Retail stores still continues to prevail over online shopping because globally, many people do not have access to the Internet. In addition, despite online shopping’s convenience, many people are leery about converting to online shopping because they feel as though they cannot trust online services. Also, many people enjoy the social aspect of shopping in stores and getting opinions from their friends, family, and workers. People desire the concrete; they like to see/possibly try on the items, which they intend to purchase. For this reason, many people like researching products they intend to buy online but going to the actual store to buy them. Thus, in the near future, a switch in dominance from the physical marketplace to the virtual is improbable.

However, retail stores are still feeling the pressure from online shopping. Even if retailers offer online services, they still want their physical stores’ profits to stay up. Thus, Retail stores are cutting prices to physically get customers in their store, especially around holidays. Ed Carey, Global leader of the Consumer Business Practice at Deloitte Consulting, says, “retailers are becoming more savvy as they adapt to nuances of the Internet marketplace….They are looking to make shopping a more fulfilling experience, and that means putting an emphasis on better serving their customers…”(qtd. in Vargas). In fact, many people prefer online shopping because they have had bad customer service experiences in the past. In particular, “there’s a real issue about the sales staff at big national chain stores,” points out Ron Conlin, a partner at J.D. Power and Associates Conlin. He explains that the staff is generally not well trained and lack the knowledge of product information and as a result, they fail to answer consumers’ questions (qtd. in Weisbaum). Therefore, enhancing customer service is vital for retail stores to increase the amount of shoppers in their stores.

“Among the retailers who responded to [an About.com] survey, 45% will be selling on the Web, while an additional 28% will be providing product information only. Of those who will be selling in cyberspace, half will be offering their full line of merchandise, while the other half will offer a restricted range. And among those retailers who have brick-and-mortar stores along with a Web site, 31% allow online buyers to return their purchase to a store location, while 44% offer the option of picking up and returning in the store. One-quarter of the retailers did not offer either option to their online buyers”(Vargas).