Effect of Technological Advancements on Business - Case Study Example

The Internet and Business Introduction Modern business growth is fuelled by technological advancement, especially Dotcom boom. Widespread adoption and usage of Internet has dominated the investment plans of business houses. Most businesses are eagerly spending on developing an online portal of their businesses; two of such businesses are River Island and The Body Shop. These businesses are amongst the best performing businesses in consumer segment and have stores located in various locations to support the delivery mechanism and hence the growth. Both of these businesses are consumer oriented, have presence in online world and have specific target audience but different business models to analyse and review. Business Model Every business to thrive in this tough competitive market must have a business model to boost the developmental plans. A business model acts as the back-bone of a business and helps the business to make strategic decisions. River Island - as a business has a business model of stylish, high-quality fashion clothing especially for its target audience. The Body Shop on the contrary has developed a business model focusing on the natural beauty and beauty products. River Island promotes fashion and modernization; whereas The Body Shop promotes beauty with natural products. Target Audience As part of business model and marketing strategy each business has their own target markets and target audiences. River Island targets young men and women, boys and girls with an attitude and style statement. The target audience is high-street consumers looking for affordable yet stylish fashion clothing by including new designs in apparel, shoes, bags and more. On the contrary The Body Shop targets consumers with more mature blend of mind set and inclined towards natural products for beauty enhancement. The target audience is restricted to consumers who are searching for natural beauty products for various requirements including, skin care, body and bath, make-up, hair, fragrance and more. Key Competitors Modern business world has seen fierce competitions within business houses. It is nearly impossible to have a business without any competition in modern days. River Island has also competitions such as H&M, Republic, ASOS, G2000, Padini, U2 etc to name a few. Similarly The Body Shop also faces many competitors such as Lush, Aveda, Origins, Kiehls etc to name a few. Website Evaluation Businesses have developed marketing strategies exploiting the mass adoption and usage of Internet. The simplest and foremost of Internet marketing strategies is the website of the business. Although the Internet marketing strategies are rapidly evolving few basic factors are still prevalent and are acting as deciding factors of a business’s growth. 1. Company Information River Island Company Information on River Island website carries certain details about the group and the value proposition of the company. It also highlights the targeted customer segment and the unique selling point. It brings out information about the suppliers, corporate social responsibility, ethical trading initiatives and franchise opportunities for business development. The Body Shop Company Information on The Body Shop website provides detailed information about the company, the objective, its history, the financiers, and highlights about the fair trading, and anti-animal testing policies. Analysis Both the sites provide detailed information about the companies and the policies. The content brings out the values and engagement model with the consumers. 2. Product Information River Island River Island deals with affordable and high-quality fashion clothing and it has been clearly indicated on the website through design, texture, layout and content. Product information in the website is easily navigable as per target categories and is informative. The Body Shop The Body Shop offers high-quality natural skin care products and the website clearly indicates the product information. Each product has clear information and brings out the necessary requirements for beauty products. Analysis Both sites provide detailed information about the products and explain the product. 3. Registration Option River Island River Island provides options for the consumers to become registered members and avail other benefits. The Body Shop The Body Shop also provides option for the consumers to become registered members. But the navigation is not clearly visible. Analysis The option to become registered member is provided by both the sites, but more prominently highlighted and promoted by River Island. This would have an advantage over the consumers in winning consumer loyalty. 4. Negotiation Scope Unlike retail stores online retail store or virtual stores have the limitation of scope of negotiation with the sales team, unless facilitated with online chat option or call option. River Island The web site of River Island lacks the scope of negotiation on the website. This scope can be integrated with the website with online chat option, but would have cost impact. The Body Shop The Body Shop also does not provide any option on scope of negotiation. This can be only done through a little more expense with online-chat support. Analysis Both the sites do not provide the scope of negotiation through the web site. Since this would include cost impact on the business, maximum businesses avoid the scope of negotiation and provide the cost benefit to the consumers through online discounts. 