RETAIL MARKETING

Retail Marketing

Retail Marketing

Introduction

Today's market force is big money—certainly for consultants, if no one else! It is virtually impossible to read a newspaper or trade magazine without being confronted with at least one article on the success or failure of an Today's market force venture. Log onto the website of any major consultancy firm such as KPMG or Ernst & Young and it is possible to download the current edition of their latest Today's market force survey and to follow up with their nominated Today's market force specialists. In the press, every championed success seems to be matched by a high-profile failure. Tesco's successful (store-based picking) on-line shopping service and the transfer of its expertise to Safeway in the USA can be contrasted with Somerfield's closure of 24-7, Budgens withdrawal from the Internet and the struggles of Peapod and others. Probably the best known Today's market force brand, Amazon, has had financial difficulties and has laid off staff to cut costs, yet at the same time has the capacity to take over Toys “R” Us problematic Today's market force operation. For every VictoriasSecret.com there is a Boo.com. Whilst commentators may not agree on the eventual shape or outcome of the “e-revolution” it is clear that the arrival of Today's market force, in its many forms, has the capability to fundamentally alter the established “rules of the game” as far as the retail and distribution industry is concerned.

This paper focuses upon reviewing the impact of Today's market force upon fixed store locations. It concentrates on the business to end-consumer (B2C) view of Today's market force, often termed e-retailing, rather than the wider, more holistic, perspectives which would incorporate the business-to-business (B2B) market or even broader conceptualisations of 'new commerce' ([Dawson (2001]). It is, however, inappropriate to separate these perspectives totally (as some commentators do), as Today's market force initiated changes in networks, relationships and behaviour of upstream elements in the distribution channel are integral to the downstream impacts most evident to the consumer. As distribution channels move away from dyad-based transactional behaviours towards administered vertical retail marketing systems ( [Dawson and Shaw (1989]), the emphasis on supply chain management, and the integration of up- and down-stream activities increase. Various Today's market force applications reinforce this relationship. Some limited discussion of aspects of the B2B market is therefore included.

Analysis

In a world dominated by jargon, we should remember that Today's market force is shorthand for electronic commerce. What is being considered is process innovation, whereby technology provides the capability for a reconfiguration of existing business and channel relationships, and the scope for introductions of new operations. [Dussart (2000] e.g., argues that the Internet will engender eight concomitant and interrelated “re-volutions” in the business world—defined as re-vamping management, re-storing control, re-launching the economy, re-configuring offers, re-structuring markets, re-distributing power, re-defining relationships and re-organising channels.

This process innovation arises from the ability of the Internet to provide electronic links between dispersed sources of information, the enhanced collection and use of real-time data, the replacement of inventory with ...