>To be fair the level of competition in physical stores is way beyond what we have online.
That is an absolutely ludicrously absurd statement. Physical stores are physical, by definition they have vastly more scarcity. There is only so much physical land in high density areas, and physical stores that are even tens of minutes away, let alone hours, are in an enormously different competitive situation to ones nearby. Whereas online I have vast numbers of stores that are all perfectly equal "distance" away. They are freed from many if not all of the tradeoffs in storage space vs convenient (and very expensive) locations. Online stores are cheaper both to start and operate. Someone can reach a global audience from literally their garage.
In comparison, a huge percentage of the country has maybe single digit stores within 30 minutes of driving. There is no competition at all... except from online.
Supermarkets, departments, hardware, chemists etc. in every country is dominated by 1-3 chains who have the capital and time to extinguish any competition. And it's been this way for a century or more.
In the online world every sector has anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of competitors not just locally but from around the world.
To setup an online store you just need Shopify, supplier and a few thousand for ads. For a physical store you need tens of thousands for fit out and leasing.
That is an absolutely ludicrously absurd statement. Physical stores are physical, by definition they have vastly more scarcity. There is only so much physical land in high density areas, and physical stores that are even tens of minutes away, let alone hours, are in an enormously different competitive situation to ones nearby. Whereas online I have vast numbers of stores that are all perfectly equal "distance" away. They are freed from many if not all of the tradeoffs in storage space vs convenient (and very expensive) locations. Online stores are cheaper both to start and operate. Someone can reach a global audience from literally their garage.
In comparison, a huge percentage of the country has maybe single digit stores within 30 minutes of driving. There is no competition at all... except from online.