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Physical retail and online retail are two different sales channels, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Many retailers are now faced with the question of whether it is still worth investing in traditional local retail.
Facts and figures at a glance
Physical retail:
Physical retail refers to the sale of goods in brick-and-mortar stores. According to Statista, the turnover of the German retail trade in 2020 was around 560 billion euros. Physical retail offers customers the opportunity to touch, try and take products with them before they buy them. Customers can get personal advice and have direct contact with salespeople. Physical retail involves the cost of renting or owning store space, and often involves staff.
online shops:
Online shops enable the sale of goods over the Internet. According to Statista, sales in the German e-commerce market amounted to around 83.3 billion euros in 2020. Online trading offers customers the convenience of shopping from home, around the clock. Customers have access to a wide range of products from different categories and can easily compare prices. Customers often have to wait for a delivery and do not have direct physical contact with the products before purchasing them. Online stores require investments in website development and maintenance, logistics and customer service.
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated e-commerce around the world as many people have increased their online shopping due to lockdowns and restrictions. However, physical retail continues to have a strong presence, offering a shopping experience that online stores cannot replicate. Retailers therefore often use a combination of physical and online commerce to take advantage of both channels. This is referred to as an “omni-channel strategy”.
The basic structure of an online trade is often comparatively cheap. offers like that Online shop creation of primaprofi.de make it possible, for example, to quickly and easily integrate professional shop systems into a website.
What does the future hold?
What does the future hold?
Future experts have different opinions and forecasts about how physical retail and online shops will develop in the future:
Many believe that seamless integration of physical retail and online commerce is crucial. Businesses should adopt an omnichannel strategy that allows customers to shop across multiple channels, e.g. B. Ordering online with in-store pickup or returning online purchases to the store. The future of retail is also expected to be more focused on personalized customer experiences. By using technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, companies can better understand the shopping behavior and preferences of customers and make more individual offers and recommendations. It is also expected that the use of technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and Internet of Things (IoT) will increase in retail. These technologies can enhance the shopping experience by enabling virtual try-ons, interactive product presentations, and personalized recommendations. Consumers are increasingly attaching importance to sustainability and social responsibility. Experts therefore predict that retailers who adopt eco-friendly practices and offer ethically made products will have a competitive advantage. This can be relevant in both physical retail and online shops. With the increasing spread of smartphones and mobile devices, mobile commerce is expected to continue to gain in importance. According to a survey by the digital association Bitkom from 2021, 85 percent of German Internet users said they had already made purchases with their smartphone. It can be expected that more consumers will make their purchases via mobile apps and websites, which requires an optimized mobile user experience. Published by: ARKM Central Editors