“Location has traditionally been one of the most important determinants of a business’s success. The importance of location is not likely to change, no matter how advanced the development of computer communications and others kinds of technology becomes.”
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
In retail, or “storefront (n. 店头, 店面),” business, location is still a key ingredient of business success. The extent to which this will continue to be true, given the inexorable growth of Internet commerce, will vary among industries.
In more traditional retail sectors, such as clothing, cosmetics, and home improvement, an in-person (adv. 亲自, 外貌上) visit to a retail store is often necessary—to try on (v. 试穿, 试验) clothes for fit, compare fragrances, or browse among a full selection of textures, colors, and styles. Also, activities such as shopping and dining out are for many consumers enjoyable experiences in themselves, as well as excuses to get out of the house and mingle with others in their community. Finally, shipping costs for large items such as appliances and home-improvement items render home shopping impracticable. Thus, burgeoning technologies pose no serious threat to Main Street, and location will continue to play a pivotal role in the fate of many retail businesses.
Nevertheless, technology-related industries are sure to move away from physical storefronts to virtual ones. Products that can be reduced to digital “bits and bites,” such as books and magazines, recordings, and software applications, are more efficiently distributed electronically. Computer hardware will not disappear from Main Street quite so quickly, though, since its physical look and feel enters into the buying decision. Computer superstores should continue to thrive alongside companies such as Dell, which does not distribute through retail stores.
In conclusion, consumer demand for convenient location will continue with respect to certain tangible products, while for other products alternative distribution systems will gradually replace the storefront, rendering location an obsolete issue.