Shoppers Prefer Online to Offline!

The first time I became really aware of my preference for online shopping vs. offline was the day our popcorn popper died about 4 years ago. Thinking that this was a simple item to replace, I stopped in at my local Target store to pick one up. We're probably old-fashioned around here, but we like our popcorn popped with heat and oil (olive oil, that is). None of this air popping stuff for us!

When Target didn't have what we were looking for, I headed over to Walmart to see if they had a popcorn popper that would work for us. No such luck!

My last stop, K-mart, didn't yield any better results.

So now, frustrated at having to drive around, visit stores I hate to go into (Walmart and K-mart) and wasting a bunch of time trying to get something super simple, I realized that I could probably have just ordered it online. When I got home, I checked - and sure enough - Amazon.com had just what I was looking for.

This scenario has repeated itself a few times in our lives, when we've thought that stopping at the local store might be faster and easier than ordering online, only to find the store sold out of what we want - or not stocking it in the first place.

That's why I wasn't surprised when I read the results of the latest American Consumer Satisfaction Index that was released today. It shows that American shoppers gave online retailing a score of 80 out of 100, compared with 74.4 for offline retailers.

Because of the ability to offer vast selection - far more so than any physical store can - selling your products online helps you meet the needs of today's shoppers. Brick-and-mortar businesses who don't get with the trend and add an online component to their business - soon - are going to be in for a surprise. That's why I'm telling all my clients - "get on the Web now!"