IT IS TRUE!! We still need somone to unplug our toilets, and deliver the post, and draw the Mona Lisa and serve us in a clothing store. Although our society has grown to depend on the Internet, it is not the only thing.
I interpreted Kelly's book as a way in which he decribes the complexity of the Internet but also questions where it is going in the future. How can companies keep up in their online sector? Will that company fail if it does not meet up with the current online shift?
I wanted to use Kelly's book as a way to reinforce the apparent decline of the retail industry. It has been all over the news lately that the carbon tax will mean a greater loss in the retail sector but also that people are just not physically shopping. And why would you? If the price of your product is 20% cheaper online than in the store.
For companies to move forward in this current digital age they must move faster and continue to look at ways to ensure their company will flourish online. Websites such as Catch Of The Day are successful because they aim at an online market. They buy goods in bulk and can sell them for much cheaper prices that in stores. For example, in the first week of July, Catch Of The Day announced they were selling Dell Notebooks for a very cheap price. The ABC covered a story on this event and claimed that Catch Of The Day sold all their Dell Notebooks within 2 hours of their release.
Kelly is right when he discusses the future of companies, they have to succeed in higher online capacity than ever before. And this includes the retail industry. I believe more needs to be done within the retail sector to ensure its survival.
To view the differences between the retail industry and the E-tail industry click here.
a MASSIVE YES . . . if companies don't shift with the times and go online then yes i believe it will fail . . . the thought of online shopping has caught on and the fact its pretty much discounted things u can buy makes the online experience that much better !!!
ReplyDeleteI think you raised a really valid point with this particular issue as items are definitely cheaper on 'e-tail' sights. Not only catch of the day but there is also Scoopon, GraysOnline, Red Balloon not to mention Coles and Woolworths online shops.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment internet sales are on average a 5% of a companies annual sales. This would be due to the high number of internet shoppers... But is it we are just getting too lazy to physically go shopping? or are the deals just too good to refuse?
In reply to you Elise, I think it has a small part to do with the fact that we like to shop from the comforts of our own home. We may not be lazy but we definitely prefer the cheaper option. I myself do quite a bit of online shopping from eBay, ASOS and Bras N Things because the prices are just so much better. Retailers like Myer and David Jones are up to speed with online markets but they are also worried that they are too good and that people may stop physically shopping altogether.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side of the debate is fear that aligns with online shopping. Online shopping is here to stay but regular stores will be here to stay also. I do a lot of online shopping but nothing beats doing it in the flesh. Its such a relief to walk into a shop where i can see what i want in one glance rather than shifting through page after page of nothing. Also, clothing is a hard one. I would say 60% of the time it either doesn't show up or it doesn't fit. Lastly, online shopping is really dangerous for shopaholics. Don't laugh. This is serious. In the past, a shopaholic didn't have to worry about controlling their addiction while at home. However, if their is internet access in the home, that person must face their addictive behaviors even while at home.
ReplyDeleteThe retail sector needs to adapt in order to survive in a world where technology is advancing! From personal experience I would rather shop online where it is cheaper and better suited to my schedule as I'm at uni most of the day. Yet on the other side I would rather try clothing on before I buy the product. Some kind of physical shopping interaction and online shopping need to co-exist to survive in my mind!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree that retailers have to alter their business models or fail. Why should I not buy online, when going to a physical store is so often counter-productive, not to mention the 'pleasures' of poor customer service and uninterested staff.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, nothing beats good old fashioned face-to-face bargaining, this is a level of human interaction that e-bay will never be able to displace.
It's kind of like the chicken and the egg though isn't it? Did the customers follow the companies online? Or did the companies follow the customer? Websites like eBay and Amazon.com were successful long before you're average corner store went online. So were companies copying competitors or chasing customers?
ReplyDeleteI personally think it was like one of those scenes from a movie where the good guys and bad guys are fighting each other, then something completely random happens so everyone goes to investigate. Customers and business's were buying and selling, then the Internet landed on them and everyone went to investigate.
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ReplyDelete1. I do enjoy online shopping but there is nothing quite like the old fashioned satisfaction of walking out of a store with a product you've wanted for ages and were just waiting for it to come on sale! Buying online does come with its bonuses - ease is probably the most valuable! To sit in front of your computer and know what you want will be in the mail in '7 to 10 working days' does also reach a level of satisfaction! To be honest, in this day and age, I think it is those companies that have both e-tail and retail outlets will be most successful!
ReplyDeletegood point! i think it is interesting that technology is not only affecting retail online but in the actual store this article is old and out dated but.. http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2008/04/21/woolworths-trial-self-checkout-technology.html it is about woolies trial of self check out machines.. we do need someone to unplug our toilets and serve us in stores but how much longer for? should this be reality? people need jobs wollongong has one of the lowest youth employment rates... is our technological society taking over and taking away from people with less qualifications who can not get a job as a web designer for google..?
ReplyDeleteI'm in complete agreement that companies must go online or fail. You have discussed retail, but even in the hospitality industry this is becoming a must. Domino's have been extremely successful in their online ordering service, while, as said above, retail food outlets like Woolies are gaining business from markets who possibly would avoid going to shopping centres, like mothers with young children and people with disabilities. I know from experience when it comes to ordering take away from a cuisine like Thai, that people are more likely to order from a company who have their menu and contact details online.
ReplyDeleteBut in response to your first paragraph and Little Jo's comment, we still need people to cook that Thai food!! Yes we are moving to an online networked communication economy, but the real world still exists. I am actually going to go as far as saying that as generations grow up as digital natives to the Internet, manual skills such as plumbing and cooking will become increasingly more valued. This is due to the fact that kids these days don't learn these manual skills as much as they did in the past.