ONLINE SHOPPING has forced local retailers to revisit their way of doing things.
Head of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Eddie Abed, told the MIDWEEK NATION that a new norm for sourcing and selling off merchandise has emerged in the last five years to mitigate the threat posed by the more affordable prices and wider varieties offered on the Internet.
“The knowledge of our customers in terms of pricing in the North American market, quality available in the North American market, variety available in the North American market has in fact been accentuated and one can only assume that this is through the Internet,” he said.
He could not give figures, but he said the trend had taken away some of the retail business from his own Abed’s Store, and that some of the members of the chamber who offered branded merchandise have been affected as well . . . (YB)
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