Denzil's online shopping centre.
"Why
would I shop on the internet?"
When you go shopping,
think about what you actually end up spending, does any of the following cost
you money?
Bus
fares or petrol for the car
Parking charges
Do you buy something to eat whilst you are there?
Have you ever been short changed?
Ever had any parking tickets or speed camera fines?
How much time did your last "shopping trip" take up?
Have you ever bought something at one price, only to find when you get home
and check your receipt, you've been charged a higher price at the till? (Is
it worth the trip back to the store to get the difference back?)
These are
just a few examples of how it can be easier to shop online.
Say for examples sake, that you want to purchase a product from the high street,
we'll say its £25.
You drive
to your nearest town or get the bus (add on petrol or bus fare)
you park up (add on any parking charge)
you fight your way through the crowds to get to the shop you need, what if
its not instock? (come back next week when there's a delivery? try somewhere
else?)
let's say you find the product, you queue up at the till.
you pay for the goods
you might want something to eat whilst you're there? (if so, add this on)
make your way home, using more petrol or bus fare (again, add this on)
In an ideal
world, the product works fine, but what if its faulty? do they collect it
from you? do you have to return to the town (paying yet more costs?)
What about YOUR time? What about YOUR costs?
The product that costs £25, has actually cost closer to £30 and
taken up your time in getting it.
This example,
is exactly what was happening to me!
I was very sceptical about shopping on the internet. Until one day, by complete
chance, I witnessed something that changed my shopping habits forever.
Already
a bargain hunter, I read about a special offer in a paper.
I drove down to the nearest town where they had a shop, sat in traffic at
the lights, searched for a parking space, paid the parking fee then walked
10 minutes to the shopping centre and straight to the shop.
I couldnt find what I was looking for, after walking around looking for a
member of staff to help me find it for 10 minutes, they did a quick search
of their stock room and informed me they had sold out.
"you can come back next tuesday, when we have our delivery if you want,
but I can't guarantee they'll send us any!" I was told.
I thanked them for their time and pottered around the store some more, may
as well have a look whilst I'm here.
After 20 minutes or so, I'd found a couple of little items I thought I'd buy, so I wondered off to the till. As I'm stood in the queue waiting, a woman, two customers in front of me asked for the same product as I wanted, saying "I have a reservation number!"
To my astonishment,
they brought the exact same product I had asked for 20 minutes earlier, from
out of their store room! (They told me they had none in stock!)
Then to make matters worse, they rang it through the till and it came up £20
cheaper than the price I would have had to pay!
"I always reserve things on the internet when I can!" said the lady, "its a shame you charge for delivery, or I could have saved myself the trip!"
I've never
shopped at the store again, is this how they treat their customers?
I looked around online, many top brand high street stores do this, the company
I now refuse to shop with are just one of many that offer sales on the internet
with delivery, or reserve online then pick your own location of store and
collect it yourself.
So those shoppers who use their heads, save money and time and a wasted trip
(if the product is not in stock)
As a final stab at the "go to the shops" shopper, because the product comes direct to your door from the company, you don't pay additional costs for overheads (extra staff, energy to run the shop, shopping centre rents, etc.)