Consumer patterns often change in line with shifts in consumer tastes and purchasing power. However, the expansion of the online space has brought about radical changes in consumer tendencies, affecting how buying and selling transactions occur. Nowadays, these transactions, regardless of the prices and types of goods, can be completed with just a click or a short text message. Customers no longer need to physically visit stores to examine products; instead, they can browse through websites or online pages of local and international retailers, where product images are often accompanied by their prices and specifications, as reported by "An-Nahar".
This form of purchasing, known as "online shopping," is not a recent phenomenon globally, but its popularity in Lebanon began during the home confinement enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has since rapidly evolved into a trending direction. Stores are now competing to add features to their websites to speed up and increase sales, and to convince customers to buy products by offering delivery to various Lebanese areas within hours in collaboration with specialized delivery companies, as well as providing chat options on their websites or via WhatsApp for browsing customers. Moreover, fierce marketing competition is clearly visible on social media platforms, especially on TikTok through rapid video postings.
Kareem Halabi, one of the bookstore owners in Beirut, explains that the bookstore's social media pages have significantly increased sales. He noted that the bookstore's first experience on social media was on Facebook in 2016, mentioning that its actual popularity occurred in 2019 and 2020 in parallel with the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Halabi acknowledges the continued influx of readers to the bookstore who prefer to browse books in person before making a purchase, indicating that online sales account for half of the bookstore's total sales. He adds, "Our social media pages are not solely aimed at selling and marketing but we also strive to share cultural content, which has helped us increase our followers."
On the other hand, Mohammad Mlass, who runs an online clothing store, points out he preferred to spend his available capital on his online Instagram store instead of incurring the costs of renting a physical store. He states, "I have spent a lot on photographing clothes and advertising on Instagram, but the costs remain reasonable compared to what store owners pay for rent, electricity, decoration, and cleaning. Today, just a few months after creating the page, I sell about 10 pieces a week." Mlass attributes this good sales performance to the quality of the displayed products and successful marketing methods.
Who monitors the content of these pages to ensure they are not deceiving customers? The Director General of the Ministry of Economy, Mohamed Abu Haidar, confirmed to "An-Nahar" that the ministry receives many complaints on the hotline, "the majority of which relate to fraud, as what is displayed on the pages can differ completely from what the customer receives. The problem lies in the fact that these pages do not accept returns of goods if the buyer is dissatisfied with their quality. The ministry intervenes to reach solutions, and if unable to do so, refers the fraudsters to the relevant judiciary." Abu Haidar praised the work of the Cybercrime Bureau in the Internal Security Forces, which pursues fraudsters who create pages temporarily for scams and then vanish. He affirmed a direct and complete communication between the ministry and the Internal Security Forces.
Can online stores replace traditional stores? Dr. Ali Hamoud, an economic researcher, argues that this cannot happen, noting that "all global commercial companies that can create the most advanced pages still maintain traditional stores." He adds, "Stores can turn to online shopping during major crises like COVID-19, but this type of trade remains complementary to traditional trade." Hamoud observes that successful companies in the online market are those that add a creative touch to their products, noting that such instances are rare in Lebanon, and that the majority of Lebanese online pages function as intermediaries between major commercial companies and Lebanese citizens who cannot access the main source of the goods.
