Electronic Retailing is the process by which goods and services are sold via the internet. It is also referred to as e-tailing. It comprises of two segments: business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales of the goods (Heim, 2001, 265). This is achieved by advertising those particular goods and services through subscriptions to the website content. Electronic retailing requires that the goods and services being sold should be presented and illustrated in a very clear manner (Siegel, 2009, 633). This enables the buyers to have a personal feel about the kind of product they want to purchase without having to visit the store. There are certain important factors that are considered for an electronic retailing to be successful (Pavitt, 1997, 40). These components include: attracting business-to-commerce, have the right revenue models that suit the business, and the website has to be engaging and up to date. This helps to meet the clients shifting demands. The products and services are required to be unique in terms of quality, quantity and pricing so that customers do not choose one business over the other (Thirumalai, 2011, 479). The e-retailers also need to be very efficient and encourage transparency. In so doing they are able to earn their clients loyalty as well as trust (Waterhouse, 1994, 800).

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E-retailing has quite a number of unique benefits to both marketers and consumers compared to the normal offline retailing. To begin with, it’s convenient for the marketer and the consumer in that it provides adequate information to the customers. Therefore, it’s easier and much faster (Gangopadhyay, 2001, 110). E-retailing can also be started with a small amount of capital as it does not require much spending on showrooms and shops. It also makes it easier for the clients to locate your business, it allows for interactions with your customer. However, creating and maintaining an electronic retailing websites may be costly (Tan, 2005, 1240). It also does not provide the emotional shopping experience that stores provide. In other occasions clients give their credit card data online and therefore, this puts their private specifics at risk.

    References
  • Heim, G.R. and Sinha, K.K., 2001. Operational drivers of customer loyalty in electronic retailing: An empirical analysis of electronic food retailers. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 3(3), pp.264-271.
  • Pavitt, D., 1997. Retailing and the super high street: the future of the electronic home shopping industry. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 25(1), pp.38-43.
  • Siegel, B.M. and Marchesello, T., Sony Corporation and Sony Electronics, Inc., 2009. Method and system for performing electronic retailing. U.S. Patent 7,613,634.
  • Thirumalai, S. and Sinha, K.K., 2011. Customization of the online purchase process in electronic retailing and customer satisfaction: An online field study. Journal of Operations Management, 29(5), pp.477-487.
  • Waterhouse, P. and Stevens, J., Electronic Retailing Systems Int’l Inc., 1994. Technique for locating electronic labels in an electronic price display system. U.S. Patent 5,374,815.
  • Thirumalai, S. and Sinha, K.K., 2009. Customization strategies in electronic retailing: Implications of customer purchase behavior. Decision Sciences, 40(1), pp.5-36.
  • Gangopadhyay, A., 2001. An image-based system for electronic retailing. Decision Support Systems, 32(2), pp.107-116.
  • Tan, Y. and Mookerjee, V.S., 2005. Allocating spending between advertising and information technology in electronic retailing. Management Science, 51(8), pp.1236-1249.