The internet has brought many good things one of them being online shopping. With a good internet connection, products are just one or two clicks away from being delivered to your doorstep. Let us look at some of the top benefits of buying products straight from the internet and having them delivered to you:-
- It saves time.
- It’s convenient.
- More variety.
- No crowds and congestion.
You’d expect that these positive points would make online shopping the best choice for Kenyans with internet but this is hardly the case. A big percentage of Kenyans would rather physically visit stores and here’s why:
1. Delivered goods are hardly what’s posted online.
For instance, Brenda bought a brand new six burner cooker online. The seller claimed the cooker was brand new. When the cooker was delivered, Brenda noticed that the burners had rust on them! She immediately called the seller but her calls went unanswered.
This is the biggest reason why many Kenyans would rather visit a store and personally choose items than buying online. Unfortunately, there are a number of people running businesses who lack business ethics. Instead of focusing on customer satisfaction, they focus on how much money they want to make. By doing this, they do not care whether the customer is happy with what they’re provided with.
Of course not everyone has had a negative experience while dealing with online shops. There are those whose services are excellent.
2. Failed Deliveries
Online shops require that you fully pay for an item that you haven’t seen nor received yet. It requires that you trust the seller 100%. As much a there are those shops that are straight forward and deliver their goods as agreed with the customer, there are con men who take advantage and create fake online shops to steal from innocent customers. This creates a fear among shoppers of buying online. They prefer to walk into a store where they will part with their money and walk away with items.
3. Fear of Using Credit Cards
Online shops that are based outside Kenya require payment using a visa card. Many people fear online scammers and opt to buy things in local stores. To remedy this, people create bank account where they deposit the exact amount that is needed to buy items so that there is no balance. As much as this can reduce online theft, Kenyans still prefer physical shopping that online shopping.
3. Late Deliveries
Late deliveries is a big problem affecting the online delivery market. It can be absolutely dissatisfying for a buyer to fail to receive goods on the promised day and get them at a later date, which is inconveniencing. to make it worse, most sellers usually have no explanation as to why they were late on their delivery.
4. Reduced Instant Satisfaction
Online shopping may require patience where goods arrive between 3-7 days. This may be exciting in the beginning but as time goes by, there is reduced instant satisfaction. Being unable to physically choose from a range of products becomes unpleasant. Window shopping or purchasing directly from a shop provides excitement and satisfaction and a customer is bound to come again. With online shopping, this excitement begins to fade especially if the process is not smooth.
5. Not being able to try things on
It is an added advantage for a shopper to be able to try on shoes and clothes before purchasing as they are sure when they are walking out of the shop that it is right for them. Online shopping however does not provide this luxury. For example, you may buy a size 14 dress and once you receive it, you realize it is a size 14 US and not UK since the sizes are different. Many shops may be reluctant to give back money already paid and will tell a buyer to wait until they have the correct size in store or ignore the issue altogether.