The inevitable switch to digital merchandise begins

Roughly 15 years ago, physical products were a dominant means to procure entertainment, reading material, music, and course workbooks for those seeking further education. A person merely had to travel to a store or venue to purchase a physical product to take home. This was a traditional method for simply buying and selling products on a daily basis; there was nothing quite like what we have nowadays.

The transition of traveling to a store to buy certain products changed rapidly during the 2010s. According to Amber Pariona from WorldAtlas.com, “By 2015, around 50% of the world had constant internet connection, and ownership rates of smartphones commonness of tablet possession have nearly surpassed those of home computers.” In other words, this means the population of digital literacy had increased significantly worldwide, bolstering a new age for market trends.

Accessible content with a few taps from a smartphone was more efficient than going to a store to purchase a physical product. This is especially true when discussing music in general. Music soundtracks becoming available as a single downloadable purchase reigned supreme over buying CDs or vinyls. The scale between physical and digital merchandise began to tip heavily in favor of digital products. However, that was then. What about the new decade before us?

Physical products are still being sold, but digital merchandise now has a slightly higher demand. Instead of having a collection of physical movies, which take up space and clutter rooms, consumers now hold digital libraries of films and similar media. The very essence of physical merchandise is being filtered to non-digital formatted things such as furniture, toilet paper, and food. Just to name a few realistic goods.

The inevitable switch to digital merchandise is reckoning. Pretty soon, there will be no physical books, video games, movies, music, or even educational courses to invest in. The digital tyrant of merchandising will consume the very soul of your physical excitement. Leaving you hollow and emotionless with a picture frame on a smartphone or tablet of what could have been a physical product.

There are larger implications to be wary of with this digital trend of merchandise. Taking mental health into consideration, a digital product may not hold as much worth as a physical product to some consumers. Having the ability to touch something grants a more stimulating and memorable effect than browsing your smartphone and looking at digital images.

Then the biggest contributing factor left unseen by the public is the market research of digital products. Being able to track the exact amount of things like time, amount of uses, purchases, and so on is also a worrisome aspect. Physical products could only be tracked by the purchase of one person – who knows how many times a single VHS tape was traded among others.

Being aware of your digital usage of things is also important, because this allows you to be careful of who is watching your movements. In a world where you do not know who is observing you while making digital purchases is pretty nerve wracking. Unable to see the big picture may leave you with unfavorable decisions and consequences in the future.

Already we can see the shift of physical products being replaced with digital products entirely. According to Mudassir Hussain from TopTierList.net stated “… seems like physical copies of many Xbox games are no longer manufactured or distributed in Brazil.” This is a fairly recent report from just a week ago.

While the impact of one physical product is no longer being distributed in one country may be small, the fact remains that the transition is happening. Brazil has taken the first step to the inevitable switch to digital merchandise. Time will tell how many other countries will follow this trend.

Gone are the days of walking into a store and feeling excited about purchasing a physical product for you to enjoy at home. As we look onward towards the future, the digital supremacy continues to grow and expand in our distribution of goods and services. Though we can still buy physical products, sooner or later that will be a fond memory.