FOUNDATIONS AND B-C eCOMMERCE
1. Foundations of eCommerce
1.1 Definition, history and scope
1.2 Interogranisational IS and electronic markets
1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
1.4 The process of eCommerce
2. Business-to-consumer applications
2.1 Advertising, online publishing, push technology
2.2 Cyberbanking, personal finance and stock trading
2.3 The job market and auctions
2.4 Travel and real estate
2.5 Electronic retailing and malls
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Foundations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
WHAT IS eCOMMERCE
E-commerce is any commercial activity conducted
between business partners over electronic networks,
often over the Internet, which leads to the purchase or
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sale of
goods
or
services.
Prof. G. Doukidis
1.1 Definition,history and scope
TOSHIBAS EXTRANET KEEPS DEALERS ON TIME
 The Problem
 300 dealers in USA had to place an order(tel or fax) by 2pm for next day
delivery
 to handle the shipments, Toshibas Electronic Imaging Devision (fax and
copies) spent $1.3 mil on communication and charged $25/shipment
 The Solution
 a Web-based order entry system using an extranet was created in 1997
 dealers can place orders for parts until 5pm and can also read bulletins,press
realeases etc)
 If the part is available , the order is send to warehouse in Memphis (near
FedEX headquarters) to pop up on hand-held radio frequency monitor of
the appropriate worker
 The Results
 The cost /order reduced to $10
 The networking of EID was reduced by 50%
 98% overnight delivery
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1.1 Definition,history and scope
Prof. G. Doukidis
HAPPY PUPPY -A NEW INTERNET COMPANY
 The Problem
 making money from electronic games is a difficult task for independent game
writers
 the difficult marketing channels take most of the profit
 The Solution
 demostration software of computer games is placed on
www.happypuppy.com
 costumers can download the demos (2.5 mil copies/month) and if they like it
they purchase
 the site is used also as a bulletin board for games
 The Result
 a profitable business for the fouders (sales and ads)
 they use the results of the questionnaire (be filled by those who download
demos) analyse them and sold to electronic game manufractures
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1.1 Definition,history and scope
Prof. G. Doukidis
DEFINITIONS OF eCOMMERCE
 Electronic commerce is an emerging concept that describes the
process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services,
and information via computer networks including the internet.
Kalakota and Whinston (1997) define EC from these perspectives:
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From a communications perspective, EC is the delivery of information,
products/services, or payments over telephone lines, computer networks, or any
other electronic means.
From a business process perspective, EC is the application of technology toward
the automation of business transactions and work flow.
From a service perspective, EC is a tool that addresses the desire of firms,
consumers, and management to cut service costs while improving the quality of
goods and increasing the speed of service delivery.
From an online perspective, EC provides the capability of buying and selling
products and information on the Internet and other online services.
 Many use the term e-business. It refers to a broader definition of EC,
not just and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating
with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions
within an organization.. According to Lou Gerstner, IBM’s CEO:”
E-business is all about time cycle, speed, globalization, enhanced
productivity, reaching new customers and sharing knowledge across
institutions or competitive advantage.”
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1.1 Definition,history and scope
Prof. G. Doukidis
DEFINITION AND SCOPE
 EC is an emerging concept that describes the buying and selling of
products, services and information via computer networks (including
Internet)
 EC uses several technologies ranging from EDI to email. In fact,
buying food from a vending machine with a smart card is considered
EC.
 Interorganisational Information Systems (IOS)
 IOS involves information flow among two or more organisations
 Main objective is efficient transaction processing (ie. transmitting
orders)
 All relationships are predetermined (no negotiation, just execution)
 Used exclusively for B-B applications
 Electronic Markets (EM)
 Sellers and buyers negotiate, agree on an order, and finish the execution
on - or offline
 Exist in both B-B and B-C applications
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1.1 Definition,history and scope
Prof. G. Doukidis
A framework for eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
Distinctive Features of Interorganizational
Systems and Electronic Markets
Interorganizational Systems
• Customer-supplier relationships is
determined in advance with the anticipation
it will be an ongoing relationship based on
multiple transactions.
