E-Commerce: One Size Doesn't Fit All
In theory e-commerce is the easiest way to sell a company's goods. But in reality, not all businesses can make a decent profit selling online, notes the International Journal of Electronic Commerce article, "Impact on Web-based E-Commerce on Channel Strategy in Retailing."
Today's marketplace is home to many combinations of sales, each providing its own set of headaches, notes the paper's author Assistant Professor of Information and Operations Management Ravi Sen.
Coordinated online/offline is the most versatile, says Sen, because a customer can purchase and return goods both online and in the store. Yet, it's often cumbersome because retailers must baby-sit different trade channels simultaneously to ensure their customers are happy.
"In recent years, all of these companies invested in online sales," says Sen, who co-authored the paper with Ruth C. King and Mu Xia, both from the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign. "In my opinion, coordinated online/offline sells should occur only when conditions are right."
For traditional offline sellers (usually retailers) the ease of moving to e-commerce depends on their previous trade channels. Yet direct sellers, such as Spiegel, can switch from paper-based catalogues to Web-based catalogues fairly easily because their direct channels to customers are already established.
Sen contends any progressive change is only worth the monetary risk if companies clearly understand their clientele's needs — a principle that has been saving and sinking businesses for centuries. @
-Alycia C. Zuehlke
