Weekly Writeup for AC233 Database Communication and Management

Click and sell

To compete, some bricks-and-mortar companies are transforming themselves into clicks-and-mortar ones. To compete effectively, some bricks-and-mortar companies are transforming themselves into clicks-and-mortar companies, which combine e-commerce with their traditional business.

In US, such a practice is already widespread as their five clicks-and-mortar department stores, including JCPenney.com, Sears.com and Wal-mart.com are in the e-commerce bandwagon. Similarly, for toys and apparel, clicks-and-mortar companies dominated the ranks US top online sellers, putting pure Net companies in the minority. So how can traditional Asian companies gain similar advantage?

Clicks-and-mortar companies have their advantages -- well-established distribution and logistic channels, and good brand recognition -- which save them money in marketing.

Especially on the Internet, a sizeable number of consumers still seek well-known and familiar brands even when shopping online as they trust these renown organizations. This segment of brand-conscious consumers presents business opportunities to clicks-and-mortar companies who have good brand recognition. As such, clicks-and-mortar companies can create a synergistic relation between their traditional business and the online aspect of their business. The Internet side can benefit from the well-established brand of the traditional company.

However, creating a harmonious relationship between the traditional and online aspects of a business can be difficult. Traditional companies need to make sure they don't starve their dot-coms of business. We find many retailers have difficulty steering their inventory away from their traditional physical stores to their dot-com companies. They should not alienate their traditional channels. MPH and Amazon, for example, still receive large human traffic and sale at their stores despite internet presence.

Thus the direction for Asian companies would be not to fall into the same trap as some US companies who do not adapt with flexibility and speed to the Internet. Asian companies can cope successfully with the challenge of the Net, provided they learn the lessons of US clicks-and-mortar companies, especially in the tricky area of allocating resources between the traditional business and the Internet business