Polls: Online or Physical Retail?

Shopping just isn’t the same as it used to be. As in most industries, the retail world has been dealt a drastically new deck of cards as our world shifts full throttle into the 21st century realm of e-commerce and web shopping. This week’s poll tackles a question that is likely to spark lively debate surrounding the online shopping trend versus the more traditional brick & mortar, localized shopping experiences. A discussion of Max Weber-proportions, one viewpoint to be argued pertains to the broad-stroking trend of big-box online retailers running many smaller boutiques, local shops and specialized retailers out of business effectively nullifying the so-called “niche marketplace” of many high-end fashion labels, hard-to-find streetwear brands and the like. Or could the opposite actually be true? Would it be better argued that e-commerce has actually generated a much larger audience for the lesser known brands by giving them a larger platform and better exposure?

Aside from the lengthy dialogue surrounding the business ethics of it all, attention must also be paid to the pros and cons as they pertain to consumer benefits – greater variety vs. a well curated selection, better pricing vs. immediate gratification, and the plethora of other cost/benefit decisions that play out in our minds as we decide where to navigate for that collection we’ve been anxiously awaiting. Regardless of where your loyalties reside, the benefits of a Web 2.0 and e-commerce presence are rapidly becoming undeniable necessities for any local boutique or shop to survive these days. This poll will conclude on Wednesday, December 21 at 11 p.m. EST.

Our last poll findings concluded with a majority of you in favor of iOS as opposed to Android.