One can say that things seem to be more difficult for a manager, who deals with e-commerce, as any action taken must be made with speed and accuracy. But as the new economic rules show, speed and accuracy is considered to be a must for any type of company. This is the outcome of a very important shift that has happen to retailing. The power has gone to the buyer. Since competition and global markets have given to buyers more choices-more products/services to choose from, more ways to buy, and more access to information-they are more and more in control of both transaction and sales. Where once there was scarcity of choices, there is now an overabundance of options. Thus, companies must now formulate marketing strategies to achieve the desired competitive advantage. The interesting issue here is that the battlefield where competitive advantage is won or lost is not on based on best price but on access.
What is critical today is accessing the customer. How, where, when, and what he or she buys and, most importantly, owning the relationship with them. Internet enables business models and the emerging marketing strategies give e-businesses the tools to reach the consumers...