Retailing in Electronic

Commerce: Products and

Services
1. Describe electronic retailing (e-tailing) and its
characteristics.
2. Define and describe the primary e-tailing
business models.
3. Describe how online travel and tourism
services operate and their impact on the
industry.
4. Discuss the online employment market,
including its participants, benefits, and
limitations.
5. Describe online real estate services.
6. Discuss online stock-trading services.
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7. Discuss cyberbanking and online
personal finance.
8. Describe on-demand delivery of
groceries and similar
products/services.
9. Describe the delivery of digital
products and online entertainment.
10.Discuss various online consumer aids,
including comparison-shopping aids.
11.Describe disintermediation and other
B2C strategic issues.
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• OVERVIEW OF ELECTRONIC RETAILING
– electronic retailing (e-tailing)
Retailing conducted online, over the Internet
– e-tailers
Retailers who sell over the Internet
• SIZE AND GROWTH OF THE B2C MARKET
• WHAT SELLS WELL ON THE INTERNET
• CHARACTERISTICS AND ADVANTAGES OF
SUCCESSFUL E-TAILING

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WHAT SELLS WELL ON THE
INTERNET
• Travel • Health and beauty
• Computer hardware • Entertainment
and software • Apparel and
• Consumer clothing
electronics • Jewelry
• Office supplies
• Cars
• Sport and fitness
goods • Services
• Books and music • Food and drugs
• Toys and hobbies • Pet supplies
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• CLASSIFICATION BY
DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
1. Direct marketing by mail-order retailers
that go online
2. Direct marketing by manufacturers
3. Pure-play e-tailers
4. Click-and-mortar retailers
5. Internet (online) malls

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• Direct Marketing by Mail-Order Companies
– direct marketing
Broadly, marketing that takes place
without intermediaries between
manufacturers and buyers; in the
context of this book, marketing done
online between any seller and buyer
• Direct Sales by Manufacturers

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• Pure-Play E-Tailers
– virtual (pure-play) e-tailers
Firms that sell directly to
consumers over the Internet
without maintaining a physical
sales channel

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• click-and-mortar retailers
Brick-and-mortar retailers that offer a
transactional Web site from which to conduct
business
• brick-and-mortar retailers
Retailers who do business in the non-Internet,
physical world in traditional brick-and-mortar
stores
• multichannel business model
A business model where a company sells in
multiple marketing channels simultaneously
(e.g., both physical and online stores)
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• OTHER B2C MODELS AND SPECIAL
RETAILING
– Transaction brokers
– Information portals
– Community portal and social networks
– Content creators or disseminators
– Viral marketing
– Market makers
– Make (build)-to-order
– B2B2C
– Service providers
• B2C IN SOCIAL NETWORKS
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• Online travel bookings and associated
travel services are one of the most
successful
e-commerce implementations
• SPECIAL SERVICES ONLINE
– Wireless services
– Direct marketing
– Alliances and consortia
– Travel-Oriented Social Networks
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• BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF ONLINE
TRAVEL SERVICES
– Benefits
• The amount of free information is tremendous
• Information is accessible at any time from any place
• Substantial discounts
– Limitations
• Many people do not use the Internet
• The amount of time and the difficulty of using virtual
travel agencies can be significant
• Complex trips or those that require stopovers might not
be available online
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• IMPACT OF EC ON THE TRAVEL
INDUSTRY
– Direct impacts because customers increasingly
using the Internet to make bookings
– Indirect impacts because airlines and hotel chains
encouraging customers to book direct or through
online wholesalers, bypassing travel agents
– Investing in content (information, travel advice,
and the like) is a requirement for success in this
competitive market

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• CORPORATE TRAVEL
– Many large corporations receive additional
services from large travel agencies
– To reduce corporate travel costs, companies can
make arrangements that enable employees to
plan and book their own trips
– Travel authorization software that checks
availability of funds and compliance with
corporate guidelines is usually provided by travel
companies

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• THE INTERNET JOB MARKET
– The following parties use the Internet job
market:
• Job seekers
• Employers seeking employees
• Classified ads
• Job agencies
• Government agencies and institutions
– A Consortium of Large Employers and College
Career Advisors
– Online Job Markets on Social Networking
– Global Online Portals
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• BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF
THE ELECTRONIC JOB MARKET
• Probably the biggest limitation of the
online job market is the fact that
some people do not use and do not
have access to the Internet, although
this problem has declined
substantially

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• REAL ESTATE ONLINE
– Zillow, Craigslist, and Other Web 2.0 Real Estate
Services
• INSURANCE ONLINE
– Companies use Internet to offer standard
insurance policies, such as auto, home, etc.
often at a substantial discount to individuals
• ONLINE STOCK TRADING
– The Risk of Trading in an Online Stock Account

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• electronic (online) banking or e-
banking
Various banking activities conducted
from home or the road using an
Internet connection; also known as
cyberbanking, virtual banking, online
banking, and home banking

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• HOME BANKING CAPABILITIES
– Informational, administrative,
transactional, portal, and others
• VIRTUAL BANKS
– Have no physical location; only conduct
online transactions
• INTERNATIONAL AND MULTIPLE-
CURRENCY BANKING
– Support global transactions
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• ONLINE FINANCIAL TRANSACTION
IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
– Securing Financial Transactions
– Access to Banks’ Intranets by Outsiders
– Imaging Systems
– Fees Online Versus Fees for Offline Services
– Risks
• PERSONAL FINANCE ONLINE
– Online Billing and Bill Paying
– Taxes
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• ON-DEMAND DELIVERY OF PRODUCTS
– e-grocer
A grocer that takes orders online and provides
deliveries on a daily or other regular schedule or
within a very short period of time
– on-demand delivery service
Express delivery made fairly quickly after an
online order is received
– The Case of E-Grocers
• FRESHDIRECT

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ONLINE DELIVERY OF DIGITAL
PRODUCTS, ENTERTAINMENT,
AND MEDIA

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• ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT
– Adult Entertainment
– Internet Gambling
– Online Dating Services

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• shopping portals
Gateways to e-storefronts and e-malls;
may be comprehensive or niche
oriented
• shopping robots (shopping agents
or shopbots)
Tools that scout the Web on behalf of
consumers who specify search criteria

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• “SPY” SERVICES
– Wireless Shopping Comparisons
• BUSINESS RATINGS SITES
• TRUST VERIFICATION SITES
• OTHER SHOPPING TOOLS

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• A traditional brick-and-mortar store
with a mature Web site that uses a
click-and mortar strategy is able to
do the following:
– Speak with one voice
– Leverage the multichannels
– Empower the customer

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• disintermediation
The removal of organizations or
business process layers responsible for
certain intermediary steps in a given
supply chain
• reintermediation
The process whereby intermediaries
(either new ones or those that had
been disintermediated) take on new
intermediary roles
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• cybermediation (electronic
intermediation)
The use of software (intelligent)
agents to facilitate intermediation
• channel conflict
Situation in which an online marketing
channel upsets the traditional
channels due to real or perceived
damage from competition
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• DETERMINING THE RIGHT PRICE
• PRODUCT AND SERVICE
CUSTOMIZATION AND
PERSONALIZATION
• FRAUD AND OTHER ILLEGAL
ACTIVITIES
• HOW TO MAKE CUSTOMERS
HAPPY
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1. What should our strategic position be?
2. What are the limitations of e-tailing?
3. How should we introduce wireless
shopping?
4. Do we have ethics and privacy
guidelines?
5. How will intermediaries act in
cyberspace?

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