Online shopping has become extremely popular in recent years. The same can also be said for Singapore. In fact, Singapore shoppers spend more online than their Asian counterparts. Research has also predicted an increase in Singaporean online shoppers. Since online shopping is such a lucrative business, it will not be too far-fetched to say that an increasing number of store owners will start to set up online stores.
Our group feels that the boom in online shopping was brought about by the advancement in technology. One cannot ignore the fact that Singapore government has been building and improving on her telecommunications infrastructure to bring faster Internet speed to her citizens. Constant improvements of the gadgets that can be used to access the Internet also contributes to the popularity of online shopping. Online shopping is no longer confined to the home but can be done on the go with a smartphone. Without technological advancements, online shopping will not be as convenient as it is right now. With such technology, one can save a lot of time when it comes to shopping as one does not have to travel nor queue. Setting up a store online is much cheaper than renting a physical one and hence, shop retailers can afford to provide their customers with the same products at a much cheaper price, something that Singaporeans love. Last but not least, improvements in internet security also have a big part to play in attracting more people to shop online. We see that without such advancements in technology, people would find it difficult to shop at ease online and hence, our group strongly feels that the popularity of online shopping is largely due to such technological developments.
Of course, we do not ignore that there might be other factors that contributed to the popularity of online shopping and we listed down a few. Availability of unique items may be one of the reasons why people turn to shopping online. Online shopping also makes it easier for purchases that one does not want to let others know about. Also, the creation of online shops also allows online retailers to be creative and innovative.
However, we must also acknowledge the possible consequences that happen with the increase in online shopping. As mentioned earlier, advancement in Internet speed allows customers to access online shops faster, bringing about convenience. However, what happens when the webpage is unable to function at is optimum speed? Users who are already so used to the fast speeds of the internet may be irritated and bring about something called mouse rage. Also, with the increase of online presence of shops, we may see a decrease in physical shops that we have all been so used to. Of course, not all consequences are negative. The popularity of online shopping may also lead to the improvement in service of physical stores. Such physical stores have to constantly improve their services if they want to compete with the online world. This may not be such a bad thing after all for consumers.
In conclusion, technological advancements have allowed online shopping to thrive and improve. In this digital age where everything is improving at a lightning speed, further improvements in technology will only serve to boost the popularity of online shopping further. However, we must be aware of the possible detrimental consequences that can occur because of such popularity and try to avoid them.
