Behind The Glass: Courtesy Flickr

Its happening more than ever. Customers have stopped going to high streets to shop on weekends; kids would rather rent movies online;even pensioners have been given their online PINs to operate their accounts from home.

You’d say whats wrong with little convenience. Life’s getting ever busier. But let me take a step back to look closer.

I dn’t have problems with consumers shopping online,or, researching about their next buy via Kaboodle or Amazon. I have issues with businesses hiding behind that glass wall that’s getting ever thicker.

A typical ’smart’ company generally has a slick website, a blog, a number of Twitter accounts, Facebook fan pages, article accounts in at least 5 top directories, YouTube account ( if video marketing is relevant for them)…and the list goes on. And ya did I forget LinkedIn and Ecademy? If I visit this site with an intention to buy somthing, I rely upon their version of the product info that they want to give me, not mine. I can’t ask a question without waiting for several hours or days for an email reply. Sometimes the info is brief, often overwhelming.

When I walk into my local Curry’s store I expect at least a couple of annoying sales people approach me every five minutes. But, at least I have an option, a physical presence to ask for help if I am stuck. Or, may be just discuss why 5 MP camera is enough for my needs, or, the blue ray is actually not that cool. This is amiss on a website, generally. Even the most interactive CMS driven dynamic site can’t replicate the physical experience of window-shopping and then buying. Some say that’s not paramount for a great buying experience online. Some say its actually impossible to imitate that.

But I want to explore products before buying and get the seller’s opinion, dn’t you?

I have no interest in knowing who owns Curry’s, but I do remember the sales guy Tom who showed me around. Is that a bad thing ?

Try refunding stuff you bought online. Nightmare! Lot of buyers end up bearing the return postage. Is it not better to walk up your to local Next store and do it over the counter, no hassles?

I will be the last person on earth to be advocating offline shopping to online. I am fed-up of e-tailers and other online businesses who try to robotise and automate their business for minimal human intervention. People buy people not products.

Where do you say rests a fine balance? Do you know of any examples where the glass wall is thinner or may be with a large window? Why do you think we love high-street shopping? Will it be dead eventually?

Lets hear it.

Best,

Hersh