It has been predicted that local commerce will be much bigger than e-commerce. But what exactly is local commerce? Local commerce is the most recent retail vertical in which the consumer uses a combination of mixed marketing to complete a purchase in which the process typically begins from the internet or business’s website. In the shifting market, we are now seeing a new wave of mixed or local commerce beginning to trend. For example, a customer may find a restaurant with high ratings or reviews on the internet as a result of a strong internet marketing campaign pushed by the business and will then order their dinner. Now the customer is not going to be able to eat food over the internet so they will then travel to the brick and mortar location to pick up their meal. Thus creating a new form of commerce.
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Smaller, mom & pop shops are able to increase brand awareness and launch full, effective marketing campaigns to increase not only increase online traffic, but also general foot traffic. Large chains have converted backrooms of brick and mortar locations to smaller warehouses. This has assisted in lowering operating costs. Certain industries are beginning to struggle to compete with online shopping. Brick and mortar stores are unable to offer the competitive prices that can be found on the internet as a result of high overhead costs. In a technology fueled society, clothes, electronics, and even services are able to be purchased from the comfort of one’s home at heavily discounted prices.
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There is quite the buzz from Amazon due to their recently established service, Amazon Prime Air which is predicted to be launched in early 2015. Amazon is now prominent for its drone initiation. Consumers will be able to order a product in the luxury of their home or office and the delivery service will use unmanned aerial vehicles in order to get the product to the customer within 30 minutes of purchasing. With new innovations such as Amazon Prime Air, there is less of a need for brick and mortar retail stores and a greater convenience to shop from home.
When it is stated or predicted that eventually brick and mortar stores will be tuned out, this is completely false. There will always be a demand for brick and mortar locations. Certain industries will always require brick and mortar locations. For example, people do not necessarily want to order clothing online if they are unsure of their size, the fit, or overall quality of the garment. Some insist on visiting the store in order to try the clothing on in order to avoid returning products later on. Also, consumers who are purchasing a service may want to physically visit a location in order to perform the proper due diligence on a company. This often is the case with attorneys or law firms. Restaurants and retail stores including many clothing stores are now finding more success operating as a hybrid. The “path to purchase” continues to evolve and businesses are developing innovative verticals.
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