Interviews with Consumers

The traditional retail experience is lost by the rise of technology and online shopping (Li et al., 1999). Shopping in stores was once a communal activity: walking in stores, interacting with other individuals, being able to feel the product and trying the product on (Monsuwe et al., 2004, p.115). There are many consumers who still prefer shopping in store and enjoy the shopping experience as opposed to shopping alone at home starring at a screen (Barnes, 2013). Technology should aid the shopping experience online, but there are still many concerns, uncertainties and risks that are involved in the process of buying online.

In recent interviews conducted with five target audience members who all shop the Target brand on average once per week, all but one was a Red Card credit card holder. The fifth participant shopped at Target as often as the others, both online and retail, but cited not wanting another credit card as the reason for not having a Red Card. The other four interviewees were all familiar with the 5 percent discount on all purchases, free online shipping with no minimum purchase, and easy in-store returns. One also like the 5 percent donation Target makes to local schools of choice. None mentioned the 5 percent off for one day of shopping for every two prescriptions filled as incentive. Three of the five interviewed said that Target was their online retailer of choice, compared to the other two who stated Amazon as their preference. When asked what improvements, if any, could be made to better service customer needs, all interviewees who offered an answer mentioned website reliability and slowness as areas of concern. Due to these concerns, none participated in designer releases, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday during the past year. Of those interviewed, on average, 12 percent of their total Target shopping was done online vs. 88 percent in store. Once also stated that she would like the ability to make online purchases through the Cartwheel app.

Online commerce was introduced to consumers in the mid-1990’s, and in the years since, it has grown exponentially. It started out virtually nonexistent and has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Nearly every retail sector has entered online commerce; clothing, electronics, home, health and grooming items, even food and groceries are starting to gain traction online. Online commerce sites rival traditional brick and mortar stores such as Walmart and Target, as well as other big-box stores. As online retailers such as Amazon continue to expand, many brick and mortar stores have been making their way online, indicative of an increasing movement towards online commerce. With more than 80% of the online population having made an online

Among the trends in grocery sales is the rise and availability of digital consumerism, particularly among the youngest generations of shoppers. According to analysts, “one-quarter of online respondents say they order grocery products online, and more than half (55%) are willing to do so in the future.”This trend is attributed to the “growth of online grocery shopping is

Barnes & Noble is a key player in the Book Retail Industry. This mature industry has been experiencing slow growth over the last several years, much slower than overall retail sales. Barriers to entry into this industry are quite high, and suppliers have modest influence over booksellers. The introduction of the Internet has brought about many changes to this industry. It has increased rivalry, buyer power, and substitutes. Spending time "surfing the net" is one of many substitutes to reading books nowadays. Other technological advances, such as VCR 's and video games, have replaced time otherwise spent reading. Buyers have greater influence over the industry, because they

Life has become very convenient for the consumer: thanks to e-commerce you can now choose and purchase almost anything – from books and films to clothing and airline tickets – from the comfort of your home computer. This approach to shopping has grown dramatically in Germany in recent years. In 2000, e-commerce accounted for sales worth EUR 2.5 billion; for 2014 the forecast is for turnover of EUR 33 billion.  A current study showed that nine out of ten German internet users across all age groups shop online. Internet consumers buy mainly books, shoes and clothing, but other online purchases include tickets for events and entertainment media such as CDs and DVDs. The social aspect of e-commerce is also interesting: almost three quarters of internet users read the opinions of other customers and over one third leave feedback of their own. (www.alumniportal-deutschland.org)

First, Harry evaluated the used textbook industry and was astonished to how severely they cut into profits and market shares. The feature to buy and sell used textbooks online appeals to college students and demonstrates traditional publishers cannot compete effectively due to the substantial discount. Lindsol examined rental textbooks and found many students find it easier to rent textbooks from third parties to save money on their college textbook expenses. Companies tried to retaliate against used and rental textbooks by frequently updating editions of the book to keep with the industry itself. However publishers encountered another issue that lead to international editions of books. Students may find international editions for a much cheaper price with the almost identical content manufactured with cheaper materials. Amazon and Apple released items and applications, the Kindle Fire and iBooks, which allowed readers to download digital copies on their electronic devices. Lindsol became aware of the potential competitors in the textbook industry and weighed the advantages and disadvantages of an eBook

