Question One
a) What experiences have you had with shopping online?I'm a regular online shopper and have far to much experience, for me its about the convenience of been able to order something online from anywhere around the world and have it delivered to your door.
b) Describe a good experience.
I like to buy clothes from The Iconic. This is a store i have never had a bad experience with and i purchase from it all the time. The items are well priced, they have fast next day delivery and they have excellent communication.
c) What did you like about the online store you used?
It is quick, easy to navigate, security verified and they have great communication e.g order confirmation email and shipping confirmation email.
d) Describe a bad experience?
I recently purchased a iPhone cover of eBay, when i finally received it after 30+ days it was broken. I sent a email to the seller and received the reply 'it wasn't broken when i sent it'. I was really limited with what i could do in this situation and as eBay act as a third party seller they could really do anything either. My hands were tied all i could do was leave bad feedback and take the $20 loss.
I like to buy clothes from The Iconic. This is a store i have never had a bad experience with and i purchase from it all the time. The items are well priced, they have fast next day delivery and they have excellent communication.
c) What did you like about the online store you used?
It is quick, easy to navigate, security verified and they have great communication e.g order confirmation email and shipping confirmation email.
d) Describe a bad experience?
I recently purchased a iPhone cover of eBay, when i finally received it after 30+ days it was broken. I sent a email to the seller and received the reply 'it wasn't broken when i sent it'. I was really limited with what i could do in this situation and as eBay act as a third party seller they could really do anything either. My hands were tied all i could do was leave bad feedback and take the $20 loss.
e) What problems did you have with the online store?
I didn't have a problem with the store, more so the seller.
I didn't have a problem with the store, more so the seller.
f) What features make an online store more appealing?
Easy to use and navigate, international shipping, if it has a reputable name and review, i like to pay through pay pal rather than give out my credit card details so i prefer a site that supports pay pal.
Easy to use and navigate, international shipping, if it has a reputable name and review, i like to pay through pay pal rather than give out my credit card details so i prefer a site that supports pay pal.
g) What features make an online store less appealing?
A hard to navigate website, not having secure payment options, high pricing, poor reviews
A hard to navigate website, not having secure payment options, high pricing, poor reviews
h) Should we expect to see the prices of goods and services rise or fall due to the migration of consumers online?
I think as we are in a buyers market we can expect to see the prices of goods and services drop, also the more stores that appear online the more competitive the pricing is therefore we can expect further price drops.
I think as we are in a buyers market we can expect to see the prices of goods and services drop, also the more stores that appear online the more competitive the pricing is therefore we can expect further price drops.
Question 2
a) The dispersion of prices (that is, the spread between the lowest and highest price for a particular product) will narrow.
I agree with this statement. Customers generally look around for lowest pricing, shopping in store or online.
b) The importance of brand names will decrease.
I disagree with this statement! Brand names hold a significance and many people hold loyalties with certain brands. Shopping online makes it easier to find the product you want by the brand you like.
c) Price competition will make all products cheaper.
This i agree with, to remain competitive in the market you need to offer competitive prices, therefore when something similar or the same is available for a lower price companies really need to follow the pricing trend and reduce their price.
d) Digital markets will become dominated by a handful of mega-sites, like Amazon.com.
I disagree, there are still people who like to shop from smaller, local online stores i know from personal experience it is more convenient to deal with a smaller site if something goes wrong as you are often talking directly to people rather than receiving computer generated emails etc.
e) How do you think the balance of power between buyer’s and seller’s will change?
I predict that soon enough buyers will have full power over sellers. The are numerous sellers out their all competing for the same buyer therefore the buyer has the power over the seller as they will attempt anything to make the deal.
f) Prices are clustered online.
the price of goods and services is influenced by the quality, supply and demand of a product.
g) Online prices are elastic. ( i.e. immune to change up and down with demand)
Prices will go up and down depending on the demand of the product. You can see a trend between price drops if the product is in low demand and the price will rise if the product is in high demand.
h) Online prices are generally transparent (the extent to which prices for a given product or service are known by buyers in the marketplace.).
I agree with this statement. Customers generally look around for lowest pricing, shopping in store or online.
b) The importance of brand names will decrease.
I disagree with this statement! Brand names hold a significance and many people hold loyalties with certain brands. Shopping online makes it easier to find the product you want by the brand you like.
c) Price competition will make all products cheaper.
This i agree with, to remain competitive in the market you need to offer competitive prices, therefore when something similar or the same is available for a lower price companies really need to follow the pricing trend and reduce their price.
d) Digital markets will become dominated by a handful of mega-sites, like Amazon.com.
I disagree, there are still people who like to shop from smaller, local online stores i know from personal experience it is more convenient to deal with a smaller site if something goes wrong as you are often talking directly to people rather than receiving computer generated emails etc.
e) How do you think the balance of power between buyer’s and seller’s will change?
I predict that soon enough buyers will have full power over sellers. The are numerous sellers out their all competing for the same buyer therefore the buyer has the power over the seller as they will attempt anything to make the deal.
f) Prices are clustered online.
the price of goods and services is influenced by the quality, supply and demand of a product.
g) Online prices are elastic. ( i.e. immune to change up and down with demand)
Prices will go up and down depending on the demand of the product. You can see a trend between price drops if the product is in low demand and the price will rise if the product is in high demand.
h) Online prices are generally transparent (the extent to which prices for a given product or service are known by buyers in the marketplace.).
I agree that online pricing is transparent, you can easily search the price of a product or service to compare to another. Even sites like myshopping are designed so buyers can compare the same products for the best price.
Question 3
Question 3
a) What types of m-commerce services does your cell phone provider offer?
My mobile service provider is Optus they provide m-commerce services such as Email, Online bill paying, blue tooth, Internet, Apps etc.
b) Which of these services do you use?
I use all of these services i tend to use my phone for everything from online banking and paying bill to email and surfing the web.
c) What types of transactions do you perform through your cell phone or other wireless device?
Paying bills, Internet banking and shopping
d) What types of transactions would you like to perform, but are currently unable to?
With today's technology i cant think of anything i have tried to do on my phone and haven't been able to.
e) What is your opinion of wireless advertising/mobile marketing?
There are a lot of people whose only access to the Internet is through their mobile phone, therefore it only makes sense that advertising through mobile phones is effective. Since the introduction of smart phones and 'APPS' it makes sense for organisations to advertise through mobile platforms. from my personal experience i am more likely to shop on my phone if the business has a APP or a mobile friendly page, i think this is something organisations that haven't already jumped on the trend should definitely look into.
Paying bills, Internet banking and shopping
d) What types of transactions would you like to perform, but are currently unable to?
With today's technology i cant think of anything i have tried to do on my phone and haven't been able to.
e) What is your opinion of wireless advertising/mobile marketing?
There are a lot of people whose only access to the Internet is through their mobile phone, therefore it only makes sense that advertising through mobile phones is effective. Since the introduction of smart phones and 'APPS' it makes sense for organisations to advertise through mobile platforms. from my personal experience i am more likely to shop on my phone if the business has a APP or a mobile friendly page, i think this is something organisations that haven't already jumped on the trend should definitely look into.
