Culture has always been an important aspect of the business; however, its role has shifted significantly over time. Before, various cultures used to fulfill certain needs in different ways due to different cultural habits and preferences. The cultural borders and differences used to be quite robust. The rise of digital culture has changed this situation tremendously and permanently.
The term digital culture refers to the culture that is shaped by the emergence and use of digital technologies. Due to the exposure to technology and the easy accessibility to the internet, people from various countries and cultures are becoming very similar in different areas.
To elaborate, the shopping industry is a nice example of this transformation. Before, in the US, American consumers were known for having a strong preference for shopping in large outlets, department stores, and retails. Taiwanese people, on the other hand, had a strong preference to shop from their infamous Taiwanese night-markets. However, with the emergence of technological improvements and the rise of online retails, both cultures experienced a significant change in their shopping behaviors. Research shows that in the US, shopping habits have been shown to fade from large retail outlets to online shopping. Similarly, in Taiwan, the shopping behavior of customers shifted from night-markets to online retails, creating a staggering value of US$37.6 billion for eCommerce.
Now the distinction is not whether the customers are U.S. or Taiwanese, it is whether the customers are shopping online or offline. Therefore, we can argue that digital culture has converged the way in which people from different cultures decide to consume – shifting everything towards digital consumption. Naturally, this shift has created new opportunities for companies to aim succeeding beyond certain national borders. Without a doubt, we can argue that giants such as Amazon and Alibaba were successful to identify the digital culture of online shopping and achieved global dominance in their industry.
What is your opinion on digital culture? Can we even argue that nation-specific differences matter in purchasing behavior anymore?
Resources
Thomas, L. (2019). US malls haven’t been this empty since 2012. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/03/us-malls-havent-been-this-empty-since-2012-new-reis-report-says.html
Gulliver, K., Wood, P., Kimball, R. and Hudson, A. (2019). Sears and the changing habits of American shoppers | Spectator USA. [online] Spectator USA. Available at: https://spectator.us/sears-habits-american-shoppers/
Import-export.societegenerale.fr. (2019). Taiwanese Market: E-commerce. [online] Available at: https://import-export.societegenerale.fr/en/country/taiwan/ecommerce
https://www.diggitmagazine.com/wiki/digital-culture