• Interorganizational systems may be built
around privately or publicly accessible
networks.
• When outside communications companies
are involved, they are typically value-added
networks (VANs)
• Advance arrangements result in agreements
on the nature and format of business
documents that will be exchanged and
payments.
• Advance arrangements are made so both
parties know which communication
networks will be integral to the system.
• Joint guidelines and expectations of each
party are formulated so each knows how the
system is to be used and when transactions
will be submitted and received.
1.2 Interorganizational IS and electronic markets
Electronic Markets
• Customer-seller linkage is esta blished at time
of transactions and may be for one
transaction only.
• Customer-seller purchase agreement is
established whereby the seller agrees to
deliver services or products to customer for a
defined period time.
• Electronic markets are typically built around
publicly accessible networks.
• When outside communications companies are
involved, they are typically online service
providers (which functions as market
makers).
• Sellers determine, in conjuction with the
market maker, which business transactions
they will provide.
• Customers and sellers independently
determine which communication networks
they will use in participating in the electronic
market. The network used may vary from
transaction to transaction.
• No joint guidelines are drown in advance.
Prof. G. Doukidis
DRIVERS OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS
IOSs are a direct result of the growing desirability of
interconnecting business partners to streamline business
processes by:
 reducing the costs of routine business transactions
improving the quality of the information flow by
reducing or eliminating errors.
 compressing cycle time in the fulfillment of business
transactions regardless of geographical distance.
 eliminating paper, inefficiencies, and costs
associated with paper processing.
 making the trading process easy for users
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1.2 Interorganizational ISand electronic markets
Prof. G. Doukidis
TYPES OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS

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Electronic data interchange (EDI)
Electronic funds transfer (EFT)
Electronic forms
Integrated messaging. Delivery of electronic mail and fax
documents through a single electronic transmission system
that can combine EDI, electronic mail, and electronic forms
 Shared databases. Information stored in repositories is
shared between trading partners and is accessible to both.
Such databases are often used to reduce elapsed time in
communicating information between parties as well as
arranging cooperative activities.
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1.2 Interorganizational IS andelecronic markets
Prof. G. Doukidis
ELECTRONIC MARKETS
Shopper/Purchaser
Seller/Supplier
Electronic commerce Network
(Infrastructure)
-Product service information
request
-Purchase request
-Payment or payment advice
• Response to information request
• Purchase acknowledgement
• Shipping notice
• Purchase/service delivery (if online)
• Payment acknowledgement
Purchase fulfillment request
Purchase change request
Electronic Market
(Transaction Handler)
-Response to fulfillment
request
-Shipping notice
Payment remittance notice
Electronic Transfer of Funds
Payment authorization request
Electronic transfer
of funds
Payment approval
Electronic transfer of
funds
Shopper/Purchaser’s Bank
Transaction Handler’s Bank
(Automated Clearing House)
1.2 Interorganizational IS and elecronic markets
Seller/Supplier’s Bank
Prof. G. Doukidis
eCOMMERCE BENEFITS TO ORGANIZATIONS (1)
 eCommerce decreases the cost of creating, processing, distributing,
storing, and retreiving paper-based information.
 eCommerce allows reduced inventories and overhead by
facilitating "pull"-type supply chain management. In a pull-type
system the process starts from customer orders and uses just-intime processing. This allows product customization and lower
inventory costs.
 eCommerce reduces the time between the outlay of capital and the
receipt of products and services.
 Electronic commerce supports BPR efforts. When processes are
changed, productivity of salespeople, knowledge workers, and
administrators can increase by 100 percent or more.
 Electronic commerce lowers telecommunications cost; the Internet
is muth cheaper than value-added networks (VANs).
