Regarding CD: They are one of the largest internet commerce stocks out there. In a few more years, web technology will improve and on-line shopping will increase. CD is poising itself to take a large portion of this potential market. I've copied some paragraphs for your convenience. This is particularly noteworthy because they will compete with On-Line booksellers like Borders and Amazon.
You might also notice what is likely to happen with book prices, etc., as internet shopping improves. Aren't prices likely to go down and down as more and more people shop the via the web? It is Cendant's (CD) belief that on-line retailers will have a hard time making profits in the years ahead (it will be too easy to compare prices). CD is making money via on-line retailing via membership fees in which they then don't care what the retail price is (unlike Borders will).
Could you comment on CD's strategy and the future pricing power of on-line retailers?
Following is are the paragraphs on the subject which I thought you might be interested in reading:
<<The Internet may spell the end of mass marketing, but it will be a boon for massive marketers who know how to do it right. Cendant, based in Parsippany, N.J., and Stamford, Conn., is poised to be one of the next century's major Internet consumer players . . .
"On the Web, it's just too easy to comparison shop," Forbes says. "Traditional distribution systems can disappear overnight. If the Web becomes a true mass medium, 25% or more of today's physical-world companies will be gone."
. . . It won't be long before voice-controlled Web browsing enters the mainstream, making the Neteven more accessible [take a look at LHSPF to see how close we are].
Forbes predicts huge potential for intelligent agents that will, in essence, do users' Web shopping for them. Cendant's NetMarket recently debuted BookAgent, which finds the lowest book price on all major bookselling Web sites, then automatically lowers NetMarket's price to meet or beat it. "Perfect information and the lowest price. That's our goal," says Forbes. "But it won't be long before that's what all consumers demand and expect.">>
Link the the paragraphs above:
pubs.cmpnet.com
CD: $ 24.00a
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