Online shopping convenient but isolating

Professor Yu Ma, Academic Director of the Master of Management in Retailing (MMR) program, weighs in on the ongoing impact of the pandemic on Canadian retail trends, particularly the steep rise in e-commerce. From his perspective, the convenience of online shopping comes at the expense of the social aspect that encourages customers to spend their money in-store.

Ma sees the future of e-commerce as a more inclusive experience and compares retail to gaming, where millions of gamers use online chats to play together. He expects social networking and e-commerce trends to facilitate a more social online shopping experience.