More and more Aussie shoppers are continuing to abandon bricks and mortar stores in favour of online shopping, as businesses fight to compete against the impending arrival of global giant Amazon.One third of all purchases at multi-channel retailers has been made online, new research by the Commonwealth Bank indicates that figures are rising fast (Pearce, HuffPost, Australia, 05/05/17). While this extract suggests that online shopping will continue to grow and undoubtedly provide strong competition for offline stores, no commentators have suggested that physical retail outlets will actually disappear as a result.

a. Using the THEORY associated with these topics, explain the trends in online shopping and/or why physical stores will still continue to co-exist. (Choose 3 theories from: culture, perception, attitude, reference groups, personality, emotion)

b. What are some specific marketing implications you can identify for online and/or offline retailers based on above chosen theories?