3

Chapter 3
Retailing in Electronic Commerce: Products and Services
Learning Objectives
Describe electronic retailing (e-tailing) and its characteristics.
Define and describe the primary e-tailing business models.
Describe how online travel and tourism services operate and their impact on the industry.
Discuss the online employment market, including its participants, benefits, and limitations.
Describe online real estate services.
Discuss online stock-trading services.
Learning Objectives
Discuss cyberbanking and online personal finance.
Describe on-demand delivery by e-grocers.
Describe the delivery of digital products and online entertainment.
Discuss various e-tail consumer aids, including comparison-shopping aids.
Identify the critical success factors and failure avoidance tactics for direct online marketing and
e-tailing.
Describe reintermediation, channel conflict, and personalization in e-tailing.

Internet Marketing and Electronic Retailing
electronic retailing (e-tailing)
Retailing conducted online, over the Internet
e-tailers
Retailers who sell over the Internet

Internet Marketing and Electronic Retailing
Travel
Computer Hardware and Software
Consumer Electronics
Office Supplies
Sport and Fitness Goods
Books and Music
Toys
Health and Beauty
Entertainment
Apparel and Clothing
Jewelry
Cars
Services
Pet Supplies

Internet Marketing and Electronic Retailing
Characteristics of Successful
E-Tailing
High brand recognition
A guarantee provided by highly reliable or well-known vendors
Digitized format
Relatively inexpensive items
Frequently purchased items
Commodities with standard specifications
Well-known packaged items that cannot be opened even in a traditional store
E-Tailing Business Models
E-Tailing Business Models
Classification by Distribution Channel
Mail-order retailers that go online
Direct marketing from manufacturers
Pure-play e-tailers
Click-and-mortar retailers
Internet (online) malls
E-Tailing Business Models
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
virtual (pure-play) e-tailers
Firms that sell directly to consumers over the Internet without maintaining a physical sales channel
E-Tailing Business Models
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
E-Tailing Business Models
multichannel business model
A business model where a company sells in multiple marketing channels simultaneously (e.g., both physical and online stores)
Retailing in Online Malls
Referring directories
Malls with shared services
E-Tailing Business Models
Other B2C Models and Special Retailing
Representative special B2C services
Postal services
Services and products for adults
Wedding channels
Gift registries


Travel and Tourism Services Online
Special Services
Wireless services
Direct marketing
Alliances and consortia


Travel and Tourism Services Online
Benefits of Online Travel Services
To travelers
Free information accessible at any time from any place
Substantial discounts are available
To travel services providers
Airlines, hotels, and cruise lines sell otherwise-empty spaces
Direct selling saves the provider’s commission and its processing

Travel and Tourism Services Online
Limitations of Online Travel Services
Many people do not use the Internet
The amount of time and the difficulty of using virtual travel agencies may be significant, especially for complex trips and for inexperienced Internet surfers
Complex trips or those that require stopovers may not be available online because they require specialized knowledge and arrangements
Travel and Tourism Services Online
Corporate Travel
To reduce corporate travel costs, companies can make arrangements that enable employees to plan and book their own trips
Impact of EC on the Travel Industry
The Internet may be contributing to a sharp reduction in the number of travel agents
It has also driven the rise of intermediaries—third-party online sellers and portals provide price comparisons and a range of other value-adding services for the consumer
Employment, Placement, and the Job Market Online
Employment, Placement, and the Job Market Online
THE INTERNET JOB MARKET
Job seekers
Employers seeking employees
Job agencies
Government agencies and institutions
A consortium of large employers and college careers advisors
Global online portals
Employment, Placement, and the Job Market Online
Employment, Placement, and the Job Market Online
Limitations of the Electronic Job Market
The gap between those with skills and access to the Internet and those without
Companies find that they are flooded with applicants when they advertise online, screening is a time-consuming and costly process
Security and privacy
High turnover costs for employers by accelerating employees’ movement to better jobs
Employment, Placement, and the Job Market Online
Intelligent Agents in the Electronic Job Market
Intelligent agents for job seekers
Intelligent agents for employers
Employment, Placement, and the Job Market Online
Real Estate, Insurance, and Stock Trading Online
Real Estate
E-commerce and the Internet are slowly but surely having an ever increasing impact on the real estate industry
Real Estate Applications
Advice for consumers on buying or selling
Commercial real estate listings
Links to house listings in all major cities
Maps
Information on current mortgage rates
Real Estate, Insurance, and Stock Trading Online
Real Estate Mortgages
Many sites offer loan calculators
Mortgage brokers can pass loan applications over the Internet and receive bids from lenders that want to issue mortgages
“Name your own price” model
Aggregation of loan seekers package placed for bid on the Internet


Real Estate, Insurance, and Stock Trading Online
Insurance Online
Standard insurance policies, such as auto, home, life, or health are offered at a substantial discount
Third-party aggregators offer free comparisons of available policies
Several large insurance and risk-management companies offer comprehensive insurance contracts online
Real Estate, Insurance, and Stock Trading Online
Online Stock Trading
Investment information
Related financial markets
The risk of having an online stock account
Real Estate, Insurance, and Stock Trading Online
Banking and Personal Finance Online
electronic (online) banking (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
Banking and Personal Finance Online
Banking and Personal Finance Online
International and Multiple-Currency Banking
Some international retail purchasing can be done by providing a credit card number, other transactions may require international banking support

Banking and Personal Finance Online
Online Financial Transaction Implementation Issues
Securing financial transactions
Access to banks’ intranets by outsiders
Imaging systems
Pricing online versus offline services
Risks
Banking and Personal Finance Online
Personal Finance Online
Online Billing and Bill Paying
Automatic transfer of mortgage payments
Automatic transfer of funds to pay monthly utility bills
Paying bills from online banking accounts.
Merchant-to-customer direct billing
Using an intermediary for bill consolidation
Person-to-person direct payment
Pay bills at bank kiosks
Taxes
On-Demand Delivery Systems and E-Grocers
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
Online Delivery of Digital Products, Entertainment, and Media


Online Delivery of Digital Products, Entertainment, and Media
Online Entertainment
Examples of online entertainment
Web browsing
Internet gaming
Fantasy sports games
Single and multiplayer games
Adult entertainment
Card games
Social networking sites
Participatory Web sites
Reading
Live events
Online Delivery of Digital Products, Entertainment, and Media
Entertainment-related services
Event ticketing
Restaurants
Information retrieval
Retrieval of audio and video entertainment

Online Delivery of Digital Products, Entertainment, and Media
Developments in the Delivery of Digital Products
CD customization sites
The disintermediation of traditional print media
Digital delivery may replace or enhance traditional delivery methods for various types of digital content
Online Purchase-Decision Aids
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
“Spy” services
Wireless Shopping comparisons
Online Purchase-Decision Aids
Business Ratings Sites
Trust Verification Sites
Other Shopping Tools
Amazon.com’s A9 Search Engine
Answers.com
Problems with E-Tailing and Lessons Learned
The reasons that retailers give for not going online include:
Their product is not appropriate for Web sales
Lack of significant opportunity
High cost
Technological immaturity
Online sales conflict with core business
Problems with E-Tailing and Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Don’t ignore profitability
Manage new risk exposure
Watch the cost of branding
Do not start with insufficient funds
The web site must be effective
Keep it interesting
Problems with E-Tailing and Lessons Learned
Successful Click-and-Mortar Strategies
Speak with one voice
Leverage the multichannels
Empower the customer
Issues in E-Tailing
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
Issues in E-Tailing
Issues in E-Tailing
cybermediation (electronic intermediation)
The use of software (intelligent) agents to facilitate intermediation
hypermediation
Extensive use of both human and electronic intermediation to provide assistance in all phases of an e-commerce venture
Unbundling
Issues in E-Tailing
channel conflict
Situation in which an online marketing channel upsets the traditional channels due to real or perceived damage from competition
Issues in E-Tailing
Determining the Right Price
Personalization
Fraud and Other Illegal Activities
How to Make Customers Happy
Managerial Issues
What should our strategic position be?
Are we financially viable?
How should we introduce wireless shopping?
Are there international legal issues regarding online recruiting?
Managerial Issues
Do we have ethics and privacy guidelines?
How will intermediaries act in cyberspace?
Should we set up alliances?