With compliments from Infoeat. I am passing on an article from yesterday's Internet Update. You will find page one, and then an article from the VERY NEXT page.
Good luck to all
Doug
by Frank Barnako
1998: The year e-commerce gets real
1998 will be a watershed year for retailers, and Microsoft and
Netscape may be awash in sales by helping make it happen, an
Internet analyst said Thursday in New York City.
Briefing an analysts and media at a breakfast, Dataquest chief
analyst Allen Weiner said online retailers have run, as he put it,
only 99 yards of the 100 yard dash. "They have great information
online about their products, they tell you all the specifications
and benefits, but when a customer is ready to buy, they give you
an 800 number to call," he said. "They miss the 'hot lead', they
miss the opportunity, and they miss the sale."
Brand name retailers have been slow to come onto the Web because
they realize they have not been able to do it right. "They have a
reputation and have offered a buying experience in their stores,
and they have not been able to replicate online that which they
are able to deliver in their stores," he explained.
Retailers need to consider what can be gained by supporting a Web
presence. Specifically mentioning Barnes and Noble's online
retailing effort, Weiner asked, "How much of the Web business is
actually shifting dollars from the retail stores and mail order?"
The retailer should use the Web, he said, to drive more traffic
into its stores by merchandising and offering community and
personalization.
Weiner mentioned four companies that are best positioned to be
winners in bringing retailers and other businesses onto the Web.
Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Netscape and Oracle are in the
catbirds' seats because of their existing relationships with
businesses. This gives them what Weiner called "gatekeeper"
positions, which permit them to get in the door to make a pitch to
an existing client to sell new services.
Microsoft's strategy is to target vertical industry opportunities,
which Weiner said include real estate, travel and automotive. He
also revealed Microsoft is working on a project, called MSFDC,
that has the potential to make online bill paying attractive to
users because it will offer the benefit of immediate electronic
transfers of funds.
Netscape is also bolstering its organization for online business
services, "quietly building products, implementation tools and
support operations" in a division of the company that by the end
of next year will employ 600 people.
Weiner returned to online retailing, saying that recent
developments to improve audio processing by AT&T, Liquid Audio and
others are keys to what he sees as "the killer app online: selling
music."
Music companies, thanks to the Web, have the ability to highlight
unknown artists who may have little chance of securing shelf space
in conventional record stores. "And the sound quality of what you
can get over the Web at 28.8 is much improved," he said. "The
concept of buying music on the Web is appealing."
____________________________
Apple Web store results
Apple Computer says its new online store on the Web sold $12
million worth of goods in its first 30 days online. Interim CEO
Steve Jobs said the venture is so successful it's the third
largest e-commerce site on the Web. |
