INTRODUCTION The term long tail was coined by Chris Anderson in 2004. He argued that all products

According to MarketLine, the world online retail market expanded by almost 18% in 2010 and is predicted to reach close to $435 billion in sales. The market is expected to reach a 90% growth by 2015 and exceed $827 billion in sales. Listed in an article “Ecommerce Growth Statistics”, the average amount spent by each consumer is expected to rise from $1,207 per year to $1,738 per person by 2016. That is a significant increase. That shows that people prefer to shop online than going to the actual store in today’s society. Shoppers will spend on an average of $327 billion online shopping in 2016, which is about 45% from $226 billion in 2012. It is very evident that consumers will drive ecommerce into the future; especially e-retail. In just a few years, purchases online will be more profitable than ever, with others products and services available to purchase such as mobile and social allowing consumers to shop to their convenience. For retailers and

In Porter's 5 forces model, the five underlying forces for an industry's structural attractiveness are the barriers to entry for new competitors, the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, the threat of substitute products or services, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the bargaining power of buyers. In analyzing Blockbuster's business model and current position, it is evident that it faces issues in all five areas.

Blockbuster implemented a new strategy for customers to access their rentals in “five channels of distribution: in-store, by mail, through vending machines and kiosks, online, and at home (direct to the TV)” (DATAMONITOR, 2009). However, this strategy was a reactive approach to the problem produced ten years behind schedule. Wooldridge et al., (2007) stated that Blockbuster should select and adapt their strategy to respond to the fast changing market and maintain a competitive position. This was an obvious failure for Blockbuster. The changes in the market produced a decline in profit at a faster pace than the strategies that Blockbuster implemented to combat these losses.

On the other hand, a online retail store in comparison to a retail store provide new values to their marketing system. Businesses like Scorptec offer values to their customers in different methods. The most simplistic value they offer is reduced prices of their products attracting customers. The reasoning behind reduced costs of goods is because the handling cost have reached minimal amounts in parallel to retail stores. Online retailers require only a storage warehouse to contain their products and dispatch them when they are required. This is managed by inventory control to ensure that products are available for sale when needed without overstocking on the product. The prime function of managing an online retail is that the business doesn’t require shipping products to independent intermediaries. This makes time and concentration more available on creating an improved product without the need to consistently dispatch products to outlets but simply

Online businesses are profitable. We have to confess and admit that we want to get huge profits from whatever endeavor we get ourselves into. I mean, who doesn’t? Anyone with his faculties intact would agree that the aim in business is to make a sizable profit. In online businesses, you need only a small amount of capital to start you up. You would also be able to make your finances revolve easily. You would be able to put up a huge profit on your items if you know you have market control. And you can easily adjust your profit margin and spread when other competitors come in seeking a piece of the action. Generally, you can make a huge return on your investment. You just have to be proactive and patient at the same time. You must know the market and must be able to act accordingly and project the needs

Online commerce was introduced to consumers in the mid-1990’s, and in the years since, it has grown exponentially. It started out virtually nonexistent and has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Nearly every retail sector has entered online commerce; clothing, electronics, home, health and grooming items, even food and groceries are starting to gain traction online. Online commerce sites rival traditional brick and mortar stores such as Walmart and Target, as well as other big-box stores. As online retailers such as Amazon continue to expand, many brick and mortar stores have been making their way online, indicative of an increasing movement towards online commerce. With more than 80% of the online population having made an online

The definition of E-Commerce or E-Tailing is replacing the traditional relationship of buying and selling in person or the phone with the use of the Internet, Smart Phones and networking. The more people that use the Internet regularly, the more Internet commerce increases. This causes a continual loop of improvements and innovations of which businesses must be aware. Most economists see e-commerce as a market segment that leads to intensive price competition and consumers armed with greater knowledge. E-commerce has changed business models globally, and allows customers to engage in the process of shopping either online or to a destination. Brick and mortar stores do have a conundrum do you want traffic into the store, or do you want the sale based on ease of shopping and/or convenience? (Eisingerich).

As a result, historically small niche markets are gaining an increasing prevalence within the U.S. marketplace and have substantially higher buying power. If companies are to continue to thrive in this modern economic environment they must be able to recognize and understand the implications of these demographic shifts. This includes the ability of a company to improve marketplace understanding as well as to implement business practices that will retain a diverse and talented

Many people are moving from physical stores to purchasing merchandise and services on the Internet. Today,

The capacity to maintain stability in the industry is now found through servicing a specific niche market. The industry is now composed of those catering to the high-income and luxury products such as Neiman Marcus and on the other hand is Wal-Mart, Big Lots, and Target catering mostly to discounters (Tsiantar, 2006).

Conducting surveys, looking at trends, and studying the advancement of technology and consumerism, the shift in consumer needs would not only be recognized, but also anticipated. Evolving and changing our focus to adapt with the customer and not the industry allows Blockbuster to foresee the impact of movie-by-mail service, online streaming, and movie kiosks. Anticipating these market shifts gives Blockbuster the chance to shift its priority and finances into research and development to establish strong products the new market areas. Understanding whom our competition is, and establishing a competitive product from the beginning, allows Blockbuster to use its name recognition and capital to dominate in new areas of entertainment and diminish any competitor’s chance of becoming successful. We live in a world where there is constant change. New initiatives, improvements with technology, and various tactics help organizations stay ahead of their competitors. Change has to occur in order remain successful in any field. Leaders need to be visionary and guide the organization with superior change management skills.

Additionally these changes propelled the difficulties Blockbuster experienced which made it difficult for them to successfully grow within those situation. Blockbuster was further restricted with mounting debt they acquired over time, and with new competitors on the rise other strategies were required to meet the demands of their customers (Kuzyk, 2010). Not neglecting the fact that Blockbuster made relentless efforts to increase their networks a declining market share due to reduced customer demands within its customary store fronts was evident. Blockbuster also faced challenges with a gap between rentals and their availability for sale (Davis & Higgins, 2013). At this time competitors provided their customers with access to order movies

Nowadays,, E-commerce is remarkably developing and any company not utilizing the opportunity by investing on their products online will not only become retroactive but also are forced to be reactive. Therefore, companies are cognizant that to enhance competitiveness in market , Internet technology play an important role in the business process and essential to adhere it. According to Shelly and Vermaat (2008,p.91) “ E-commerce is a business transaction that occurs over through an electronic network as the Internet”. As E-commerce are of many kinds and variation, online grocery and food are one its kind.

According to Turban and King (2003), internet technology renders retailers an additional channel for branding, transactions and customer relationship management, the adaptation of which may drive down retailers’ transaction costs, and ensuring faster and higher quality of customer interactions, resulting in enlarging the existing markets and consumer base. M&S realizes this and have tried to sell clothing via high street stores as well as via internet though they have experienced cost cutting, rationalisation and management changes in order to revive their business in recent years. Internet technology might enable sustainable competitive advantage, but problems remain on how to physically organize their online retail operations.

Business like Amazon wants to make buying item from their business easier for customers. This is why Amazon offers E-retailing which gives customer option to go shopping online. The internet has had impact change on consumers shopping habit as shopping online has numerous advantages which is why online shopping continues to gain popularity. Some of the advantages of E-retailing is that it’s convenient as consumers are able to go shopping at home which could help them save cost on travelling and also gives consumers an option to compare prices of different products as there are wide range of products being sold online.