E-Bay The online auction industry offers marketplaces where buyer and seller meet to trade various products. Advantages of online auctions are: a wide community, broad product range, lower search and transaction costs and, compared to fixed price, a lower price. Therefore, a win-win situation is created, with benefits for buyers, like making a good deal and the auction feeling, and benefits for the sellers, like obtaining a good market price and being able to sell dispensable inventory. Some auction sites list a broad range of products on their site, and other specialize on niche products. Apart from that, the industry can be divided into three segments: Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer and Person-to-Person (Consumer-to-Consumer), with either businesses or consumers as market participants. Online auctions are one of the few profitable E-Business Models, and make up nearly 10% of all revenues created in E-Commerce.
Sainsbury's home shopping
Order & Collect: Sainsbury's remote shopping trials began in 1995 with an 'Order and Collect' service at Sainsbury's Solihull store. Customers used a personal catalogue to order by fax and then collected their orders from the store.
Order line: Sainsbury's Order line service began in March 1998. Following trials and research, Order line was trialled at nine stores in the London area.
'Sainsbury's to you': Spring 2000, Sainsbury's re-branded its home shopping service for existing customers in the London area. 'Sainsbury's to you' represents a more personalised online service with a new look website (). The site greets customers by name and has the facility for customers to create and save their own shopping lists.
With a more powerful hardware package, the service has cut the time spent ordering groceries online at Sainsbury's by half. The re-branding also included the introduction of new-look delivery vans and staff uniforms.
Features of Software
Sainsbury's to you, the online shopping provider allows the customer to shop online without having to run or use an existing application. The user is just required to be able to access a basic webpage from a computer.
For the customer to use the application they must have:-
- Computer setup of any Operating System such as Windows, Apple Mac,
- A microcomputer,
- 26.6 Kbps modem,
- Internet service provider (Internet exp 5.5 or above, Apple Mac above OS10, access through television), connection to the internet or access to one,
- Minimum hardware requirements,
- Software of any type with Internet Explorer,
- A web browser such as Internet Explorer,
- Connection to an active phone line.
Sainsbury's to you has a fast speed response to ordering, which allows the customer to shop with the same accuracy as in store. The application has become more popular with customer because:-
- Saves time - convenience - 24/7,
- Saves money as special offers may be available only online,
- Free delivery at a convenient time for the customer,
- More products available online,
- Search facilities can be used,
- Help facilities can be used.
- Customer can shop from the comfort of their own home,
- Customer can see what they have bought in previous transactions,
- Easy to use the application,
- All payment details can be stored confidentially,
- It provides customer with lists of goods available,
- Updating of prices is always correct,
- Shopping cart can be viewed at the click of a button,
- Bill can be seen at the click of a button,
- Customer can set a limit,
- Different social groups,
- Compare prices - price transparency.
Since Sainsbury's to you has been established, Sainsbury's profits have grown by 6.4%. Online shopping facility seems to have been a success.
Issues a business needs to consider when going online
Online supermarket providers need to put in place high security levels on their websites to ensure customers are satisfied their data is kept confidential. Information such as customers' personal details and their credit card information can be kept secure through the use of the secure server software (SSL). This ensures that information can only be exchanged between the customers and the supermarket; therefore no third party can access the data. Pages that use the security system have a padlock symbol on the browser. This means that the website is a registered VeriSign Secure Site i.e. Sainsbury's is one. The information typed in is encrypted, which means that it protects the information from being disclosed to a third party. This would mean that each time the customer wants to make a booking online; they will be re-required to enter their payment details.
Customers that use a credit card to make an order are provided with extra security. This is due to the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The main credit card companies such as IBM and Netscape Communications are providing other methods to prevent hacking and interception of data which will improve the security of online transactions.
Certain online supermarket providers use tracking software to enable them to monitor the customer traffic patterns and site usage. This software however, does not enable the supermarket provider to capture information that can identify an individual; it is used to develop the design and layout of websites in order to meet the needs of customers. When orders are made online, the provider may use secure server software (such as SSL version 3, being the most recent version) which encrypts all the information input by the customer before it is sent to the Company.
Customer details must be kept private and confidential at all times. However, they can be kept using the necessary precautions under the Data Protection Act. Both online and high street supermarkets have to follow strict security procedures in the storage and disclosure of information given by customers in order to prevent unauthorised access to data. Tight security procedures can sometimes request that customers provide proof of identification before sensitive information is disclosed. The online supermarket providers may share the
customer's personal data with Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd or any Company from time to time forming part of the Sainsbury's Group fro market research, statistical analysis, and so that the customer can be contacted with details of special offers and products that may be of interest.
Once a customer has visited a website cookies will be stored. They are small pieces of information that are stored by the browser on the computer's hard drive. This enables Companies to provide features such as remembering customers e-mail addresses, so that the customer does not have to enter it each time they make an order. It is possible to delete cookies from the hard drive if the customer wants to. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but this can be changed on the customers' browser settings to prevent it. The cookies do not contain any information that identifies any individual.
Suppliers: Marks & Spencer’s stock is provided by the suppliers. Suppliers are also stakeholders, the better Marks & Spencer makes a profit, the probability is that the product of Supplier is selling well, and producing profit for Marks & Spencer. The more money Marks & Spencer produces, the more money the supplier makes. The size of a business can attract suppliers, the more suppliers the bigger the business, customers expect the supplier to produce good quality goods, and the customer also expects the supplier to have the goods in stock in terms of quantity when ever Marks Spencer needs to order
Senior management: Marks & Spencer’s Senior Management can be measured to be stakeholders because the interest that a Senior Manager's main job is to work and communicate with the whole team, they are above Manager's in the hierarchy of work. They will be able to take full responsible for manager's actions whether good or bad, also they are sometimes paid almost double to that of a Manager. If there was a conflict occurred Marks & Spencer will close there account with them.
Shareholders: It may sound similar but have a different meaning; a shareholder is a person that as brought has share of a business, for example Marks & Spencer has many shareholders within its own business. They put money in the business and expecting to make a profit from the business. Marks & Spencer’s shareholders often sell their share or divide it in half in the intension of making more money.