This article is relevant to today's lesson because it explains to us the importance of place for a business, and how they need to reach their customers and provide with the wants that the customers desire and to reach as many customers as possible, while keeping their costs low.
In your own words, mention how the article has helped you understand why online distribution is becoming popular.
Online distribution is becoming popular because it is more convenient for customers to buy, and for businesses to sell. It also allows businesses to decrease their prices, as they don't have to pay for rent for a store in a mall. Also, for businesses to reach their maximum possible amount of customers, they need to expand their horizons to a mix of online and offline selling (an omni-channel).
How does this relate to what else you already know?
This relates to what I already know because I know about many stores now having apps or websites to sell their goods, and I knew about Amazon's acquisition of Souq.
Does this article raise any new questions?
There are still many problems with e-commerce in the UAE, such as refund policies. How will business tackle this?
Challenge:  Explain some important factors in determining success of online distribution for a business 
Regulation of product pricing: Even though it may be convenient for consumers to buy online, their prices still need to be competitive.
Quality needs to be maintained.
The website must be pleasing and accessible to all categories of consumers.
It must be fast, reliable and secure.
Take advantage of m-commerce.

This article is relevant to today's lesson because it explains how "place" is a very significant factor that needs to be considered by a business because it enables them to reach out to more customers and meet all their needs and preferences.
In your own words, mention how the article has helped you understand why online distribution is becoming popular.
Online distribution is very popular in society as it provides customers with a fully integrated shopping experience due to its convenience and effectiveness when purchasing items. It allows consumers to purchase items from wherever they please as well as enabling the business to lower their costs.
How does this relate to what else you already know?
I know that many business have the option of shopping both offline and online, which improves customer satisfaction because makes customers participate and interact with the business at their own will.
Challenge:  Explain some important factors in determining success of online distribution for a business.
Quality of products and items need to be maintained to a high standard, even after being delivered. The website should be very secure and reliable in order for customers to shop at ease.

It teaches us the importance of the location business and how it may affect them. In addition, it tells us how they want to reach all of their customers whilst keeping their costs as low as possible.  

Because it is the most convenient for the customers due to the shop being open 24/7. Also, it is cheaper due to the retailers not having to pay rent for expensive shops in city centres where customers are typically located. In addition, the customers have a much larger choice and they can shop from anywhere if they have a stable connection to the internet. 

In my experience, online shopping is much easier because I don’t even need to step out of the house. I don’t need to put any effort into getting ready or something and I can just look online. However, the downside of this is that I can't wear the clothes to check the size or something so this might be a foreseeable issue that can occur. 

I wonder if they need stores in malls and city centres are necessary for a business to gain a profit. The lucrative industry in online distribution is already expanding with the high demand and during the pandemic companies such as Amazon have gained very high profit by already being established in the industry. 

Engaging Web Design, Regulation of product pricing, Maintaining high-quality products, Securing your shipments, marketing and product availability 

The article helps us understand the importance of the location business and how the location can affect a business. It also tells us how businesses can attract a high amount of customers while reducing their costs.

Online distribution is getting more popular since it is the most reliable and accessible way for customers to shop due to its availability, meaning that customers can order items whenever they want. Another reason is that it is cheaper because retailers need to pay rent wherever they open up a branch especially if it is in a mall etc. and running a website saves a lot more money. In conclusion, all the customers have a wider range of items to choose from and can shop from anywhere in the world. Online shopping can also include a lot of discounts and sales more regularly, and it is easier to find an item that a customer is looking for at a cheaper price.

From my past experiences, online shopping is a lot more convenient than going out to buy something since it is instantaneous and I wouldn't have to worry about leaving the house every time I need to buy something. There are also a lot more items available online to shop from, and some companies which do not have a retail store in my country can still deliver to where I live through online shopping. However, a disadvantage of this is when ordering clothing or accessories where I am unsure of the fitting/sizes and it can take many does to ship the order as well so I would need to wait for a long time.

Since e-commerce is taking over, I would like to know if any retail store would actually need to exist in the future and if it did, does it make any profit at all? Or would all businesses and stores be forced into making websites and other online platforms in order to raise capital? 

web engineering, shipment costs, maintaining high-quality products, product availability, delivery time and pricing