The 90s’ were almost 2
years ago but it felt like such a different time. Technology improves so much so fast that a
movie about the 2008 financial disaster can appear obsolete with the technology
used in the movie. “He used a flip phone
to inform his boss about the stock prices?
Pfft, they are so last decade…” The
90s’ was more hilarious though. They
clearly had no idea how the Internet worked and their imagination about how the
Internet worked is hilarious in hindsight.
Watch how Jurassic Park simplified hacking to just dragging a mouse over
pretty visuals or that NCIS episode where two people used the same keyboard to
type. Yes, two people typed on the same
keyboard… I mean… What?
How? What?
Nonetheless, the Internet
has since become a daily staple. It is
almost impossible to do anything without it now, including finding references
to movies that used the Internet in a dumb manner. And although technically we can communicate
and purchase items without the Internet, the Internet makes things faster or it
gives you more information. So in a way,
it has also enhanced the way you do things that on paper don’t require the
Internet. You can start a fire but this
YouTuber and expert outdoorsman can teach you how to start one faster and more
effectively.
And according to an
article on The B-Side, we are growing dependent on the Internet. The article titled “Malaysians shop online
more than ever especially during office hours” goes into detail about how
Malaysians are unfazed by the slumming economy when it comes to shopping
online. They love using it so much they
use it during office hours. As somebody
who witnesses deliveries to the office firsthand, I have no qualms about that
statement.
The article uses iPay88 as
a data reference. Their payment gateway
systems showed a substantial increase of 161% in online transactions. And sure, I have been guilty of it. But in my defense, it’s so convenient. I’m at the office. I’m out of mobile credit. I have no idea which stores sell top-up and
which don’t. Hell, I’ll just go to the
website and spend RM 10. And ta-dah, I
can call home and say I won’t be back for dinner. Actually, I could have used the office’s
direct line.
However, it also extends
to items you don’t expect. If I want to
buy fresh grocery goods, I would value freshness over convenience. However, nobody is like me apparently. According to data provided by Kantar
Worldpanel, internet purchasing of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) has grown
exponentially over the past 2 years. It
grew 132% at this time last year and it still grew at 81% this year.
Needless to say, the trend
seems to be switching online. For
now. You see, all these rises in
Internet sales are because nobody saw them coming. They are old-fashioned phenomena. But, the way to combat phenomena is to do
research and research will curb the Internet’s growth in the future. You see, while some get on with the times,
some are trying to restrict that change.
One of the ways of restricting that change is emphasizing the obvious
flaws of buying online. “You can’t try
the dress on. You need to be absolutely
sure of your size before you key in your credit card details.” Another way is to enforce policies.
There are no big
implementations in Malaysia so far but in Australia, shoppers are about to
suffer a 10% price hike on online goods.
It’s all detailed in The New Daily’s article, “Delay the online shopping
tax, Senate committee to urge government”.
This is a policy used to protect local businesses so you understand the
reason for it. However, the tax was
proposed when the Australian Dollar was more valuable than the American Dollar
and so American goods seemed cheaper.
But now, the tables have turned and the issue is not very urgent. But in the future, should the market
conditions change again, you will see this attempt to disrupt online businesses
again.
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