Friends, welcome back here we go again to continue our journey to the next level. Earlier we have seen impacts of E-Commerce and Market analysis in this session we are going to review Electronic retailing.
Before we start what is retailing?
A retailer is a sales intermediary, a seller who operates between manufacture and customers.
In simple terms retailing is done in stores. Companies that produce large number of products, such as P&G, Electrolux must use retailers in order to perform efficient distribution channel. In this retailing a catalogue sales has proved to be a very success in the past providing customers and companies a relief from the constraints of space and time.
A retailing which is done on internet/online is called e-tailing.
Electronic retiling/e-tailing
E-tailing makes it easier for manufactures to sell directly to the customers thus removing retailers (e.g. Dell) and it makes even easier for consumers because it gives a choice as well as reduces the price of a product.
As we have seen in our 2nd session (E-Business models) in same way e-tailing implies to all those models i.e. B2b, B2c, C2c and C2b and often it is diffcult to tell transactions between business whether it is B2b or B2c because some companies act as both manufactures and customers as well (eg. Dell, Amazon.com)
E-tailing ease of use and cheaper products has gained popularity among customers and business as well. Because of which e-tailing has resulted in the phenomenon of multi-channel shoppers, who switch channels from online to stores or vice visa. Now multi channel shoppers not only switch between channels but also between stores because of which it has been observed that stores catalogue sales has been decreasing every year. Multi channel shoppers are well – knowledge consumers and serving them requires very good levels of coordination between channels.
Products that sell well and acted as success for e-tailing industry are
- Guaranteed high brand recognition products (e.g. Dell, Sony)
- Digitized products (e.g. Software's, music)
- Relative inexpensive items (e.g. Office supplies, clothes)
- Frequently purchased items (e.g. Groceries)
- Commodities with standard specifications (e.g. Books, airline tickes)
- Packaged items that cannot be opened in stores (e.g. Chocolates, drugs)
Items that require physical quality check or perishable in nature (e.g. Milk, bread) don’t sale very well in e-tailing.
In total it can be said that even though it took a long time but many industries has entered e-tailing (e.g. john Lewis which became a successful online retail) and were successful and also it benefited consumers providing with cheaper products and wide variety of choice.
Reflective report
It is quite true that most of us take time to get adjust to new things or innovations no matter how good it is or beneficial because we are not sure of things that changes and want to wait and see what happens to it, this what has done by most of the bricks and motors’ companies in the past to get a sense of security.
Even big companies like john Lewis took time to enter online tested its website before the actual launch this explains the lack of trust in new things but now as most of the companies experienced the benefits of internet and e-tailing it can be said that it is going to be the future for most business.
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