E-commerce, Silver Bullet or Curse?

Guest Blogger James Pascal-Smith

Looking back to 2020

The new dawn of consumerism seemed to be unstoppable in the dark days of the pandemic. But surely a fateful distraction from our loss of meaning & connection in daily life.

On paper there could be few downsides to time saving of home deliveries of our material needs, no need to battle the hell of retail parks or dreaded multistorey car parks (my personal nemesis). However, the power of convenience to fuel unchecked desire for endless ‘stuff’ is no doubt a formidable force to be releasing across society. An analogy comparison with Pandora’s box seems apt!

The Silver Bullet

Let’s shift focus to the realities,SMEs can harness the global reach of platforms such as Etsy, Shopify & the relentless Amazon empire. In the past this kind of product exposure would have been unthinkable without complex individual supply chains & extensive costly physical retail space. Aha, here is the silver bullet I opened with!

I return to the timeless phrase ‘Everything in moderation’. With little barrier to an online purchase in our ever dominant tech driven lives, the human discipline is eternally tested. How many of us are entranced to let in the trojan horse or keep the fortress gates protecting our finances almost constantly barricaded?

Can actual shops benefit from the e-commerce boom?

Now I come to the almost unthinkable talent for shortlived crazes for in demand products that are whipped up with faultless execution by the partnership of social media influencers & the ecom/courier networks. I recall the Prime energy drink bubble, clearly I had been under a particularly effective rock when I was puzzled at the long queues outside my local Aldi. Physical retail does get a piece of the online pie, I hear the whispers. OK I concede on this one!

Final reflections

For my final reflection, we must remember the now essential service for the disabled & elderly to get their needs delivered without the need to battle significant challenges of physical shops.

Are you all still with me on this roller coaster journey through the tales of E-commerce? I hope I haven’t lost you to a click to Amazon or YouTube!

Well, despite my best efforts the jury is still out on my opening question. I will continue to observe the E-commerce empires dominate with both admiration & healthy sceptics.

I must go I think I just heard a package hurtling over my garden fence…….

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