, try them on before making a purchase.
   Online portals, on the other hand, simply provide clients with product images and description, which may not always be adequate for making an informed purchase.
   This is one area where traditional retailers will always have an advantage over internet competitors.
4. Customer review: After a consumer buys a product from an online retailer, the retailer asks them to post their experiences with the product on a portal so that other buyers may read them and make their own decisions about whether to buy it or not. This allows customers to choose the finest items on their own. This advantage of internet buying is that it allows potential buyers to learn about a product’s performance from a user similar to themselves before actually purchasing it.
   Askalidis & Malthouse (2016), present compelling support for the positive utility of reviews, i.e., the causal relationship between the presence of reviews and customers likely to make a purchase. This was is conducted without making any assumptions about the content of the reviews.
5. Comparison shopping: Before making a purchase, shoppers want to visit several stores. When buying online, we may quickly access a variety of e-commerce platforms and compare the items there. Customers can choose to buy from a certain website based on the comparison and best bargain offered.
   When shopping offline, this entails physically visiting each store to view the merchandise. That takes a lot of time and is physically draining.
6. Discounts: A price reduction is a fairly common marketing tactic to draw customers by offering an added benefit or incentive, which motivates them to buy the offered items right away (Yin and Huang 2014). Online retailers may provide goods and services at significant savings compared to their traditional brick and mortar peers since they don’t need to invest in expensive store decorating, hire a big number of salespeople, or use a middleman. This is one of the main factors driving customers, particularly young people, to shop online.
7. Shopping experience: Shopping involves more than just making a purchase and going through the motions. It may be really fun to browse things, feel their colours and textures, and generally enjoy the purchasing process.
   In addition, shopping is seen as a family activity in India, with the whole family going out together on weekends or holidays to buy goods, watch movies, and eat at a restaurant. Family gatherings that would not normally be feasible due to the family members’ busy work schedules may now practically take place on weekends and holidays (Sarkar & Das, 2017). Similar experiences cannot be provided by online shopping. Online stores may make it easier for you to buy things, but they can’t replace the feeling of spending quality time with your loved ones.

V) Conclusion:
Based on the literature reviewed above, it can be seen that there are notable disparities between consumers’ shopping preferences for online and offline outlets. Even while internet sales in India have increased quickly and are expected to continue to expand, the majority of Indian shoppers still favour the so-called “genuine” shopping experience provided by brick and mortar stores. According to various research, young people are mostly driving India’s remarkable development story in online purchasing.
Without a doubt, the rise of online purchasing has negatively impacted offline retailers. The e-tailers’ bottom lines have undergone significant strain due to the significant discounts they have offered.
Retailers are attempting to maintain a presence in both offline and online channels in order to meet the expectations of the largest possible client base as the idea of omni-channel strategy has begun to take centre stage.