E-Retailing

E-Retailing is defined as using a variety of different technologies or media to sell goods or services. It may be broadly be a combination of two elements.

1:Combining new technologies with elements of traditional stores and direct mail models.
2: Using new technologies to replace elements of store or direct mail retail.

Internet retail has some elements in common with direct mail retailing. For eg, e-mail messages can replace mail messages and the telephone, that are used in the direct mail model as means of providing information, communication and transactions while on-line catalogues can replace printed catalogues. As with direct mail businesses, critical success factors include:1:Use of customer databases 2: Easy ordering 3: Quick Delivery

These 3 aspects are of critical importance because in my opinion there is nothing worse than a poorly managed or laid out site. To name names i have no regret in saying that elveries.ie a disaster to navigate and a simple task like buying a sports bag almost lead me to destroying my very own computer in an act of rage.

In America

Sites like macys.com and gap.com, as well as relative latecomers walmart.com and jcpenney.com, are evolving into online branches. This kind of site is not limited to the rich, famous, and nationally well-branded. Many smaller stores have used the Web to broaden their market by opening online branches, which make available to Web shoppers goods that were once accessible only to people near the store.The inverse image of this model is also evident: businesses that started out as Web e-retailers but have since added brick-and-mortar operations to their sales channels. Gazoontite.com launched its Web site selling hypoallergenic products before opening its flagship store in San Francisco. Additional stores have opened on both coasts and in the Chicago area.

Catalog Retailers

For catalog retailers ie;Argos, expansion to the Web is a relatively easy development. They already conduct most of their sales through remote media and are already equipped to handle customer service and order fulfillment.This model also has an inverse, in the form of dot-coms that have added print catalogs or other print sales tools to their online site offerings. Print sales tools can serve as a tangible reiteration of an e-retail brand and its product offerings. Garden.com, for example, added a print catalog to the many merchandising techniques the company uses to drive sales at its Web site.The consistent, physical reminder of your name and brand can be an important aspect of your marketing, regardless of whether you intend to achieve sales through both a print catalog and your retail site.

High-Tech

High-tech features sometimes backfire. "A few years ago, animation was a great gee-whiz kind of technology, but from a consumer standpoint, there's been a backlash," he says. "Our research has shown that an animated [graphic] will hurt your credibility."

Tourism

Tourism is a huge money maker for any country and here in ireland it is especially important because of our huge tourist attraction. Here Failte Ireland have adapted well to the e-Retailing boom by setting up a very good website in www.FailteIreland.ie . They have laid it out very well by dividing the seprate areas of ireland into different sections. The majority of holidays are booked online anyway so this was a natural progression for this industary.