ICT in Retail and the advantages to the shop and the customer.
Extracts from this document...
Introduction
Online shopping 22/11/11 When an item is scanned through the till, the price is received through a Local Area Network, from the database. The data received from the database is outputted with a screen, to show the customer what they've purchased. The information of what the customer has purchased is then sent to the companies HQ via a Wireless area network, to tell them what their customers are buying. If the price needs to be altered, it can be done so easily. For example, with manual methods, if an item needs to be altered, you have to change the price of every single item. However, with automated methods you can change the database to the correct price, then, once it's scanned through the till, the correct price is received from the database. You must also change the price on the shelf as customer's can grow angry if it's misleading to the customer. The benefit of this is that you can easily alter the price of one product on all items. However, if the system/database grows bugs/glitches then it may lead to the wrong prices being outputted. ...read more.
Middle
Online shops can be easily set up by many people. Firstly, the company must register their domain with a search engine, for example, www.google.co.uk. This makes it easier for people looking for the company to be redirected easily. The second procedure a company can do is pay for an advert. They have two options, the first method is to become partnered with a company, such as "Google Adsense", and then they place adverts with registered Google Adsense websites. The advantage of this scheme is that your company is advertised on a diverse range of websites. The second option could be to put your advert on a specific website, and make a deal between the two companies. For example, if I were to set up an E-Commerce store online, I could e mail theregulus.co.uk directly and ask them if they could host my advert. However, this means that only people visiting theregulus.co.uk will know about the company im advertising, whilst with schemes such as Google Adsense, your websites is being advertised throughout the internet. Global positioning systems, often known as GPS, have a profound effect on our life. ...read more.
Conclusion
This leads to higher sales as customers are often unsure about purchasing online as delivery takes so long. Disadvantages: > As payments are so easy to make, customers often regret purchasing items. (Impulse purchases) > Often people don't have the internet > People are often reluctant to use online purchasing as they believe people will steal their money > There is an erosion of privacy as companies collect information about what they purchase. People often want what they purchase, to be private. > It is expensive for the company to set up a website as you have to host it and hire a web programmer to build it. > Customers often have to wait prolonged periods of time until their product arrives. > Companies have to pay a proportion of sale to companies such as "PayPal". This is a disadvantage as profits are reduced. > Often people's credit cards are stolen and used to purchase goods online. It is the seller of the goods who have to bear the cost of fraudulent sales. > The companies often need to keep their databases secure. If data is not kept up to date and accurate they can be sued under the data protection act 1998. ?? ?? ?? ?? A/S ICT Unit 1 ...read more.
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