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1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
eCOMMERCE BENEFITS TO ORGANIZATIONS (2)
 eCommerce helps small businesses to compete against large
companies. In February 1998, Egghead Software closed all its stores
because of its inability to compete with large software distributors,
such as CompUSA, and moved completely to the Web.
 eCommerce enables organizations to reach customers outside their
immediate area at a minimum cost.
 eCommerce allows organizations to reach a wide range of suppliers,
thereby reducing the cost of supplies and services.
 eCommerce permits the creation of efficient markets in an industry
in which buyers and sellers can share benefits.
 eCommerce allows companies to auction surpluses or obsolete
products quickly with little expences.
 eCommerce facilitates global trade, allowing companies to penetrate
foreign markets.
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1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
eCOMMERCE BENEFITS TO CUSTOMERS
 eCommerce provides customers with more choices; they can select
from many vendors and from more products.
 eCommerce frequently provides customers with less expensive
products and services by allowing them to shop in many places and
conduct quick comparisons.
 In some cases, electronic commerce allows quick delivery of products
and services.
 eCommerce enables customers to shop or do other transactions 24
hours a day, year round, from almost any location.
 Customers can receive relevant and detailed information in seconds,
rather than in days or weeks.
 eCommerce enables consumers to get customized products from PCs
to cars at competitive prices.
 eCommerce makes it possible to participate in virtual auctions.
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1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
Movement from a market-centric to a
customer-centric environment
1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
eCOMMERCE BENEFITS TO SOCIETY
 eCommerce enables more individuals to work at home and to do
less traveling, resulting in less traffic on the roads and lower air
pollution.
 eCommerce allows some merchandise to be sold at lower prices,
so less affluent people can buy more and increase their standard
of living.
 eCommerce enables people in third world countries and rural
areas to enjoy products and services that otherwise are not
available to them. This includes opportunities to learn professions
and earn college degrees.
 eCommerce facilitates delivery of public services, such as
government entitlements, reducing the cost of distribution and
increasing the quality of the distributing system.
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1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS OF
eCOMMERCE
 Lack of system security, reliability, standards, and communication
protocols.
 Insufficient telecommunication bandwidth.
 The software development tools are still evolving and changing
rapidly.
 Difficulties in integrating the Internet and electronic commerce
software with some existing applications and databases.
 The need for special Web servers in addition to the network servers
(additional cost) .
 Possible problems of interoperability, meaning that some EC
software does not fit with some hardware or is incompatible with
some operating systems or other components.
 Accessibility to the Internet is still expensive and/or inconvenient for
many potential customers.
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1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
NONTECHNICAL LIMITATIONS
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Many legal issues are as yet unresolved
Government regulations and standards are not refined enough for many
circumstances.
Benefits of EC such as Web advertisements are difficult to measure. In
addition, the methodologies for justifying EC are still in the developmental
stage.
eCommerce is still evolving and changing rapidly. Many people are looking
for the situation to stabilize before they enter into EC operations.
Customers resist change. To switch from a real to a virtual store may be
difficult for many people.
There are not enough support services. (copyright clearance centers,
qualified EC tax experts).
There is a perception that (eCommerce is expensive and unsecured, so many
do not want to use it yet.
There is not yet the sufficiently large number (critical mass) of sellers and
buyers.
Electronic commerce could result in a breakdown of human relationships.
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1.3 Benefits and limitations of eCommerce
Prof. G. Doukidis
How does an electronic market work?
Prof. G. Doukidis
ADVERTISING
 Advertisment and disseminaion of product or service information
are currently the largest commercial activities on the Internet.It is
generally conducted via:
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The organization's own Web site
Information kiosks
Electronic malls
Newsgroups
Other innovative approaches
Other organizations' Web sites
Electronic commerce vendors' pages such as those of AOL, Netscape,
or Yahoo
Electronic publisher's Web sites
 Regardless of where it is done, advertisers need to understand the
audience, determine the appropriate content, conduct cost-benefit
justification, and access the effectiveness of different programs
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2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
ADVERTISING ON THE ORGANISATION’S OWN WEB
SITE(the case of California Departure of motor vehicles)

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Browse through handbooks, such as "Tips You Can Give a
Mature Driver.»
