Choosing the right eyewear can be a daunting task, especially with so many options available today. Whether you prefer the convenience of online shopping or the personal touch of a brick-and-mortar store, each method has its pros and cons. Lets clean our spectacles and look into this mystery!
Convenience
Online Shopping
When ordering online, you can order the spectacles in the comfort of your own home. Some companies may even deliver the spectacles straight to your doorstep in a single day! Not only that, you also get to enjoy 24/7 shopping online! Most websites run 24/7 enabling you to shop throughout the day without salespeople pressuring you into buy the product or even engaging in a conversation. If you require assistance, there are also chatbots to help you out. Many websites also provide 24/7 customer service for your 24/7 shopping! There is only 1 downside to online shopping when it comes to convenience which is why we have rated it 4 stars out of 5. If you require an eye examination, most of the time you are required to go to the retail store to get tested.
Offline Shopping
Going down to the retail stores also is convenient as you can immediately try the frames on before purchasing them unlike online orders. Frames that you like may not be as comfortable as you think when worn, trying them on will help when you are choosing a new glasses. But with the limitations of offline shopping, we have rated it 3 stars out of 5.
Wide Range of Products
Online Shopping
Comparing to brick and mortar stores, there are a wider selection of goods on the internet. You can easily find any local company in Singapore with just a quick search on the internet whereas retail stores are spread out all over Singapore making it harder for you to go and look at a variety of spectacles. Given the wide variety of stores customers can look up, it was rated a full 5 out of 5 stars!
Offline Shopping
Offline Shopping also have a big catalog of frames. for example, there are around 444 spectacle outlets and 264 Shopping malls in Singapore. That is not a small number of spectacle shops scattered across Singapore but you are limited to a particular area when shopping for spectacles. When shopping online, you can access most spectacles shops in Singapore with exceptions such as optical shops which do not use online platforms. The limited variety of goods in a particular area have earned them a solid 3 out of 5 stars!
Price Point
Online Shopping
Online Shopping have lower overhead costs such as rent, utilities and staff just to name a few which retail stores incur. The lower costs allows companies to lower the price of goods to make it more appealing to a larger customer base. E-commerce also allows the company to buy directly from the manufacturer instead of buying from a distributer which also results in even lower costs. Although the cost have been cut, some products are still priced at their retail price on websites for more profits. Due to this reasoning, we have rated them 4 out of 5 stars.
Offline shopping
Offline shopping have lesser competitors compared to online shopping as the amount of competitors is focused onto a particular area of Singapore, allowing them to increase the retail prices of spectacles for a higher profit margin. Due to inflation, these already expensive spectacles are getting even more expensive which results in us rating it a 2 out of 5 stars.
Services
Online Shopping
Some brands have innovated and created services such as a virtual try on before buying online. You get to use virtual reality and try on the glasses right in the comfort of your home. The selected frame will appear on your face in your phone which gives you an idea about the look the selected spectacles will give you. Online shopping have very little services outside of shipping and virtual try on which led us to rate it a 2 out of 5 stars.
Offline Shopping
Moving onto retail stores, one of the biggest difference between purchasing from retail stores and websites is the service you get. In a retail store, an eye exam can be conducted to check your eyes. Most retail stores provides this service for free but there may be some that charges for an eye check. Retail stores also allow you to try on many different frames in person to find the one that is suitable. It mainly helps you to see if the spectacle frame fits you in terms of both appearance and size. Offline shopping has many different types of services available to each and every customer boosting each and every single one of their customer experiences. This gives us enough reasoning to give offline shopping a perfect 5 out of 5 stars
Personalization
Online Shopping
There is little to no personalization involved when shopping online. Should you have any questions about a product, even a chatbot is available to answer common questions. Not only that, there is no recommendations provided most of the time. Due to its generalization, we gave it 1 out of 5 stars.
Offline Shopping
In a retail store, there will be a sales associate to personalize your visit there and attend to your every need. They can provide you with useful information about the current spectacle trend, their best sellers, lens options, etc. Unlike online shopping, retail assistants can walk you through the selection process from the start to the end, helping you find frames that enhances your appearance while giving optimal comfort. It allows customers go create many different types of customer journeys from entering the store to the satisfaction of taking it out of the box. Due to this, we are able to give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.
Gratification
Online Shopping
There is gratification when the parcel arrived at your doorstep but there is no instant gratification right after buying the goods. When the parcel arrive, excitement will build up before opening the parcel. During the process of opening the parcel, gratification will be at an all time high but the duration of waiting for the parcel to arrive can impact the customer experience negatively. Imagine waiting for 3 weeks for a parcel to arrive for a spectacle! Since the gratification is not
instantaneous, we gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.
Offline Shopping
Finally, buying from a retail store gives you the instantaneous gratification of getting a new spectacles immediately, erasing the wait associated with online orders. Additionally, many retail stores are able to provide quick services like same-day lens fitting, further enhancing the customer's experience at a retail store. As offline shopping makes a customer happier after purchasing a product, we gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 stars!
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References
Optical Services Survey - Singapore. (n.d.). https://www.healthprofessionals.gov.sg/docs/librariesprovider6/announcements/by-postal.pdf?sfvrsn=87d1d0fd_6
Digital, S. | R. (2024, October 8). List of shopping malls in Singapore. SmartScraper. https://rentechdigital.com/smartscraper/business-report-details/list-of-shopping-malls-in-singapore
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