1.0 Introduction
The grocery industry is a huge, fragmented and enormously competitive environment and there are currently several examples of grocery companies that are making effective use of the internet as a link with customers (Delaney-Klinger, 2003). In particular, Tesco currently have internet channels for selling groceries that are profitable (Hall, 2001; Koller, 2001).
During the late 1990’s many new companies were set up to utilise the perceived advantages from using the internet in business, however, with their rapid rise and fall they soon created a phenomenon known as the ‘dot.com’ era (Lovelock, 2001). Questions were then raised about the added value that the internet brought to business and how these technologies
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Their ‘clicks-and-clicks’ strategy included setting up state of the art warehouses where Webvan employees picked and distributed orders to consumers within a twentieth of the time of that of an average consumer.
“Webvan made huge bets on the internets ability to change shopper’s behaviour, Tesco made tiny ones.” (Knowledge @ Wharton, 2001 p.1).
It is believed that Webvan’s failure was due to the violation of several fundamental strategic principles (Delaney-Klinger, 2003). It is important to note that strategy should be considered with regards to the capabilities the organisation has, where strengths match opportunities. One of the key challenges in implementing effective strategy involves accomplishing fit or consensus within the organisation. With this in mind, Webvan failed to adequately match its marketing, finance, operations and logistics strategies (Delaney-Klinger, 2003). 4.0 Success and Failure Factors
Table 1.1: Tesco and Webvan comparison
Company Success Factors Failure Factors
Tesco • Online was offered as a substitute to stores
• Capitalised on their brand name
• Made use of existing assets
• Utilised their club card database to advertise their new venture (Emerald, 2008)
• Teaming up with Microsoft (Humby et al, 2003)
• Partnership with Safeway, U.S. – Grocery Works (Knowledge @ Wharton, 2001) • Potential customer dissatisfaction – substitution of products if their was limited stock
• Problems with delivery times
Webvan •
This research paper will be about how the privately held company known as Publix Supermarket which is now exploring the new way their customers are shopping using the internet with the help of e-commerce. Moreover, on how the Publix Supermarket stands up against the many of its competitors in the grocery market business. Publix Supermarkets is especially known for their exceptional customers’ experiences within their supermarkets, and now their customers are bringing Publix directly into their homes with the help of Instacart. Publix Supermarket is partnering with now a delivery source known as Instacart which is now providing numerous grocery delivery services to customers around the State of Florida with their popular large chain grocery
Online Grocery stores: Over the last two decades, rising internet and mobile phone penetration has changed the way we communicate and do business. E-commerce is relatively a novel concept. It is, at present, heavily leaning on the internet and mobile phone revolution to fundamentally alter the way businesses reach their
As a tool available to a fairly wide public, the internet is only twenty years old, but it is already the key catalyst of the most extensive and fastest technological revolution in history. The internet, the single most powerful agent of change in recent history, In the words of Arthur.C Clarke, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.(Clarke, 1961)The rapid pare and reach of the change wrought by the internet indeed has a touch of magic about them. There are two main ways to go shopping in our daily lives. One is shopping online; another is shopping at the real shop. As a matter fact, shopping online is a new way for people to go shopping. Online shopping is better than shopping at the shop in some ways, in
Businesses are discovering the Internet as the most powerful and cost effective tool in history. The Net provides a faster, more efficient way to work colleagues, customers, vendors and business partners- irrespective of location or operating system harnessing this powerful resource gives companies strategic advantages by leveraging information into essential business asset. The "technology of the future" here today. This is a fact. Businesses making the transition will, and are prospering; however those that do not will most certainly suffer the consequences.
With the internet, the world is shrinking. Customers are empowered and are becoming more experimental with the
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The grocery retail industry worldwide has grown in recent years to become one of the most intensely competitive industries due to the continuous amounts of new entrants. A grocery retailer is one that sells food and other general household items. Hypermarkets, supermarkets, discounters and small grocery retailers are all under the grocery retail umbrella. Between 2003 and 2008, the grocery retailing industry accounted for 45% of store-based retail values sales over the world. The figures
1. As a customer, what do you want from an online grocery store? How does consumers’ behaviour differ when shopping for groceries on-line vs. off-line? What are the implications of these differences on the operations of an on-line vs. off-line store?
Supermarket e-commerce stores that have altered business practice grow very fast. The popularity of online supermarket increases every year. Keynote’s study (as cited in Hand, Riley, Harris, Singh, and Rettie, 2009, p. 1205) explain that in 2006, the percentage of online supermarkets are higher approximately 35% than previous year. It could be that customers will shop online only in the future if the popularity of traditional stores go down. In addition, many supermarkets such as Walmart, Coles, and Giant are starting to build e-commerce. Online supermarket grow