Look for the location of the nearest DMV office.
Learn about the DMV, its history, and its strategic
Obtain forms to change your address, sell your car, and
sponsibility, among many others. Once you obtain a form from
the you fill it out and mail it. Soon you will be able to fill in
electronic forms.
Read news releases that include statistics, insurance
information, etc.
View information about California law in general.
View information about DMV requirements for doing business
in California.
2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL INTERACTIVE MARKETING
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Prof. G. Doukidis
INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING/MARKETING
 Advertisements on the net can be interactive
 potential costumers can e-mail questions and receive answers
 they can also participate in games, quizzes and auctions
 In interactive marketing advertisers use costumised , one.on.one
advertising follwed by a sale
 the term “interactive” points to the ability to address an individual ,
to gather and remember the responses of the individual , and to serve
that customer based on his/her previous, unique responser
 Gartner Group suggest strategies for interactive marketing
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Serve the customers before selling to them.
Think of interactive marketing as a way to capture data.
Learn to control information flow even though it lies with the
customer.
Understand how all parts of the marketing strategy fit together,
including interactive marketing, and create each part to serve a
unique purpose and market group.
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2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
HOW DOES INTERACTIVE MARKETING WORK?
THE DOUBLECLICK APPROACH
Interactive marketing can take many forms.
Assume that 3M Corporation wants to sell its
$10,000 multimedia projectors. It knows that
potential buyers are people
who work in
advertising agencies or in IS departments of large
corporations, or companies that use Unix as their
operating system. 3M approaches DoubleClick Inc.
and asks the firm to identify such potential
customers. How does DoubleClick find them?
Clever and simple.
In 1997, DoubleClick (www.doubleclick.net)
monitored people browsing the Web sites of about
100 cooperating companies such as Quicken,
Travelocity, and Virtual Comics and Books That
Work. By inspecting Internet addresses of the
visitors to these 100 companies' Web sites and
matching them against a database with 70,000
Internet domain names that include a line-ofbusiness code, DoubleClick can find those people
working for advertising agencies. By checking the
browsers, it can also find out which visitor is using
a Unix system. While DoubleClick cannot find out
your name, it build a dossier on you, attached to an
ID number that was assigned to you during your
first visit to any of the 100 sites. As you continue to
visit any of the 100 cooperating site, an intelligent
software agent builds a relatively
complete dossier on you, your spending, and your
computing habits. This process is done with a device
known as a cookie, a file created at the request of a
Web server and stored on the user's hard drive. So,
the Web site can remember" your past behavior on
the Internet.
DoubleClick then prepares an ad for 3M
projectors.The ad is targeted for people whose
profile matches what is needed for 3M. So, if you
are a Unix user or employed by an advertising
agency, on your next browsing trip in any of the 100
participating Web sites, you will be surprised to find
exactly what you wanted: information about the
multimedia projector. How is all this financed? 3M
pays DoubleClick for the ad. The fee is then split
with the Web sites that carry the 3M ads, based on
how many times the ad is matched with a visitor.
NOTE: You can avoid the creation of a cookie on
your hard drive if you elect to do so, using software
such as Cookie Cutter. However, only a few people
know this can fact. In most cases the cookie is
placed on your hard drive without your knowledge.
SOURCE: Condensed from Moukheiber (1996).
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Prof. G. Doukidis
COMBINING ADVERTISEMENT AND
ENTERTAIMENT
 To attract people to their Web sites companies try to
entertrain their visitors
 opportunities to play games, win prizes, solve puzzles view shows for
fee or free, have a sence of community in a chat room, saving money
by participating in an auction
 An example of entertaining Web site is Sport Zone (the
Internet outlet of ESPNET, a large sporting events-dedicated
television network).Income derives from:
 Charging as much as $100,000 per month for companies to have a
banner on SportZone's site.
