The Existence of Bricks and Motors in the Face of Technology

Brick and motor shops are shopping locations that have a physical space that a buyer must access in order to make a transaction. During the purchase, the buyer and the vendor are bound to communicate. That is the inverse of internet retailers, in which consumers access an e-commerce portal and make transactions using e-payments or their debit or visa cards. The relationship between the client and the vendor is limited or non-existent in the latter. Amazon, the most famous e-commerce platform, is one example. Many physical stores have decided to move their businesses online, some closing their physical addresses entirely while for others they coexist, after seeing their sales diminish each year. An example is Wal-Mart which announced plans to reduce its stores though investing highly in the expansion. Brick and motor stores increased their revenues at only three percent annually compared to online stores which saw their sales increase by more than fifteen percent annually (Kucuk and Sandeep 49). This paper seeks to explore and explain how this is possible irrespective of the apparent handicap.

For others such as small scale retailers, they cannot be able to move online thus have to retain their physical stores to avoid overstretching themselves. It makes more economic sense for some retailers to maintain their size because of various reasons such as retaining control. Most sales still occur at brick and motor stores though they are slowly losing out. The internet and its portability, in that even mobile phones have the internet, has made it easy for online stores to crop up. It is quite puzzling that even though facing this stiff competition some retailers have managed to stay afloat and have maintained a steady income as though they are unaffected by the digital shopping craze.

Brick and motor stores that have managed to stay afloat even after intense competition from internet retailers since the older generations, the baby boomers and Generation X, still like to feel products and test them before they can make purchases. It has worked for physical stores as they give their customers an opportunity to do so. These generations have, therefore, formed a loyal customer base for these stores which has allowed them to survive even against the intense competition. It is unlike the young people, millennials, who spend most of their free time online and tend to make purchases for their clothes and devices online (Hays et al. 233). However, not all millennials do their shopping online. Some are still skeptical about these internet retailers and still prefer to make purchases physically. There is also an argument that millennials only carry out research online but make purchases at physical stores. The immediate possession of a product also serves as an appeal to other buyers. There is no waiting once a purchase is made in a brick and motor store as one assumes possession immediately. One can determine the quality of the product in question even during purchase. Online stores will require that one pays extra shipping fee if the product is urgently needed. This fee ultimately increases the cost of a product.

Another reason is that retailers who make it worthwhile to customers, that is giving them an experience not just shopping for service products cannot be replaced easily by online stores. (Gary). Consumers must pay a visit to their locations to get their hair and nails done, to watch a movie, get a haircut, fitness and health centers such as gyms, art galleries, restaurants are all service oriented products that people can only enjoy by visiting brick and motor stores. Departmental store owners have discovered that offering consumers experience entailing human interaction will attract shoppers from their places of trade even for goods (Arnaudovska 2017). Examples of this are sporting gear vendors who offer their customers a test drive feeling such as wall climbing and various sports simulators. Others give free samples, allow social gatherings, and offer free nibbles. Grocery stores which enable customers to enjoy a meal and a drink before purchase besides there being house appliance stores which allow customers to test the devices or offer lessons on how to use them such as cooking lessons have all had success attracting buyers to their stores. Some parents especially mothers take shopping as a way of bonding with their children. They will take them for shopping to compensate for the time they spend with babysitters.

Zhang states that physical stores tend to invoke impulse buying, unlike online stores. More than 40% of shoppers spend more money than they had budgeted in physical stores compared to 25% online shoppers (223). When customers get exposed to a shopping environment, they tend to make more impulse purchases. These settings present to them in these stores rather than the internet. When in stores that interaction with a product creates a need to buy it more than online stores do. For online stores, people will overly examine a product to make sure that it suits them and their needs the best. Retail outlets serve as walking billboards where people can walk in, see a product, feel it, touch and even try it on (Kucuk and Sandeep 52) which serves as motivation to purchase this product. It might be one reason why big online stalls are opening physical locations, even for some which started off as online stores and are making huge profits like Amazon. It announced plans to open an extension in November at Seattle, a bookstore though it can attribute its rise to replacing the traditional brick and motor stores. Others include clothes retailers such as Bonobos.