The Internet has changed the way we do virtually everything, including the way we shop. However, shopping is not the only thing that has changed. In the last decade we have changed the way, we apply for loans, study, and even plan a vacation. Doing any of these things would have been impossible a few decades ago. At present, online banking, paying bills, ordering new services, and shopping online have become part of our daily lives. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores have been around much longer than online stores, but we cannot deny that online shopping is giving the traditional stores competition. Many consumers still choose to shop at regular brick-and-mortar stores because they like to see and

Social factors: People's lifestyle is changing. In recent years, more and more people prefer to shop online. Mintel (2015) demonstrated that approximately 70% of Americans would shop online regularly, especially in the 20-34 age group. In addition, recently,

drive to a bookstore, purchase the book and maneuver back home, or wait for an online acquisition of a bound book to be delivered. True book collectors want a hard copy in their hand, while avid devotees require the “book at hand” instantaneously. Are E-books on their way out, or soaring toward domination? According to Emma Cueto, “Both products have relative benefits and drawbacks and both have people who enjoy them”.

Unfortunately, due to the rise of Internet usage, many of Best Buy’s customers have turned to online retailers for their consumer electronic needs (i.e. Amazon). A study by ClickIQ revealed that 29% of respondents to a smartphone research survey looked at product in stores before purchasing online. With Best Buy opening many new mobile stores, they should prepare accordingly with online accompaniments to these stores with the opportunity of the Internet. The increase in digital content will in turn provide top-line growth for Best Buy.

The idea behind this study is of great significance because e-commerce (online shopping) has grown tremendously since the turn of the century. It has shaped the way people do shopping for the most part.

The seller of digital textbooks will also be saving money over producing hard copies. 32% of the cost allocated to paper, printing and editorial can be completely eliminated along with 22.4% of costs related to bookstore operations and personnel. Bookstores as we know them could become obsolete or transformed into stores that sell tablets, e-readers and software packages on campus. Publishers or sellers will now be able to tap into a more global market with electronic textbooks as the information can be translated into many languages quickly.

The traditional retail market has been transformed by technological advances. The internet today has allowed consumers to purchase various products from home ranging from apparel to groceries. The online shopping market has grown significantly within the past decade, leading to many online e-commerce startups such as Amazon, eBay, and mobile start-ups such as Instacart. While e-commerce provides convenience for shopping, it has created major disruption to the traditional shopping industries. Traditional retailers have since faced bankruptcy due to their inability to compete with such start-ups. The traditional American toy store, Toys R Us, announced its state of bankruptcy just last month due to a significant decline in sales. More and more consumers are turning to online giants such as Amazon to purchase daily items as a result of convenience. According to the Washington Post, Toys R Us is just one of more than 300 retailers to file for bankruptcy this year, as Americans ditch the shopping mall in favor of their laptops, smartphones, and tablets (Bhattarai, 2017). Shopping which used to require walking or a vehicle trip to stores is no longer required for consumers with online shopping. Online shopping has appealed to consumers worldwide by encompassing the business aspect of service convenience which constitute saving time and/or effort (Jiang, Yang, and Jun, 2012). For consumers whom have busy lives and those whom are physically disabled, online shopping is a positive

Lots of reason could be discussed in this regard. For most of the marketers, it is hard to understand, predict explain consumer behaviors because consumer’s needs are not fixed. Consumer’s needs changed with the passage of time, so marketers have to do a continuous struggle to understand the consumer’s needs. So change in consumer’s behaviors cause a change in consumer’s behavior that is why it is difficult for marketers to understand, predict and explain consumer’s behavior. Change in economy is another reason because a change in economy also cause change in consumer’s behavior. The buying ability is greatly impacted by the change in economy so it becomes difficult for marketers to understand, predict and explain consumer’s behavior. Change in innovations and technologies are also an important reason because technologies and innovation impact the consumers in many ways due to which consumer’s behaviors also get changed.