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But I feel there is some logic to the way we spend our money online. That is because we have become accustomed to, and depend upon the internet, and to some degree for the vast majority of internet users, there has never been 'any other way'. The sheer volume of online merchandise is bewildering. You can buy anything, from a pack of nails to a house, a ball of wool to a sheep station, a fishing hook to a multi-million dollar tuna farm. The list is endless. To this end the internet naturally is the perfect marketplace for consumer goods, relatively safe with modern secure checkouts and the like, and convenient beyond belief. Practically no matter where you are in the world, you have access to the net.
An example of the internet taking over from traditional business channels is the discount fishing tackle market. Fishing has been and will continue to be one of the most popular past-times for people all over the world. The diverse range of people that enjoy fishing is truly amazing. Kids, moms and dads, grandparents, businesspeople, train drivers, street sweepers, trades men and women, security guards, in fact you can pretty much include all of the demographics if you like... people within them enjoy fishing. The move towards getting the best fishing tackle deals online over the last 10-15 years has been nothing short of astounding. There are so many examples of bricks and mortar tackle shop businesses being replaced by the internet, and now even the magazine ads are mostly for online businesses, and of course the tourism side of things, which co-incidentally are quite often booked online.. Sure there are still people, myself included, that enjoy visiting the tackle shop to get my equipment, but by far there are more fishing tackle sales online, than any other method. The reason is simple.... The internet works. It is so easy to search for what you want, order it from the comfort of your home, and best of all, it is cheaper for the consumer, and the seller.
Will there be a day soon when we see tackle shops disappear completely from our shopping centres? I don't think so. There will always be need by consumers to have that personal experience of buying from a store with real people, but there certainly will be fewer and fewer to be seen. In fact it is my belief that only the strongest of business people will remain. Most of them will become, or already have become, members of huge buying groups, simply to be able to provide their goods at a reasonable price compared to the internet sellers. There are even online stores with no inventory at all, operating on commissions alone earned from referrals and 'click' income. Is that the way of the future? Certainly for a large number of discount tackle websites, it works.... so why not?