How the Internet Changed (and Still Changes) the Retail Market
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To say that the Internet has changed the way we live our lives is an understatement. The Internet has brought people together, removing conventional boundaries like space and culture. People can now interact with somebody from halfway across the globe with a touch of a single button. And that change has encompassed every aspect of life, from personal and social interactions, to the way we communicate, and ultimately the way we do business.
The Internet’s impact on retail markets is a good example of the change as far as business is concerned. Traditional markets are limited by time and space, where merchants and traders could only sell to people who are physically in their stores and pay for it on location. When the Internet first came, the few and far more progressive retailers took their products to the Web by showcasing it in an online catalog. Order fulfillment and payment remained inside the store premises. And then e-tailers like books giant Amazon came along and led the way for e-commerce. With the advancements in technology and security, more and more brick and mortars launched their own Web sites that enabled them to sell 24 hours a day, to anyone in the planet.
The first retailers to take business to the Internet soon found themselves with a marketing tool that augmented their sales. Their Web sites became a branch that was open all night, and could take orders that they can fulfill anytime they want. It was a new marketplace for them, and one that provided unlimited possibilities. Consumers, on the other hand, benefited from the sudden influx of information. They are now able to compare products, services, prices, specifications, even “sample” the products online. Not to mention being free from the hassles of looking for a parking lot in stores. The added convenience derived through online shopping boosted Internet sales year after year. This is a market that topped more than $25 billion in sales just for December 2008 alone, and that’s during a recession and a downtrend.
The Internet is constantly evolving and along with this evolution comes the changes that are currently being seen in e-tailing. More and more companies are now seeing their e-commerce operations as not just sales and marketing tool, but part of their market development and are weaved into business strategies. The e-tailers realized that to be on top of today’s e-tail industry, one should offer the best service, the most information, and more hassle-free and complete online shopping experience. They had to strengthen communication mediums and distribution channels. In short, offer new products or services, significant improvement over existing ones, target new customers, and implement certain strategies relevant to their markets.
All these just prove that the customer is the king.
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