It has been now almost 3 weeks since I have come to Seattle in the U.S.A, I observed an interesting way they shop here.If it is groceries they have fantastic malls here, well organized, where people are seen shopping for their daily needs.They have Indian malls too which cater to Indian spices,grains and vegetables etc.Though of course the Indian malls do not hold the same grandeur as the ones that are local to the place.By grandeur I mean, organization, branding to food items, category-wise and the clutter is missing.
But when it comes to shopping for clothes, electronic goods, books, medicines and many such items. the people shop here online.If you check out their online shopping malls and marts you will realize it has been so well marketed that you would want to shop online.The goods bought online are delivered to your home by the UPS or FedEx service.So when I wanted to check for a laptop bag or coat or a skirt or any accessories I was told Google it!
Even if you want to go shopping offline, the culture here is to first check the product online, in case you need to see categories or varieties.The shops therefore are not crowded, More people are buying things online (well that is my hypothesis).
What caught my attention, is that in India we are so suspicious of online shopping, we want to touch and feel the product before buying it, so we all run to the shops to buy, wasting time traveling and crowding shops, but here the reassurance of online shopping is amazing, which shows a lot of hard work must have been done on the part of marketing and public relations departments.
Is this just a cultural thing or a trend that can be changed in India?
But when it comes to shopping for clothes, electronic goods, books, medicines and many such items. the people shop here online.If you check out their online shopping malls and marts you will realize it has been so well marketed that you would want to shop online.The goods bought online are delivered to your home by the UPS or FedEx service.So when I wanted to check for a laptop bag or coat or a skirt or any accessories I was told Google it!
Even if you want to go shopping offline, the culture here is to first check the product online, in case you need to see categories or varieties.The shops therefore are not crowded, More people are buying things online (well that is my hypothesis).
What caught my attention, is that in India we are so suspicious of online shopping, we want to touch and feel the product before buying it, so we all run to the shops to buy, wasting time traveling and crowding shops, but here the reassurance of online shopping is amazing, which shows a lot of hard work must have been done on the part of marketing and public relations departments.
Is this just a cultural thing or a trend that can be changed in India?
Almas M - the first and foremost- here you can return most things you didn't like or don't need after ordering unless specified of no return policy. In fact, whenever you buy anything, the salesperson will specifically tell you the return period for the product.
ReplyDeleteand if you go into malls, you'll see their work is pretty solid even in physical displays compared to what we see back home...
and shopping is shopping... i've seen most people here still go out and get stuff they need... yeah, but you're right about them checking out stuff before purchase... people here cannot survive without the internet shopping!
and one more thing... more and more... people are checking out stuff on their iPhone apps compared to sitting on a laptop or pc...