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Similarities in online shopping and off-line shopping
Impact of the Internet on shopping
Impact of the Internet on shopping
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Since the establishment of the Internet, traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ stores, also known as store-based retailers, have been under siege by online retailers. As stated by Magner (2013), the next five years will observe an increase in online sales, domestically and/or internationally, as it provides consumers with a wider variety of products at competitive prices, no shop-trading hours and no GST payable on purchases made overseas which are under AUD$1000. Furthermore, the retail lifecycle for the majority of store-based retailers has hit the mature to decline phase. Magner (2013) states that a “slowdown [in] technological system changes and wholehearted market acceptance and market saturation of products” have been strong indicators for the store-based to reach the maturity phase. Additionally, the changes in consumer lifestyle, product range preferences, low-cost private–label merchandise and slow technological advances are factors preventing the sector from propelling into the growth retail lifecycle phase (Magner 2013). Examples of firms that have been affected by digital retailers are Myer and David Jones as they face disadvantages factors like high operational cost (i.e. labor and rental cost), low range of products in comparison to online retailers (Denness 2014). The example is further illustrated by Figure 1 (above) as it provides statistics for the falling revenue for department stores to digital retailers (NAB Group Economics 2014). Moreover, the averseness of larger store-based retailers to invest in online retail channel has resulted in an increasing number of competitors targeting lucrative Australian consumers. An example is UK-based fashion retailer ASOS, which launched a website dedicated to Australian patrons, ... ... middle of paper ... ...Retail, viewed 2 April 2014, . Levy, M & Weitz, B 2012, 'Retail Communication Mix', in Retailing Management, 8th edn, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Magner, L 2013, , viewed 2 April 2014, . Murphy, T 2014, keynote, viewed 13 April 2014, . NAB Group Economics 2014, NAB Business, viewed 3 April 2014, . Rigby, D 2011, 'The Future of Shopping', Harvard Business Review, December 2011, pp. 65-76. Wyk, SV 2013, Traditional retail on life support, but omnichannel can help breathe new life.
Key Issues The growing popularity of online retailing is attracting competition from traditional and online multi-retailers such as Wal-Mart and Amazon, which are gaining considerable market shares in many of the product segments included in the specialty retail sector. Currently, the majority of revenue is generated by store sales, but online sales from the stores’ websites are increasing. With the US dollar getting weaker, international sales from these US based websites are increasing too. This creates a significant positive outlook for the large incumbent players but also acts as a significant barrier of entry for new players.
The main retailing communications strategies are used by retailers such as Sephora to link their sustainability in this market places nowadays. Traditionally, the emphasis of promotions has been on winning new customers but todays, there is more focus on adopting techniques to retain existing customers and placing greater efforts on relationship marketing. Communication is the exchange of ideas, information and knowledge between senders and receivers through an accepted code of symbols.
This part of the report will highlight the problems within the external environment that affect Marks and Spencer. Before planning and decision making can take place an organisation must be aware of these issues. The key factors that impact upon all organisations are Political, Economic, Social and Technological. These factors are commonly referred to as PEST factors. Political changes like change of government could affect the minimum wage that M&S workers are paid. Economic factors such as inflation could affect the pricing of garments. The Social factors that would need to be taken into account are lifestyle changes and demographics, M&S would need to consider where their target market stood. Technological advances could also affect M&S sales just recently their website has been updated from a corporate site to a new website offering online buying. Globalisation is a huge environmental factor affecting M&S. Globalisation is the increase in cross-border economic, social and technological exchange. For organisations it increases competition and the search for cost advantages.
The food and staples retailing is an increasingly competitive industry. The market giants (competitors) are Coles (owned by Wesfarmers) which has 741 stores across Australia and plans to add 70 m...
E-tailing is the online sales of goods or services while brick-and-mortar businesses are those that operate in the physical market such as department stores, business offices etc. According to Ed Brindley, the director of marketing at Wincor Nixdorf,” brick and mortar will always be vital. The key is to make such technology advances simply part of the shopping experience and part of the retail boom”, (BestMark, 2012). Purchasing items online has become a convenience for many customers as well as the fact that most online stores offer lower prices. However brick and mortar stores can use technology to compete against e-tailers.
One of the major trends in the industry worldwide is online shopping. Online shopping is a form of electronic trade whereby consumers use the internet to buy products that they require, these products are then delivered to their doorstep. During 2013, the number of online users expanded by 17%, to 14 million users, with greater and faster growth expected. Furthermore, this group of online users correlates very closely with the medium- to high-income sector of the population, which appears to have a strong pent-up demand for online services. Online shopping, in developed countries like Australia, is already very prominent and to disruptive to regular brick and mortar retailers, where in Australia around 7% of all sales are done through online retailers. This mega-shift in retail has resulted in retailers moving towards a more omni directional sales environment. Only two food retailers, Pick ‘n Pay and Woolworths, have launched limited online shopping websites, aimed at the higher end of the market. Currently, online retail sales in South Africa represents 0,4% of total retail sales for Woolworths but it grew 40% over the past year. For consumers who can access the internet one huge pro...
