ATTENTION ON-LINE SHOPPERS; WEB HIT, MISS FOR RETAILERS.Byline: Rachel Beck Rachel Beck is an American reporter for the Lebanon Express in Lebanon, Oregon. Born 5 April, 1982, she was raised in Sisters, Oregon. In 2000, she graduated from Sisters High School[1]. She graduated from Vassar College with the class of 2004. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Omaha Steaks Omaha Steaks is a family business based in Omaha, Nebraska that manufactures, markets, packages, and distributes premium beef, seafood and other foods. It was founded in 1917 by Latvian emigrants J.J. and B.A. looks at the Internet as a game of chance, with a lot of hits and misses. ``You can't just throw up a Web site and expect people will come,'' said Todd Simon Todd Simon (born April 21, 1972, in Toronto, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted in the ninth round, 203rd overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. , vice president of the mail-order meat merchant. ``You need to try everything that comes your way, and not have too many expectations.'' As the Internet's reach expands, more consumers are buying on line, enticed by the breadth of merchandise and the simplicity of shopping in cyberspace. Yet retailers still haven't cracked the secret of really snaring those buyers. One idea, the virtual mall, appears to be fading as IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) announced Tuesday it is scrapping its own shopping service, which hasn't lived up to expectations. IBM instead will focus on helping retailers set up their own sites. Retailers anticipate more buyers will surface by the end of the decade as more consumers become familiar with the Internet and realize the ease of shopping from their personal computers. ``E-tailing isn't going to be different than other types of retailing,'' said Lauren Cooks Levitan, vice president at the investment firm Robertson, Stephens & Co. in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . ``Companies that are on line are going to have to build a brand name and a reputation that will evolve over time. Then shoppers will come.'' Attracting consumers, however, is tricky. Not only must retailers create Web sites that are interesting and easy to use, they also must understand what merchandise their audience wants to buy. On-line sales can vary greatly from the rest of the business. To promote themselves, many retailers rely on Internet shopping malls. Operating like the mortar and brick variety, shoppers browse through a selection of stores to find a wide range of merchandise. Omaha Steaks jumps at the chance to link to any virtual mall. Last year 75 percent of its on-line business, which topped $1 million, came through America Online's cyber-mall, one of the most popular virtual shopping centers. But its success on AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. didn't translate to big sales on IBM's mall, which was touted as the on-line Mall of America Mall of America (also MOA, MoA, or the Megamall) is a shopping mall located in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. It is just southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, and is across the interstate from the . ``They didn't promote their site, so people didn't really know about it,'' Simon said. ``It's just like any shopping center in town - you have to advertise and run promotions.'' One of the biggest challenges facing retailers is determining their on-line product mix. To date, success has come to those merchants who chose merchandise that catered to specific interests. Computers, books, music and clothing are among the top sellers. ``The key is to not put the whole store on line,'' said Steve Biciocchi, a partner in the consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and and retail practice CSC Consulting in Cleveland. ``Retailers need to think of ways to interact with users, creating a social environment, and be very focused in what they offer.'' |
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