 Charging a subscription fee of $5 per person per month for the
opportunity to view special events.
 Charging an additional subscription fee for double-challenge games.
 Charging a $40 fee per viewer to participate in one fantasy game in
which one competes against or with famous players.
 Selling mailing lists to vendors of sports products.
 Charging AOL and other Internet access providers for broadcasting
SportZone's information. This is similar to a fee paid by local
television operators to carry ESPN.
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2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
ADVERTISEMENTS
Although Web site visitors leave an electronic e-trail of their visits, it is
difficult to know what the real benefits to advertisers are because:
1. It is difficult to relate the number of hits ( entries into the log file of a Web server generated
by every request for a file made to the server) to the effectiveness of the ads. One problem is
that 100 hits can be recorded by one person visiting the site 1 00 times or by 1 00 users
visiting it once each. obviously, there is a major difference between the two.
2. An improved measure is the number of qualified hits (those that deliver information to
users). But even these qualified hits are difficult to relate to actual purchases.
3. The use of the gross number of visits (occasions on which a user looks up a site) as a
possible measure of effectiveness is also inadequate. (Visiting an entertaining site may not
result in a purchase.)
4. The number of unique users at a site during a specific time can be calculated by recording
some form of user registration or identification. An ad placed in such a site has a greater
potential of attracting a viewer, but there is no guarantee that a purchase will be made.
5. It is not known whether visitors who do not buy online while visiting a site will buy offline
later;such purchases may or may not be related to the online advertising.
6. Other attempted measures such as the number of times users click on an online ad can be
useful but are not necessarily accurate.
7. A related issue is who measures the traffic in a Web site. Do you trust the site's owner, or
do you use an independent, third-party evaluator?
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2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING
 The electronic delivery of newspapers,magazines, news, books, via
Internet
 initially to support research by providing online bibliographies and
selling knowledge stored in online databases
 now is quick and economical dissemination of information on a mass
scale
 Online Archive Approach.It includes bibliographical databases
and tull-text search and retrevial services (info is already in
databases) .
 New Medium Approach. Aims at creating new material especially
for the Web
 edutainment is an interactive combination of education and
entertaiment that uses games , simulations etr to facilitate learning
 news on demand delivers customised news to individuals and
organisations ( ie DowJones special service for clients and
costumers).
 An example of mass custimisation
 real-time news delivery
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2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
PUSH TECHNOLOGY
 An approach designed to deliver only the information users
want or need (the problem of information overload)
 How it works
 the push server receives documents from various publishing sources
 on a preestablished schedule it constucts a preference profile for each
user, selects appropriate content from the repository and download it
to user
 the biggest benefit is convenience
 Customisation
 truly customised or personalised information is always a problem
 needed for cases like “prices of stocks you own”
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2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
POINTCASTING-DELIVERING CUSTOMIZED INFORMATION
PointCast's major product is PointCasting, a
one-to-one service that delivers breaking
news according to the user's interests.
PointCast's major strength is the integration
of newswires from several competing
broadcasters, such as CNN and Reuters. The
consolidated service is implemented on the
customer's LAN and PCs where news can
be distributed to all users. This service is
available on PCN (PointCast Network),
which is divided into several “channels”
such as News (general), Weather, Sports,
Companies, Industries, and Life Style. Each
channel is divided into subcategories. For
example, News can be national, or
international. The user selects items from a
hierarchy of menus.
The information (such as stock quotes or
sports scores) is delivered as a screen
saver while the user is not using the
computer. An alternative to the screen
saver option is to turn on the computer to
PCN at agreed-upon times to receive the
news. Details can be obtained by
clicking on the headlines. The service is
available free with most Internet access
services.
