A STUDY ON THE SHIFTING OF BUYING PREFERENCE OF THE CUSTOMER FROMBRICK-AND-MORTARSTORES TO VIRTUAL STORES

The businesses are in a process of transforming their mode of transaction from the physical to the virtual one. The Pandemic has been the key component which has triggered the importance of the virtual forum and highlighted the need of digitization. Businesses willingness and pace to change their upcoming business models in order to generate long-term value has increased as a result of COVID-19. The necessity, speed, and desire for change have all unavoidably been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Many trends have been accelerated by it for the already in existence and obliged organizations to think more deeply about the future.Digitalization is the trend that is increasingly gaining thrust. According to the prediction ofGartner in 2020, there would be at least one style of digital business platform for almost 90% of the existing organisations. As digital business ecosystems expand with the numbers of people, business and things that can dynamically connect, so does the need for organisations to support and enable these ecosystems. A digital platform strategy is necessary to facilitate the efficient and quick execution of ideas in the business strategy for enabling and managing these ecosystems, evolving new business models, and value chains. The platform-powered solutions can be used to uncover essential trends, insight, and innovation for their journey of transformation from brick and mortar to virtual ones.Better customer and employee engagement as well as measurable financial returns are achieved through people and technology working together and by fostering a culture of continuous change. Thus, the study is based on the understanding the need of the strategic shift of the physical business model to the digital one. Digital solutions are, of course, at the centre of any transformation strategy because technology can assist in addressing a variety of business difficulties and enabling a variety of new business models.