same thing with clothes, software, computer hardware, cars (soon), bicycles, tennis-shoes, consumer electronics, etc etc etc, you name it.
the internet will crush all non-web based middlemen
what will happen to all those stores and shopping malls??
You don't seem to be aware that Wal-mart is already online, for those who choose to buy online. This concept of ordering from your home and getting something shipped to you is NOT exactly a new idea. It's called mail order. Auto dealers are already online, and yes you can order a car from them online if you want. Of course, you still have to go in and sign papers. Clothes? Traditional and experienced mail-order clothing brands have already been selling on the web for quite some time. CD's? CDNow etc. have been doing that for years. CDNow pioneered selling CDs on the web. Consumer electronics on the internet? Computer Discount Warehouse (cdw.com), Computability.com, MicroWarehouse, PC-Connection, etc etc. Highly competitive. That's mostly computer related stuff, but how likely is it you're going to order a home stereo system off the internet? You want to hear how it sounds first.
"All those stores and shopping malls and non-web based middlemen" are still going to be surviving just fine, just like they have been. The only difference will be that they'll all have web sites as an alternative medium with which people can shop and buy with. |
