After years of denial and doubt about power of web in servicing potentially profitable customers, the retail industry has come to embrace web as a main stream channel. The shift hasn’t been easy though especially with firms having decades of brick and mortar experience suddenly grappling with this new beast that needed to be tamed! And yes, the sector has done well to reach out in time to understand what customers are looking on the web and unique buying patterns which are different from the store experience and buying pattern.
Of course, the acceptance of shopping mart on the web has not been equally fast in different continent especially with concerns and fear of credit card misuse being rampant in some places than others. Still US and Europe has steadily addressed these perceived issues fairly to a good extent and consumers are more comfortable buying online in these continents than they have every been which is a good sign for things to come for retailers. In fact, some of the leading brands from US e.g. eBay, Amazon, Dell, Office Depot and Best Buy have led dramatically by growing in double digits over the last few years.
Web is an unlimited growth opportunity for any enterprises & presents many possibilities both business to business (B2B) and Business to Consumer CB2C). It has got much needed push from new media is an open area for communication and the exchanging of experiences and wide range of opportunities across the globe. If you are an organisation with products and services with global appeal you will need to think seriously to tap this new opportunity.
Shyam Verma, PMP, ITIL
Program & portfolio mgnt professional
LinkedIn:spverma. Twitter: Shammy11
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