Page 193 - DMGT553_RETAIL_STORE_MANAGEMENT

Retail Store Management

Notes to know things such as: Which shade of blue is it? How does it feel on the skin? How easily
does it crease? The traditional retailing does not suffer from such a problem. In the non-
standard product categories, the Internet offers limited amounts of crucial information to
the customer. In such cases, only the seller knows about the true quality of the trouser and
this leads to an ‘information asymmetry’.
4. Shopping is still a touch-feel-hear experience: Some do not suffer from ‘time-poverty’ and
shopping is still considered to be a family outing. Hence this type of an environment
creates a problem of customer retention.
5. Complicated medium: Ease of use is a problem, as the web design may suffer from high
complexity bordering on total chaos in some cases.
6. Navigation hiccups: E-tail stores do not have standardized designs in comparison to the
physical retail stores and product catalogues. Therefore different user behaviours
(navigation schemes) need to be learned for each e-tail store. This is a temporary issue as
the evolution of the web continues.

7. Website design flaws: Graphic presentation and aesthetics may not be as compelling for a
web site as in case of a physical retail store or a product catalogue. This is a temporary
issue that may resolve with the evolution of the web design.
8. Limited access to the Internet: Not all customers have access to the web, as they do to the
postal system. This is a temporary issue as the evolution of the web continues.

10.4.3 Barriers to Growth in E-tailing

1. Issues related to customer service, distribution and logistics: E-tailing tends to facilitate
the business transactions, but unless the transaction involves a digital product such as
software or music etc., due emphasis should be given on prompt and smooth delivery of
the products. Majority of e-tailers focus on significant marketing efforts to attract customers
in order to execute transactions, but tend to ignore the important aspects of customer
satisfaction through a flawless delivery. It is important to follow through and ensure a
smooth delivery to the customer. The companies can also use the web to enhance the
customer experience by allowing the customers to track the status of the transaction. So it
is not simply a case of allowing for delivery, but enhancing the delivery experience with
the web.
Once this relationship is formed (via the transaction), the e-tailer can follow up with a
solicited marketing program to keep the customers engaged. Customer service should be
considered a high priority as it impacts the long-term relationship between the customer
and the e-tailer. Customer service should be proactive to ensure prompt delivery leading
to satisfaction with the product and subsequently offer a medium of dialog to the customer
with the e-tailer. Recently, more attention has been paid to the delivery aspect of the
entire transaction.
2. Issues related to the mode of payment: In the online medium, credit card transactions are
fast becoming the preferred mode of payment. Credit card providers take a percentage of
the transaction, and this may be higher for the web, than for a traditional retail store. The
high transaction cost is perceived as a risk premium because the e-tailer cannot capture the
signature of the purchaser to remove any possibility of credit card misuse in the online
environment.

Other emerging payment media include:
(i) Smart Cards: Smart Cards are a more accepted form of payment across Europe, but
due to the high penetration of credit cards in the US, Smart Cards have had a limited

188 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY