This diverse group of authors looks at the implications of electronic shopping for consumers, retailers, and manufacturers. With technological advancements constantly being made, consumers have opportunities to find and compare product offerings from limitless sources. How does this change the industry structure? How can companies use this for their own benefit? This article discusses the consumer benefits to interactive home shopping versus physically going to a mall for the experience. What offerings motivate consumers to alter their present shopping behaviors and how are online benefits greater than the ones that are offered in the physical store? Variables like price, variety, convenience, portability and quantity are all examples of this.
Chan‐Olmsted, S. M. (2002). Branding and Internet Marketing in the Age of Digital Media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 46(4), 641+. In a fragmented media marketplace, the Internet has enormous impact on tradition media. The Internet is growing at an exponential rate and the broadband distribution systems are constantly evolving and updating. This changes the rules of competition in industries that were already being transformed by the addition of more competitors. The Internet allows businesses to access global markets, provides mass customization, reduces overall marketing costs, and builds stronger business relationships. It is changing the nature of the media marketplace and the way companies and consumers operate and connect in it. This article talks about value shift from distributors to people in the content business. It also says that “’branded packagers’ hold the key to better profit potential if they can get viewers to recognize and value their brands in a crowded marketplace.” Chen, Q., Griffith, D. A., & Shen, F. (2005). The Effects of Interactivity on Cross‐Channel Communication Effectiveness. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 5(2). This study investigates the effects of website interactivity on the trust that a consumer has in a brand. It looks at purchase intentions that result from the interactivity. The study found that the more interactivity that exists on a website, the more the consumers trust that brand and the greater their understanding of the product offerings. Online interactivity has broad implications for multi‐ channel marketing, and if harnessed correctly, consumers will respond. Research findings also disclosed that most marketers only spend 3% or less of their media budgets on advertising on the web, even knowing that the web accounts for 10%‐15% of total media consumption. This study was conducted in 2005, so I believe those figures for the web have probably increased dramatically since then. Coyle, J. R., & Thorson, E. (2001). The Effects of Progressive Levels of Interactivity and Vividness in Web Marketing Sites. Journal of Advertising, 30(3), 65‐77.
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