Internet Retailing
HOW USEFUL IS THEORY IN EXPLAINING THE GROWTH OF INTERNET RETAILING?
Internet Retailing is the most groundbreaking and challenging innovation for the retail industry since the last two decades. It offers a new kind of distribution channel and incomparable options of collecting customer data and analysing buying patterns. Since it readiness for the market, online retailing has seen remarkable growth rates and begins to gain a significant share of total retail sales which results in a fundamental change of the overall sector. Therefore, this paper questions to what extent the different theories of change are appropriate to explain the development and expansion f the internet retail sector.
I. DEFINITION INTERNET RETAILING
As part of the E-Commerce sector the term ‘internet retailing’ describes the internet based purchase of material and digitized products and goods via the World Wide Web (www) to consumers. The focus lies on the “Business-to-Consumer” (B2C) relation. The following illustration categorizes internet retailing within the field of E-Commerce.
II. A BRIEF HISTORY OF E-COMMERCE
Although the invention of the internet technology lies back in the 1950s and 60s the breakthrough for commercial usage started in the 90s of the last century. At that point retailers discovered the internet possibilities and were able to apply them to their purchasing needs. The new technology allowed companies to enter the new market easily at a relatively low cost investment. The prospects promised extraordinary rates of growth of the e-market. The profit expectations were high. Companies invested billions of dollars in internet retailing firms. Many internet based e-business companies like Amazon, Napster, eToys etc. were found in that period. But at the end of the 90s the prospects of them did not come up to one's expectations and a lot of the New Economy companies had to close down with tremendous loss for investors at the stock market. Today we speak of the “dot-com
Internet Retailing is the most groundbreaking and challenging innovation for the retail industry since the last two decades. It offers a new kind of distribution channel and incomparable options of collecting customer data and analysing buying patterns. Since it readiness for the market, online retailing has seen remarkable growth rates and begins to gain a significant share of total retail sales which results in a fundamental change of the overall sector. Therefore, this paper questions to what extent the different theories of change are appropriate to explain the development and expansion f the internet retail sector.
I. DEFINITION INTERNET RETAILING
As part of the E-Commerce sector the term ‘internet retailing’ describes the internet based purchase of material and digitized products and goods via the World Wide Web (www) to consumers. The focus lies on the “Business-to-Consumer” (B2C) relation. The following illustration categorizes internet retailing within the field of E-Commerce.
II. A BRIEF HISTORY OF E-COMMERCE
Although the invention of the internet technology lies back in the 1950s and 60s the breakthrough for commercial usage started in the 90s of the last century. At that point retailers discovered the internet possibilities and were able to apply them to their purchasing needs. The new technology allowed companies to enter the new market easily at a relatively low cost investment. The prospects promised extraordinary rates of growth of the e-market. The profit expectations were high. Companies invested billions of dollars in internet retailing firms. Many internet based e-business companies like Amazon, Napster, eToys etc. were found in that period. But at the end of the 90s the prospects of them did not come up to one's expectations and a lot of the New Economy companies had to close down with tremendous loss for investors at the stock market. Today we speak of the “dot-com
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