It’s often said that the internet is the marketplace of the future, but honestly, that future is already here. Whilst online sales still only account for a relatively small portion of overall retail activity, more than 30% of British shoppers sometimes buy items over the internet rather than in a normal real-world superstore or a high street outlet. There are 150000 commercial websites based in the UK and hundreds of thousands more available to us.
The reasons are clear. Thousands of retailers compete for the same sale so prices are kept low across the internet- it’s incredibly easy to compare one online store against another so those with high prices don’t last long. With more and more of us working longer hours every week the convenience of being able to shop outside normal business hours is also increasingly attractive.
Almost anything can now be bought through the web. Music and movies can be downloaded straight to mp3 players and entertainment units at the click of a button without even having to be pressed to CD or DVD. Anything else can be delivered to your door- tonight’s curry and chips (piping hot), the week’s groceries, a new pair of shoes, a new mattress or a flat-packed shelving unit.
Bookshelves are a very good example of a product ideally suited to the online marketplace. Delivery is taken care of as a matter of course so there is no need to try and jam a flat pack into the back of the family sedan or make complicated arrangements to transport fixed shelving in a van or a rent a truck.
The online furniture retailer of today is also well placed to produce bookshelves of custom size. Rather than hunting through a furniture warehouse measuring up candidates to fill a particular space the buyer can simply specify the dimensions they want.