E-tailer

Encyclopedia : E : ET : ETA : E-tailer

An E-tailer is a retailer that primarily uses the internet as a medium for customers to shop for the good or service provided.

Within the realm of e-tailing, there are two distinct categories of e-tailers: pure plays and bricks and clicks. A pure play e-tailer is one that uses the internet as its primary means of retailing. On the other hand, a brick and click e-tailer is one that uses the Internet to push its good or service, but also has the traditional physical storefront available to customers. Examples of pure play e-tailers are [Dell] and [Amazon.com]. Popular examples of brick and click e-tailers are [Canadian Tire] and [Futureshop]. As you can see, on these sites, the option to shop is there, but they also give the customer the option to find a store location in their area.

Contents

1 Advantages to E-tailing
2 Disadvantages to E-tailing
3 E-tail Legislation
4 Customer Support
5 References

Advantages to E-tailing

E-tailers who take part in pure play–type business have the opportunity to turn higher profit margins, due in part to the fact that many of the overhead expenses associated with a physical retail space (such as labour, retail space, inventory, etc) can be significantly alleviated. Pure play allows for a retailer to be able to reach customers world wide, whilst still only maintaining one ‘location’ for each and every customer to visit, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Disadvantages to E-tailing

Although many believe that e-tailing is the way of the future, many studies have shown that e-tailers are failing to meet the needs of online customers and that they generally only have one chance to make a good impression if they want their customers to return. It is said that the three most important things that e-tailers today must work on to ensure profitability are “search, support and promotion”.

E-tail Legislation

E-tailers must also abide by many rules, regulations and legislation set up by organizations such as the Federal Trade Commission and the [Electronic Retailing Association]. These organizations in the United States, as well as similar ones around the world, make sure that E-tailers remain ethical in their practices and do not misrepresent products online, among many other things.

Customer Support

For the customer, E-tailers can be a fast and convenient way to shop, however sometimes problems can occur: shipments can get lost, errors in shipments can get made, customers can get overbilled, products can be faulty, credit card fraud can occur etc. There are many organizations designed to protect the customer and his/her rights. An extensive list of these organizations can be found at [SavvyShopper.org].

For more information on e-tailing see also Online Shop.

You may also click [here] to see the a list of the Internet's top e-tailers, along with their Annual Revenue Growths, 2004 vs. 2005.

References

This page was constructed with use of the following sites:

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