Can selling products online replace local market selling?

In my opinion, online selling can never replace fully the local market selling. There are factors to look at. It depends on which part of the world you come from. If you are from a developed area with good and efficient IT infrastructure, then online selling may take a major portion compared to local market selling. But in areas that are under developed and IT infrastructure is not that efficient, then the local market selling would still prevail. There is also the factor of some people prefer to see, touch and feel the product before commiting to buy. This will again affect whether online selling would make a breakthrough in this area. The travelling distance is another factor. If the people live far from the shops, then the likelyhood of online selling to be a main role is possible. Otherwise, people would find it easier to shop locally if the city is small. Many other factors not mentioned here plays important part as to which style of marketing or selling will be a major role.

I personally think in terms of buying hard to get items, normally expensive items, and things that require a lot of cash in general, the internet will definitely take over. As for groceries and perishables goods, I don't think the internet will replace a solid market as easily. It may eventually happen, however it's going to be a while. There's also the fact that a LOT of people still like to just go out and buy what they want, when they want it. The internet is a great place for bargain hunters that don't mind waiting around. I don't think it's going to replace a physical market, however it will impact it greatly over the next few years.