5. Ordering Process River Island Online ordering process by River Island is quite interactive and simple. With scope of improvement the ordering process can be rated well for consumer usage. The Body Shop The Body Shop provides a simple yet communicative option with the ordering process with option of asking questions and getting answers from users or experts. This has an advantage. Analysis Ordering process in an e-commerce web site is the final engagement point with a consumer during a purchase process. The swift and easy navigation with information and confidence of the consumer about data security makes the web site a preferred one and results in returning customers. Both the web sites have made the ordering process simple and informative. 6. Payment Options Post ordering process, the consumer is taken towards the payment options. This option is vital for successful completion of the transaction and sales. Limitations in payment options and technological breakdown may lead to unsuccessful transaction and negative branding. River Island River Island provides a smooth payment option restricted with credit card payment by various card types. The Body Shop The Body Shop provides a longer check out process with options to fill in e-mail Ids before proceeding further. Analysis As per consumer psychology, a break in the check out process results in delayed payment and may lead to bounce without purchase. The Payment options are hidden in The Body Shop web site till the consumer fills in the personal details. This can be an e-commerce drawback. 7. Delivery Options River Island River Island charges additional amount for delivery with two different options. This gives the consumer the confidence about the delivery standards. The delivery policy is explained clearly. The Body Shop The delivery policy of The Body Shop is clearly explained. The Body Shop does not provide different delivery options Analysis Product delivery services provided by businesses have to be of high-quality. This would ensure consumer loyalty. 8. After Sales Support River Island River Island provides after sales support only by accepting returns from the consumers. If a consumer wish to contact can do so by calling the customer service team. The Body Shop The Body Shop also provides after sales support and has the option to contact through e-mail and telephone. Analysis After-sales-support is responsible for improving the brand value. Both the sites need to improve the after-sales-support mechanism. 9. Community Links River Island River Island connects with the community through corporate social responsibility towards the environment and acclaims ethical trading initiatives. The Body Shop The Body Shop connects with the community by their Anti-Animal Testing Initiative, Fair Trading Policy, Core Values and Charitable Foundation. Analysis Community links of a business is as important as other factors for a business to survive and grow. It helps in brand recall and provides a unique emotional boost for attracting consumers. Community links of a business defines the ethical standards and thought process of the business leaders. This may or may not have a negative impact on the sales cycles, but definitely have a positive impact on the sales process. The Body Shop has successfully highlighted the community links. 10. Performance River Island River Island web site performs better than 63% of similar sites. The three month global Alexa traffic rank is 12,813 (Source: Alexa.com). The Body Shop The Body Shop web site performs better than 64% of similar sites. The three month global Alexa traffic rank is 56,809 (Source: Alexa.com). Analysis The sites’ performance with regards to speed and loading time are better compared to other sites. However the Body Shop web site performs better than River Island web site. The cause might be due to high-image usage by River Island. 11. Ease of Use River Island River Island web site is well designed with regards to lay out and easy to use. Usage of flash drop-down has been effectively utilised. The navigational features are well designed and make the consumer free-of-search. The best option is of sharing your purchase with social media instantly from the check out page makes it more appealing to the youth. The Body Shop The Body Shop web site is well defined and structured according to the product categories. This would help a consumer refine and define the search for his/her product requirements. Well informed product pages with option to question and get answers make it more attractive and appealing to the consumers. 12. Aesthetics River Island The aesthetic of River Island web site is more appealing with the usage of images and structural and spacious design. The Body Shop The Body Shop web site is organised but lacks the attractive power and looks more of an advertisement web site rather than a product web site. The flavour of retail is more than required in this web site. 13. Innovation Continuous business growth is a relative situation and depends on many factors. Innovation is one such factor which has the ability to change the business competitions dramatically. River Island With respect to innovation, River Island has been on the fore-front by creating an online store for iPhone users. This would make the reach and spread of the web site faster. Also they have a team of in-house designers responsible for designing new fashion look-out. The Body Shop The Body Shop on the contrary has limited it’s innovation to the products. The product development process with the usage of natural extracts and anti-animal testing policy has brought them in to limelight. Conclusion The world of e-commerce is evolving rapidly due to the technology advancements in the dotcom field. Still few important factors that are remaining which have a major impact on the e-commerce business are – Ordering Process, Payment Options and Delivery Options. A smooth, hassle-free and informative ordering process followed by multiple payment options, and defined and traceable delivery mechanism can do great business. References Dave, Chaffey, 2008, E-Business and E-Commerce Management, Pearson Education. Read More