Forum Archive Index - June 2000

["hugh webber" <hugh.webber@clear.net.nz>]

Obviously both physical retail and electronic retail have 
both their good and bad points but I thought sharechatters
might be amused by the following piece.....

"They're calling it shops or "S-Commerce" and it's being rolled out in
cities and
towns nationwide.

"It's a real revelation," according to Malcolm Fosbury, an engineer from
Hillingdon.
"You just walk into one of these shops and they have all sorts of things
for
sale."

Fosbury was particularly impressed by a clothes shop he discovered while
browsing in
 central London. "Shops seem to be the ideal medium for transactions of
this
type.
I can actually try out a jacket and see if it fits me.  Then I can
visualize the
way I would
look if I was wearing the clothing."  This is possible using a high
definition
2D viewing system,
 or "mirror" as it has become known.

Shops, which are frequently aggregated into shopping portals or "high
streets",
are becoming
increasingly popular with the cash-rich time-poor generation of new
consumers.
Often located in
densely populated areas people can find them extremely convenient.

And Malcolm is not alone in being impressed by shops.  "Some days I
justdon't
have the time
to download huge Flash animations of rotating trainers and then wait five
days
for them to be delivered
 in the hope that they will actually fit," says Sandra Bailey, a systems
analyst
from Chelsea.
"This way I can actually complete the transaction in real time and walk
away
with the goods."

Being able see whether or not shoes and clothing fit has been a real bonus
for
Bailey, "I used to spend my evenings boxing up gear to return. Sometimes
the
clothes didn't fit, sometimes they just sent the wrong stuff."
Shops have a compelling commercial story to tell too, according to Gartner
Group
retail analyst Carl Baker. "There are massive efficiencies in the supply
chain.
By concentrating distribution to a series of high volume outlets in urban
centres-typically close to where people live and work-businesses can make
dramatic savings in
fulfilment costs.  Just compare this with the wasteful practise of
delivering
items piecemeal to people's homes." Furthermore, allowing consumers to
receive
goods when they actually want them could mean an end to the frustration of
returning home to find a despatch notice telling you that your goods are
waiting
in a delivery depot the other side of town.

But it's not just the convenience and time-saving that appeals to Fosbury,
"Visiting a shop is real relief for me. I mean as it is I spend all day in
front
of a f****ng computer."






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