The controversy of e-commerce: Damaging or improving the economy?

Note: A record-breaking 30.8 billion U.S. dollars of revenue was generated on this year's Singles Day. Many people are wondering if offline retailers will still exist in the future or if it will be completely replaced by online shops. Is the traditional way of shopping losing its flare against online shopping? Peter Chi, a research fellow at the National Image Research Center of Tsinghua University and CEO of Beijing Lucky Earth International Culture Co., Ltd shared his opinions on this issue in his article The controversy of e-commerce: Damaging or improving the economy?

The full text of the article is as follows:

A record-breaking 30.8 billion U.S. dollars of revenue was generated on this year's Singles Day.

People in China celebrate Singles Day (or double eleven), on November 11 each year. It originated from Nanjing University in the 1990s, where people celebrate their single life on this particular day, but since 2009 it has developed into the biggest e-commerce shopping day in the world.

Black Friday in the U.S., is the second day after Thanksgiving and has marked the beginning of the Christmas shopping season since the 1950s.

Shops and retailers open very early on this day and offer big discounts for their customers. So, is the traditional way of shopping losing its flare against online shopping?

Statistics have shown that millions of people across the world still enjoy going shopping in person and are prepared to wait in queues for hours to get the best deals.

E-commerce can be seen as a competitor for retailers or as an opportunity. With our fast-changing society, it is necessary to keep up with the latest technology and trends. Opening up an online shop only has advantages and it increases sales volumes tremendously.

It adds another sales channel to your shop and the maintenance costs are much lower than a physical store. As Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group has said, 'It's all about how to innovate online and offline to a whole digitalized commercial world.''

With the closure of big retailers around the world, like House of Fraser, Sears and Toys R Us, many people are wondering if offline retailers will still exist in the future or if it will be completely replaced by online shops.

One of the biggest problems offline retailers face are rising costs in rent, workforce, and competition. And with the closure of these big retailers, unemployment has become a big issue, as thousands of jobs are going to be lost.

Even with these obstacles, offline retailers are still having some advantage over their online competitors. The shopping experience and the advice from staff that customers can get are more personal and satisfying than buying goods online.

Also, if there are any problems with the purchased item the customers can go back to the store to change the item or refund their money.

Many retailers are trying to be innovative and lure their customers with creative interior design or store-only items, to increase the number of visitors. Big department stores are adding art exhibitions, playgrounds, and many more entertainment features to make the customers feel comfortable and happy.

Retailers have to be more innovative and increase the shopping experience for the customers, otherwise, people will lose their interest in going outside and just stay at home for shopping.

But online shopping has its disadvantages as well, for example, the problem of high shipping costs in the west, and the threat of fake or counterfeited goods in the east. For more expensive items, especially luxury goods, people tend to go to retail stores, as they worry about fake goods on the Internet.

To summarize, e-commerce is important and many retailers have to adapt and open an online shop along with their offline locations. There are many advantages like the shopping experience, which e-commerce cannot replace yet, but with the development of VR and AI, virtual shopping might not be too far away.