Brick and motor stores also have an advantage, which manifests by pulling customers through being dependable to them by acknowledging customer loyalty and having simple return policies (Gary). Sellers will offer goods on credit to people they know which encourage people to make purchases even when they can be able to pay in anticipation of a day that they may not have money on them. For online stores, identifying credit worth customers is tough. When deciding to buy goods, customers tend to make purchases with the knowledge that they can return them if they do not satisfy them. An illustration of this is that parents can buy their children clothes in absentia on condition that if the clothes do not fit them. They can come back to the store and return them, especially for those with an easy and safe return policy (Zhang 227). Electronics with warranties fall under this too. People will easily trust a physical stall to fulfill its warranty commitments since one is only required to present the device and a document showing the validity of its warranty, more than online stores which represent quite a process or may even require you to visit a manufacturer’s service center. It means that a lasting relationship develops between the customer and dealer which results in repeat buying.

High-value goods such as jewelry also foster existence of brick and motor stores. Buyers are not willing to pay large amounts online without inspecting their products when purchasing these products referred to as goods of ostentation (Hays et al. 226). These customers some who buy these products as collectors do have authenticators. For those buying such for a special occasion or special days such as weddings, they need a personal touch such as their names or at least initials inscribed onto their rings, or necklaces when they intend it as a gift to loved ones. With there being so many dishonest people online waiting to take advantage, skepticism arises as one is afraid to send large sums of money to people one has no direct contact. Some unscrupulous people pose as agents of credible online sites and are paid, for customers to later realize they got conned.Buyers are also skeptical about products that they can only see pictures of, but its existence is not a guarantee. (Arnaudovska) In physical stores, one can quickly verify authenticity and can trust that the vendor will sell an original piece since one can return it if otherwise, and since these kinds of businesses are faith based, the provider is compelled to sell actual products. Fraud in physical stores is also very minimal compared to online stores since it relies upon a pay as you purchase policy. The fact that one gets assistance from a knowledgeable person serves as motivation enough to make a purchase (Kucuk and Sandeep 56).

Window shopping also serves as an appeal to some consumers (Gary). They like to view various options before making a purchase. Online stores do have a variety of products to choose from, but they lack a strong appeal. By visiting physical stores, the staff convinces a customer that they need a product even though it sometimes may not fulfill their needs adequately. The sales team will demonstrate to a customer how to use a product and if it has other complementary uses. The fact that one gets assistance from a knowledgeable person serves as motivation enough to make a purchase (Kucuk and Sandeep 56). One-on-one interactions serve to boost sales and customer satisfaction. It is a simple fact that they do not have to read a manual to learn how to use a product or connect a device but the store workers explain it to them. Eighty percent of customers could pay higher for a product if they got pleased by a stores customer service. After sales services offered by the staff of a retail store will also boost loyalty. Stores also can put appealing banners which will serve to attract customers.

In conclusion, the paper has shown that there is still a place for brick and motor retail stores even in the face of a digital take over. Online stores have also made this realization which begun trade as purely online and has slowly started opening physical stores to complement their sites. Consumers will always have different consumption patterns and different beliefs hence there will always be a place for physical stores. Experiential retailing is the one thing that online stores will never offer thus brick and motor retail outlet owners should concentrate on reinventing this departmental stores to have the feel they once had of being the ultimate place for meet-ups and socializing spots. They should offer customers better value, not just inventory. They can achieve this by ensuring personnel have excellent communication skills and are very friendly which will make such stores home to many people. To remain competitive, they also need to set up sites and realize that to stay relevant in business they need the brick and motor store to co-exist together with an online site.

Works Cited

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Hays, Tom, Pınar Keskinocak, and Virginia Malcome De López. “Strategies and challenges of internet grocery retailing logistics.”Applications of Supply Chain Management and E-Commerce ...“. Springer US. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. Springer US, 2005. 217-252.

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Lee, Gary. “Is the Death of Brick-and-Mortar Retail a Myth?” Entrepreneur. N.p., 08 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.

Zhang, Jie. “Comparing Consumer Purchase Behavior on the Internet and in Brick-and-Mortar Stores.” Internet Marketing Research (2007): 218-30. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.