ICT enablers can never ever undermine the importance of physical contact to facilitate the process of selling. Yup! ICT tools can be used to augment the business.

What we are referring here is the extinction of markets where prospective buyers can meet up sellers.

In some cases yes, ICT and e-commerce have replaced physical environment in retail marketing. From the other hand, pandemic showed an importance of the physical and traditional contacts for relationship building with consumers and partners. Nowadays, retail is actively trying to attract consumers back to stores.

Ngozi ADELEYE

This is a very good question, but the answer cannot be so straight as the consumers are showing diverse behavior towards various marketing stimuli. This largely depends on the category of the products. For example, in apparel, consumers prefer to do a trial before buying; hence physical tough is required. This physical tough can only be possible when consumers purchase from physical stores rather than virtual stores. In the same way, consumer durables such as refrigerators, washing machines, Automobiles etc., are required to test the product before the final buying decision.

Technology can help to improve the customer experience but cannot completely replace the offline market. Although I still like how these online retailers are working on enhancing customer experience by using technology such as AI, VR etc. can take some more share from the offline market.

There will always be personal contact. For matters of some importance, lengthy online meetings can be considered a new form of personal contact - as they did not exist before the pandemic. Crucial matters will continue to be decided face to face.

I totally agree Dr. Roberto - Minadeo.

I particularly love the "crucial matters will .... face to face".

So true!

I agree with Roberto Minadeo too. At least for older generations it will be difficult to replace the "real shopping experience" with virtual.

Very true Prof. Mirna Leko-Šimić

I appreciate your contribution, Ma'am.

Ngozi

This is an interesting question. Yes, we all know that marketing is drifting away from physical contact to virtual contact but not in absolute terms to the level of extinction. This is because, apart from the limitation of physical product assessment in ascertaining quality, a lot of consumers across the world are skeptical or lack confidence in e-stores. This perception cannot allow physical contact to completely go on extinction.

This is an interesting topic to discuss. The definition of market is obviously changing as we transact more on internet without physical contact nowadays as technologies and innovations progress. It's a matter of time that physical contact will be non-existent as it's been replaced by virtual transactions on a daily basis.

Let me add one of my personal experiences to answer your concern.

My Son tried to explain how easy it was to do all banking activities through the mobile to my Father who had retired many ears ago and went to the bank to do his banking needs physically. He laughed and completely ignored the technology. My Son who took him to the bank one day told me how much my Father was happy to meet some of his old colleagues, talk to the staff of the Bank who knew him for a long time and stop by at many shops on the way where he was so free and happy to talk to many known people. So it is clear that shopping is not only satisfying a want. It is a social activity that energize, educate and make people connected. We are social animals. Therefore, the physical touch in buying a product or service will never die.