PointCast services are also available on
intranets, enabling companies to
broadcast internal news alongside the
public channels.
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2.1 Advertising
Prof. G. Doukidis
ELECTRONIC BANKING/CYBERBANKING
 Includes various banking activities (paying bills, secure a loan)
conducted electrousially and not a physical bank location
 In addition to regular banks that are adding online services, we
see the emergence of virtual banks solely dedicated to Internet
transactions (ie Security First Network Bank -SFNB)
 Personal Finance Online.Connection of home banking with
portfolio management and personal finance
 Bill paying and electronic check writing
 Tracking bank accounts, expenditures, and credit cards
 Portfolio management, including reports and capital gains (losses)
computations
 Investment tracking and monitoring of securities
 Quotes and tradeline historical and current prices
 Budget organization
 Record keeping of cash flow and profit and loss computations
 Tax computations
 Retirement goals, planning, and budgeting
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2.2 Cyberbanking
Prof. G. Doukidis
CYBERBANKING AT WELLS FARGO
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Prof. G. Doukidis
SECURITY FIRST NETWORK BANK
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Prof. G. Doukidis
ONLINE STOCK TRADING
 By mid of 1998, 4 million people in USA traded on-line
stocks, bonds etc
 The cost was $7-$20 compared to $35-$100 in typical cases
 Advantages
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no waiting on busy telephone lines
the chanse of making mistakes is small
orders can be placed from anywhere and anytime
considerable amount of extra information
 Charles Schwab (1995), Merrill Lynch (1997) (More than 60
firms by 1999).
 It works (www.Schwab.com/schwoboline) in a very friendly
enviroment (access from a mobile as well).
 E*trade is the most well-known example.
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2.2 Cyberbanking
Prof. G. Doukidis
TRADING STOCKS ELECTRONICALLY
The order is routed to
Schwab’s host computer in
San Francisco and, within
a split second forwarded to
the trading floor of the
New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE)
Order is placed as
described earlier, on an
electronic from any
computer with accesss to
the Web, anywhere in the
world
Order is transferred to
Schwab’s floor brokers at
the NYSE, who take who
take it to the specialists,
who finds the best pricem
and a satisfactory. The
order is fulfilled.
Yes
Is the order target plan
30,000 shares?
No
Order is automatically
transferred to a specialist
and fulfilled bsed on the
bid and ask prices.
In a few seconds (most
cases), Scwab confirms that
trade and the price,
relaying on the informaiton
to the investor’s PC.
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2.2 Cyberbanking
Prof. G. Doukidis
THE ElECTRONIC JOB MARKET IS USED BY:
1. Job seekers. Job seekers can reply to employment ads. Alternatively, they can
take the initiative and place resumes on their own home pages or on others' Web
sites, send messages to members of newsgroups asking for referrals, and use
recruiting firms such as Career Mosaic (www .careermosaic.com), Job Center
(www.jobcenter.com), and Monster Board (www.monster.com). For entry-level jobs
and internships for newly minted graduates, job seekers can use www.jobdirect.com.
2. Job offerers. Many organizations advertise openings on their Web site.
Othrecruit potential employees. ers use advertising possibilities ranging from popular
sites to online ser vices, bulletin boards, and recruiting firms.
3. Recruiting firms. Thousands of job placement brokers are active on the Web.
They use their own Web pages to post available job descriptions and advertise their
services in electronic malls and in others' Web sites.Recruiters use newsgroups,
online forums, bulletin boards, Internet commercial resume services, and providers
such as AOL (see their E-span service at www.espan.com) and CompuServe. Jobfinding brokers (such as Resume-Link) help candidates write their resumes and get
the most exposure.
