Why not to shop online yet

While everyone around is very much excited about the success of online shopping and the convenience of doing so, I still prefer to go to physical stores and buy products. I say this, even though I am an IT professional and definitely not new to buying various kinds of products and frequently do banking and stock trading online

I recently purchased a tab, a laptop and a smartphone from two different online shopping portals. Although these sites are widely known for their products and services, I have had some experiences because of which I started to rethink whether I should really go for shopping online, especially for expensive products.

Listing my experiences (rather frustration) in order: 

1. Tab: A good piece, except for the fact that the device does not support installation of Google Play app... I got frustrated with the device for many days. What??? Yes, it is never ever mentioned anywhere (although it is not even expected to be mentioned anywhere).

When I got the device and tried to install Google Play, I could not do so... Could not find any helpful guide anywhere. When I called up the seller's Tech Support desk, the technician informed me that I should take the device to the company's authorized service center and get some config changes done and get Google Play installed. I called up the service center immediately. But the laughable part is that the service center person refused to provide support as the company does not clear their bills..

2. Laptop: I placed an order for a laptop and paid the amount to the online store. My credit card was also charged to this amount. Then the next day... got a prompt mail saying that the order is delayed as the seller does not have stock of the laptop model. I called up the call center and asked how could they take the order without checking for availability of stock. Somehow, I got it in the next couple of days.

And when I got the laptop, there were no device drivers... :( I called the online store's tech support team again and they suggested me to check for drivers in the manufacturer's website. I could not find them there also :(

3. Smartphone: After receiving the phone I noticed that there were some memory management related issues. I could only resolve them partially after a lot of reading and struggle. By now, I lost the patience to even call up the seller's call center and complain or write a mail. So, I am just managing with the partial resolution as of now :)

After all these experiences, I feel that there is no serious point in buying online if I have to spend so many hours troubleshooting the products

Points in favor and against shopping online: 

1. Accountability: For physical stores, there is always an accountability factor (esp. if you buy in well reputed stores). There will be many sales and technical staff members to assist and the store managers to handle the issue. In the case of online stores, it will always be on the buyer to follow up with the seller... with very little support from others
2. Wide choice and presentation: The greatest advantage of buying online... Wide choice. In my opinion, sometimes having many choices also confuses a person. With online shopping, it is not just the choice of products but the presentation of the products makes it confusing.
3. Feel the product: Physical stores have an edge over online stores that you can always try the products before buying them, which is certainly not possible in online mode, unless you have seen someone use the products and and tried them 
4. Convenience:  You need to go around brick n mortar stores and do research, which is a little stressful. But assuming the buyer's value of time is hundred rupees per hour, doing research on dozens of online stores and thereby saving a thousand rupees also is not a great saving as I would have already spent so many hours in researching the products. However, online mode of transaction execution has immense benefits in areas such as banking, stock trading etc., and I admit that online mode has helped me a lot.
5. Delivery delays: Assuming the seller has stock of the product ordered, delivery of products usually takes 2-3 days. Due to this, in some cases, the utility value of the product may not be recognizable in time (esp for business critical products) apart from stretching the buying process
6. Difficulty returning the goods: In case the buyer is not very happy with the product, it cannot be returned immediately. Buyer must call the seller's call center and arrange for a return... resulting in delays and frustration apart from not realizing the value from the purchase immediately. 

Considering my experiences and my thoughts above, online model is still evolving (at least in India) and online stores, their policies and procedures must be well defined and audited by authorized Government agencies. I also think that online stores should restructure themselves in order to address the cons of shopping online.

Till then I would prefer to go with traditional model of shopping by visiting the store, over online model, especially for products that are either expensive and / or need more support from the seller's side. For relatively inexpensive items and / or items that do not require much support from the seller, online may be considered.

I hope this article echoes some of the experiences even you've had. I would feel glad to hear from you also. Please share your views and opinions and any good or bad experiences you must have had.