Gleaming Storefronts with Nothing Inside

Primary Topic: e-tail

Title: Gleaming Storefronts with Nothing Inside

Source: Business Week May 1, 2000 P.94

Summary:

A lot of e-tailers seemed to pursue the same strategy. Pour money into advertising and let the retail part of the business take care of itself. Now, e-tail is littered with companies with great ads trying to make up for online stores that are at best works in progress. While customer acquisition costs jumped 15% last year, fulfilment and customer service were problematic. It is shopping experience, not marketing that keeps customers coming back.

Questions:

Think about your own shopping experience at real stores, what makes you keep coming back?

Now, think about that same store online. What does a shopper want from an online store that will make the experience worth repeating?

Is the real experience different from the online experience? Does it depend on the purchasing behavior of the target market?

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