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2.3 The job market and auctions
Prof. G. Doukidis
ELECTRONIC AUCTIONS
1. Auctioning cars to dealers. Manheim online (www.lanheim.com) brings the Web to the used car supply chain-auto
dealers, banks, leasing and rental companies, and users of fleet vehicles. Manheim conducts auctions for dealers only. It takes
possession of a car from the seller and handles all the administrative and title work and any reconditioning to prepare the car for
auction. Dealers visit "cyberlots" where they see pictures of the cars. A transaction can be from many locations, thus a buyer in
city A can buy a car in city B; therefore, transportation costs are also quoted online. The potential buyer sees the price at which the
car is available and then offers a bid at the requested price or lower, by filling in an electronic form. the deal is closed, a contract is
emailed or faxed. The buyer signs the conttract and arranges for payment. In the near future the site will add an electronic payment
option.
2. Onsale. Onsale conducts live online auctions, mostly of computers amd electronic consumer products, on the Internet
(www.onsale.com).There are several types of auctions. For exampleYankee Auction, with identical items offered for sale, closing
on April 28, 1997. The seven highest bids are shown. In order to be included, enter a bid at least $25 above the lowest bid. The
highest bidders win the available inventory at their offered price. A detailed list of all the product specifications warrantees and so
forth is included and purchases are made using a credit card.
3. Art auctions. Artwork is sold online at various sites, including .onlineart.com), Auctions On-line (www.auctions-online.com), and Internet Liquidators.
4. Airlines. In an attempt to encourage visitors to return to its web site American Airlines (www.americanair.com) offers a
"silent auction." Consumers bid on auction items and the winner usually recieves two trip tickets. All types of items are auctioned
and the proceeds go to charitable organizations. Some airlines auction first class tickets a few days the departure if seats are
available (such as Cathey Pacific; see www.cathey.usa.com).
BIDDINGS
BARTERING
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2.2 Cyberbanking
Prof. G. Doukidis
A REAL-TIME YANKEE-TYPE AUCTION
Prof. G. Doukidis
TRAVEL AND REAL ESTATE
 Travel and Tourism (the largest Internet market)
 Examles:travelocity, travelweb.com, expedia.com
 Microsoft’s expedia.com allows you to purchase airline tickets,
reserve hotel rooms, rent cars
AND a friendly and fun itienarry-based interface (e-mail for low cost
flights)
AND news stories that may affect travel plans (weather etc)
AND frequent flier deals and special discounts
 Real Estate is an ideal area for eCommerce,because:
 you can view many properties on the screen, saving time
 you can sort and organise properties according to your critiria
 you can find delaited information about the properties and
frequently get even more detail than brokers will provide
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2.3 The job market and auctions
Prof. G. Doukidis
ELECTRONIC RETAILING AND MALLS
 Electronic retailing is direct sale (business to customers) through
electronic storefronts, usually around a catalog format (two types
of vendors)
 Solo electronic storefronts
 they can be extensions of physical stores (ie Wal-mart Online)
 new business (only online) (ie Amazon, Peapod, Virtual Vineyards,
etoy)
 Ellectronic Malls or Cybermalls
 include diverse stores or one type of goods (ie sporting goods)
 Internet shopping Mall listed over 27,000 stores in 1997
 problems with this new business model
 Metamalls
 one-stop shopping over multiple malls (use one search engine and pay
once)
 other useful services:comparative pricing and finding substitute
products
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2.4 Travel and real estate
Prof. G. Doukidis
AN INTERNET MALL
40
2.4 Travel and real estate
Prof. G. Doukidis
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL
ONLINE RETAILERS
Feature
Convivial Niche
Virtual Storehouse
Focus
Select variety
Shopping experience
Upscale
Not an issue
In-depth reviews
Customer Education
Extensive listings
Convenience
High Tech
Discounted, adaptable
Comparisons
Configuration
Third-party reviews
Time-based specials
Offline ads
Buyers
Price
Information
Promotions
Feedback
Size
Samplers
Gifts
Featured products
Testimonials
Advice, Forums
Small
Customer support
Demographic Data
Large
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2.4 Travel and real estate
Prof. G. Doukidis