Current retailing is a long way from easy. Consumer electronics and domestic appliances have recorded a 20% growth in 2011 and 65% in 2012. The advanced retailing industry records a high representative turnover, which builds the preparation, ta...
The transition to an online space poses several challenges for discount stores. The challenge for the discounters evaluating the potential of opening an online store is maintaining their momentum without losing focus on their core business model. The constant emergence of new technologies and the expansion of the digital economy places pressure on physical stores. The cost and complexity of setting up online commerce and business activities makes it difficult for discount stores to create an online shop. Discount stores tend to focus on consumers who are price conscious and looking for low-cost quality products. They tend to source high volumes of fast-moving consumer goods at a reduced price and therefore this makes it difficult for them to make online sales as the cost of delivery is expensive in relation to the price of the products being sold. This is evident in the trial that Primark carried out by selling clothes through the popular website ASOS. “Bason said the economics of selling Primark clothes online did not add up: At our price points we don’t think anybody can put a full service online and make money” (The Guardian, 2014).
A relatively new development has been the introduction of Internet-based retailing. It is estimated that online sales have tripled between 1997 and 1998, reaching roughly nine billion dollars. With the growing number of households joining the Web each day, projections indicate no signs of slowing down anytime soon (Anonymous, Aug 1999). Interactive retailing can prove to be a real threat to existing businesses. A recent article by Bob Woods discussed a report from Jupiter Communications LLC which “claims that most of the growth will come at the expense of traditional retailing” (Aug 13, 1999, p. 11). The report goes on to state that a large part of Internet sales is not growth, but a shift in dollars from traditional retail channels. In order to regain lost sales, many brick-and-mortar outlets have ventured into the World Wide Web.
On the other hand, the retail industry is central to the UK’s economy: it employs in the region of 2.9 million people – 11% of the total UK workforce – and in 2010 UK retail sales stood at over £293 billion. Yet it is clearly facing severe challenges at the moment. (Barry Knight). The high street retail market has been experiencing a downfall over the last couple of years. The most important factor is the rate of inflation, particularly in relation to commodity prices. The rising Value Added Tax (VAT) and National Insurance have drastically affected the consumer spending. This decreases the disposable income of the consumers with retailers suffering as a result. As stated by Knight that the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium, UK retail sales values for May 2011 were 2.1% down on a like-for-like basis compared with the same month a year earlier. Furthermore, it looks unlikely that conditions will ameliorate quickly as the perpetuating low interest rates and relative support from the banking sector are still maskin...
The online stores are nothing but an extension of retailing. In net terminology it is known as E-tailing. If you go by definition, it is “E-tailing refers to retailing over the internet. Thus an e-tailor is a B2C business that executes a transaction with the final consumer. E-tailors can be pure play businesses like Amazon.com or businesses that have evolved from a legacy business, Tesco.com. E-tailing is a subset of e-commerce”
Such that, today it has begun to threaten the traditional brick-and-mortar retail. Identifying the danger, many physical retailers have started to establish or beef up their online presence., who play to their strengths of physical reach and multi-location presence, will be able to build successful and, more importantly, complementary, business models – just as it happened in the US.
Economic Development: Retailing has great contribution on economic development of a nation. Retailing has become an integral part of our daily lives. A consumer expense on retail goods drives much to the global economy, and the retail industry employs a large number of people. Nations that have enjoyed the greatest economic and social progress have an exciting retail sector. Retailing is one of the most important industries in the world and plays a principal role in economic development of the country. A healthy retail sector’s growth gives speed to economic
I also feel that online purchases are a big part of many of today’s businesses, and I would assume they must lose customers or potential customers due to the risks or fears associated with online shopping. Throughout this course we have discussed many aspects of technology and the topic of e-commerce, referring to the buying or selling of goods online, has been a part of that. (Baltzan, 2012) In class we have also talked about the digital divide, and how businesses have advantages over other businesses when they have access to technologies. (Baltzan, 2012) I had mentioned in class once that a simple advantage to having access to technology is that you can bring in more potential customers with the use of online shopping. I think this is so because of the reasons I stated above: it is quicker, cheaper, convenient, etc. I still do believe this...
Businesses have faced a great challenge over the course of the last decade – keeping up with the internet. Just in the U.S., major retailers have found themselves competing in the ever growing online market. While online sales still don’t outshine their in-store sells on the income statement, they are at risk of losing their grasps on the market as online retailers like Amazon sell more online than its next 12 biggest competitors combined (Banjo). As online retailers continue to branch out to international markets, U.S. based retailers will face new challenges to maintain their relevancy in online commerce. However, “it’s useful to ask ourselves, ‘Just how global are we?’ before we think about where we go from here”, says economist Panjak Ghemawat. And the answer to that for now is only slightly. Nevertheless, for businesses who were passed in the last decade to reach the internet goldmines, it can be expected that reaching new international markets will happ...