In the modern era, where technology has become a critical component in everything, we tend to overlook the impact of the internet on shopping. Rather, shopping was most tedious in the past, as we had to go to brick-and-mortar stores to get goods. Due to e-commerce, the whole shopping activity can now be accomplished without resorting to more than a few clicks. Such a change in consumer behavior has resulted in a drastic evolution in the retail sector, where physical retailers are faced with a lot of challenges owing to online shops. In this article we will discuss about the rise of e-commerce and how it is changing the retail landscape.

E-commerce or electronic commerce is categorized under two purchasing and selling goods and services, but over the web. Now, from big companies, to small businesses, every sort of business has set its footprint online. This has allowed the companies to promote their products to a wider range of potential customers which in turn has helped them grow their sales and revenue. According to Statista Report, Global e-commerce sales have seen an exponential increase and are expected to surpass $4.9 trillion by the year 2021.

Launched only a couple of decades ago as just an addition to traditional shopping, e-commerce has quickly turned into a multi-trillion dollar industry in the last decade, and its market share continues to grow every year. There are a lot of reasons to rejoice in this market, as it is reshaping itself to meet consumer’s needs at an unparalleled pace through technological innovations. One of the main reasons for its rapid expansion is a busy lifestyle, people opt for e-commerce instead of visiting the physical stores because it is more time saving by cutting off travel time, waiting in lines and yes even pre-making the purchases if they are in great demand. E-commerce allows customers to shop whenever they want, but e-commerce’s success doesn’t stop there, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to a massive amount of variety available for consumers without the need to visit several physical stores which would have many different things, goods can also sell a great deal more than in offline stores.

To complete the aforementioned picture, we also have to mention the biggest technological advancement of mankind so far, the smartphone. Around 400 million units are sold every year, and that directly translates to the majority of consumers owning at least one. It for sure helped in taking the e-commerce industry to new heights, as people are able to shop whenever they want even if they’re in different parts of the world thanks to the internet connection. The increase in mobile apps and mobile website compatibility also had an impact on the operations of the e-commerce industry. All in all, it directly resulted in impulsive buying skyrocketing in the past couple of years as it was easier and more convenient to do so.

The e-commerce giant has grown to become one of the world’s most important players in e-commerce. With a variety of products available, affordable fees, and rapid shipping, Amazon has raised the standard of online shopping. This forced conventional retailers to raise their game and provide their clients with improved service. Not wanting to lose out on the competition posed by e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon, many physical retailers have begun developing online stores.

Owing to the expanding e-commerce, new markets also opened for small businesses and individual sellers. There were fewer startup obstacles for entrepreneurs, they could just create a web page without setting up a brick and mortar shop with the help of Etsy, eBay, or Shopify. As a result, this created a surplus in competition thus forcing firms to create competitive products and services.

E-commerce is probably one of the strongest components of contemporary economy, however it doesn’t seem to appeal to traditional brick and mortar stores. We have seen that with the advancement of online shopping many brick and mortar shops went out of business. Credit Suisse in a research reports indicates that there gonna be a 25% decrease in the number of malls in US by the year 2022. And this has also affected the economy and the job market as most of the retail jobs have been taken over by warehousing and delivery jobs.

When the e-commerce took center stage, it knocked the supply chain and logistics sectors out of balance. Businesses are able to meet the demand of online shoppers, but dispatching the products in a timely manner has become the hurdle for many. As a consequence in the recent years, the use of drones and other robotics has been witnessed during the delivery. Companies are also looking into warehouse automation for easier, quicker picking and packing processes.

Throughout the paper, it has become clear that the alignment shift caused by e commerce revolutionized the concept of retail. It is no surprise that consumers have turned to it, due to its easy access, variety of products offered and lowered prices. But traditional retailers have nothing to be afraid of as there will be a need for shops where people will be able to go in contact with the product and physically examine it effectively until they are ready to make the purchase. The most important thing is to find the right mix between online and offline shopping and to make the shopping experience for the customer as comfortable as possible. One way or another, ecommerce is going to be there and it will for sure be an integral part of the future of retail.