Many people are disappointed with online shopping, but the industry will continue to grow over time and offline shopping will also continue to grow. Many shoe and clothing outlets were closed for various reasons—but on the same occasion—new  outlets continued to grow. In Indonesia, Matahari Department Store still records profits even though it starts to decrease due to various reasons. In some cities, Matahari instead opened new outlets while continuing to improve online shopping services.

The massive digital market penetration in recent years does not necessarily make everyone like to shop online. There are still many people who prefer to shop directly to stores or shopping centers, especially for clothing (shoes included). Shopping online does have many advantages, but also has many disadvantages.

A friend, interested in buying sport shoes in an online shopping center that often advertises on all TV stations in Indonesia. Because the price of shoes is also cheap, there is no shipping cost, he bought with size 42. However, after seeing the announcement that the shoes were sent directly from abroad, he canceled the purchase and repeated the order to buy with size 41 because he felt the size standards at home and abroad were different .

When the shoes arrived, he was very disappointed because the shoes were narrow. In fact, if he still ordered size 42, it was right on his feet. Difference 41 with 42 is indeed very thin, but still narrow on his legs and it reduces comfort.

Previously, another friend was disappointed after buying pants in a large online service in Indonesia. The pants ordered turned out to be oversized even though in terms of size it was appropriate. Sometimes, pants with a brand and the same but with different colors, the standard size is different.

There are still many sources of disappointment with online learning. The buyer cannot touch the item when buying, cannot try, also only waits a few days until the item arrives. When the item arrives, not necessarily in accordance with or the same as the display. Not to mention online fraud cases that are very prevalent in Indonesia.

Some online stores try several facilities to overcome these problems and make buyers as comfortable as possible. However, there are still some aspects that make them unable to defeat the conventional shopping system, including in traditional markets in Indonesia where people can still bid prices and interact between buyers and sellers.

Finally, digital technology does not have to make us lose everything, including shopping. 

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Image source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

*INDONESIA*

Kenyamanan Belanja Konvensional yang tak Tergantikan

Sudah banyak orang yang kecewa dengan belanja online, tetapi industri itu akan terus tumbuh seiring perjalanan waktu dan belanja offline juga akan tetap tumbuh. Banyak gerai sepatu dan pakaian ditutup karena berbagai hal, tetapi dalam kesempatan sama, gerai-gerai baru terus tumbuh. Di Indonesia, Matahari Department Store masih mencatat untung meski mulai berkurang karena berbagai sebab. Di beberapa kota, Matahari malah membuka gerai baru sembari terus memperbaiki pelayanan belanja online.

Penetrasi pasar digital yang cukup masif beberapa tahun terakhir tidak lantas membuat semua orang suka berbelanja online. Masih banyak orang lebih senang berbelanja langsung ke toko atau pusat perbelanjaan, terutama untuk pakaian (sepatu termasuk di dalamnya). Belanja online memang memiliki banyak kelebihan, tetapi juga memiliki banyak kekurangan.

Seorang sahabat, tertarik membeli sepatu sport di sebuah pusat perbelanjaan online yang cukup sering beriklan di semua statiun TV di Indonesia. Karena harga sepatu juga murah tanpa ongkos kirim, ia pun membeli dengan ukuran 42. Namun, setelah melihat pengumuman bahwa sepatu itu dikirim langsung dari luar negeri, ia pun membatalkan pembelian dan mengulang perintah membeli dengan ukuran 41 karena merasa standar ukuran dalam dan luar negeri berbeda.

Ketika sepatu itu tiba, dia sangat kecewa karena sepatu itu sempit. Padahal, kalau ia tetap memesan ukuran 42, sudah pas di kakinya. Perbedaan 41 dengan 42 memang sangat tipis, tetapi tetap sempit di kakinya dan itu mengurangi kenyamanan.

Sebelumnya, seorang kawan yang lain juga kecewa setelah membeli celana di sebuah layanan online yang besar di Indonesia. Celana yang dipesan ternyata kebesaran meski dari segi ukurannya sudah sesuai. Terkadang, celana dengan merk dan sama tetapi dengan warna berbeda, standar ukuran menjadi berbeda pula.

Masih banyak sumber kekecewaan dengan belajan online. Pembeli tidak bisa menyentuh barangnya ketika membeli, tidak bisa mencoba, juga hanya menunggu beberapa hari sampai barang datang. Ketika barang datang, belum tentu sesuai dengan atau sama dengan display. Belum lagi kasus penipuan via online yang sangat marak di Indonesia.

Beberapa toko online mencoba beberapa fasilitas untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut dan membuat pembeli senyaman mungkin. Namun, tetap masih ada beberapa aspek yang membuat mereka tidak mampu mengalahkan sistem belanja konvensional, termasuk di pasar tradisional di Indonesia di mana orang masih bisa menawar harga serta terjadi interaksi antara pembeli dan penjual.

Akhirnya, teknologi digital tidak harus membuat kita kehilangan semuanya, termasuk dalam berbelanja.

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