All of a sudden there is a Tsunami of store closure announcements.
A lot of senior execs from these stores have blamed the bargain hunters going online to compare prices domestic and in overseas markets. Some have made general comments like, it is getting hard to have a USP apart from cheaper prices. How true are these comments?
We, as Ozbargain community take pride looking for cheaper prices. That made me wonder how much role are we playing in all this? And isn't this natural anyway?
Other facts and questions:
1) Online shopping has been around for ages now, so nothing new. So what has changed now and why these execs are pointing to buyers that shop online?
2) I have always been a conscious buyer and ALWAYS compared prices (brick/mortar or online), was there a generation that didn't do that and just bought what was in-front of them?
3) Where do we go from here?
All thoughts welcome.
One reason most people have not mentioned is that I am able to find good reviews of good value and quality products online. In this time, the customers can easily communicate what is good and what is not online, there are many reviews and product feedbacks published. This creates more channeled and informed approach towards purchases. Good value, long lasting products survive and also thus drive down sales for longer. Even if the products are cheap, they are too good value for their price hence they can survive.
If you are not offering good stuff at good prices you would almost certainly not survive in most cases.