1 Odel.lk – Apparel Website
Odel is one of the biggest retail stores in Sri Lanka that identified the market opportunity in providing their customers with the ultimate shopping experience that they would not find anywhere else in Sri Lanka. This niche and competitive advantage in Odel’s ambience, high quality products, range and variety has made it widely known as the most innovative brand in Sri Lanka today. (Odel Corporate Website, 2013)
Odel.lk is an ecommerce website launched by the company itself aiming to provide customers with an online store where products can be purchased and delivered. It is also an additional marketing channel; therefore the ecommerce type of Odel.lk is business-to-consumer, a model that sells their own products directly to individual consumers.
Business Model – Click and Mortar E-tailer
The model followed by this website is that of an e tailer and for further classification a “click and mortar” business model. According to Laudon (2012), click and mortar businesses refer to physical organizations that also conduct some e-commerce activities, usually as an additional marketing channel. Odel was previously a brick and mortar company where they sold products offline using physical interaction, however in an attempt to increase revenue and to keep up with the market competition, Odel also ventured into the ecommerce sector.
Figure 1 - Odel Search and Menu
Source: (Odel Corporate Website, 2013)
As seen above, it also includes search functionality where customers can search for the particular product that they want and further specify the exact requirements by choosing the customizations that are required. For example, when purchasing a dress, a customer can select the colour, dress size and the...
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Amazon.com is an On-line retailer of, originally, books. The company was established as a micro enterprise in the US in 1994. Since then it has enjoyed rapid expansion in all aspects of its operations, including business turnover, and a spectacular rise in share value since public floatation in 1997. New on-line sites based in Germany and UK and a distribution centre in Amsterdam were established in 1998 to cater for European markets. On August 30, 2000 Amzon.com launched its third site outside the US, Amazon.fr in France. Amazon.com sells only on-line and is essentially an information broker. It holds a relatively small, though increasing, inventory and outsources most aspects of its operations (but not IT). The key to its operation is to offer value added and sophisticated customised services, a continuously expanding catalogue of products in terms of both quantity and range, and deep discounts. Alliances and partnerships with publishers, other on-line retailers and technology providers are therefore strategic. The ambition of the company today is to become a premier general on-line retailer by leveraging on its existing brand and business model. Amazon.com: Business Overview
Laudon, Kenneth C. Traver, Carol. E-commerce: Business. Technology. Society 3th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle NJ, 2007.
It is larger than the e-commerce market that commands powerful investment due to the rising numbers of internet users and computer access in the country. If one wants to establish a firm connect between e-commerce and the retail market, then we can say that the retail market is here to stay. As disagreeing with the retail market, e-commerce’s potential landscape is at only about $15 billion now. According to current statistics there are 14 million retail outlets in India, which suggest a demographic distribution of an average of 1000 shops for 11 users. Therefore it is clear and pressing need to build a bridge between the e-commerce and retail section. Latest statistics reveal there are 14 million retail outlets in India, which implies a demographic distribution of an average of 1,000 shops for 11 users. There, therefore, is a clear and pressing need to build a bridge between the e-commerce and retail
Efraim Turban, David King, Jae Lee & Dennis Viehland, Electronic Commerce, 2004, Pearson Education International, New Jersey, Pg.601-Pg.640
A customer (consumer) visits an online business at the Web equivalent of a showroom: the electronic storefront. An electronic storefront, also called an online catalog is the Web site where an e-retailer displays its products. 1[1] It contains descriptions, graphics, and sometimes product reviews. After browsing through the merchandise, the customer makes a selection. This activates a second area of the store known as the shopping cart. The shopping cart is a software component on the Web that allows the customer to collect purchases. Items in the cart can be added, deleted, or even saved for a future visit.
The Electronic Commerce, or e-commerce industry, is one of the most conductive sectors of the economy. E- Commerce is an interesting combination of business models and new information technologies as it deals with the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet. The three major electronic commerce categories are: business –to- consumers (B2C)
A Portal can be regarded as an emerging model that aims to enlighten customers about various products and services. They drive traffic into various sites, companies such as Yahoo and AOL operate this model, while the market marker is another structure or model that is similar to the portal in terms of forming awareness amongst buyers, it does not just links customers and sellers but goes an extra mile by having a huge knowledge base about the supplier it facilitates transactions between the two. They also aim to provide value for the customer through guaranteed security while carrying out transactions on such sites. Market makers can be found in a business to consumer setting e.g.ebay.com and also in business-to-business context.Amazon.com falls under a category of models known as the ...
However, in the long run it’ll be a different story as E commerce in India has just reached less than 1/10th of its potential. Out of 120 Crore Indian population not more than 1.5 crores use E Commerce frequently. Looking at burgeoning internet users the market should reach at least 15 ...
The future of economic competitiveness for most enterprises relies on entrance and active participation in the e-commerce market. An essential problem with e-commerce is that the controls and organization are different for each site. There is no standard way of building t...
Mobile money has led to the emergence of mobile wallets and digital payment techniques that help people leverage from virtual money transfers and payments. With mobile phones become an inseparable tool in one’s daily life, mobile money market provides the ultimate solution to enhance the customer’s in-store or online shopping; travel, and banking experiences by providing them with utmost convenience in payments and fund transfers. In addition, mobile money solutions have helped the mobile users in send and receive cross-border remittances, make bill payments, send and receive money over their mobile devices.
Dennis, C., Fenech, T. and Merrilees, B. (2004): “e-Retailing”, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, London.
E-commerce has evolved in three different stages over the years to satisfy communications and business needs. E-commerce is an easy way to purchase and to sell products or services over the internet and other computer networks without any difficulties. The invention, the consolidation, and the reinvention with the social and mobile are the three periods of e-commerce. The study is a description of the three different steps of e-commerce.
“Digital Commerce: March 2011”, Report provided by Internet and Mobile Association of India and available at http://www.iamai.in/rsh_pay.aspx?rid=0gWlBn0YPIA=
E- Commerce is a phenomena that is emerging rapidly between businesses all over the world, and it has affected the businesses at all sizes in many aspects.
The report also talks about the differences between, advantages and disadvantages of e-business and e-commerce. Recommendations and advice have been given in the end for businesses intending to adopt an e-business dimension.