Customers, savvy beasts!

While businesses flock to ebusiness to avail of the promises of increased speed, reduced costs and larger market, the costumer too has great advantages awaiting when hitting to online high street.

Consider the website content that is available to customers; it is detailed in depth information, that they can access and assess from home. They have the opportunity to peruse the  qualities and the value on offer from a number of sites to decide what best suits their needs. Open information means they know all about product pricing asymmetry and can find out where in the world they can buy the best deal.

Costumers are interacting with others on line, delivering review of companies, of products, and  discussing the attributes in fora designed just to create a community of informed shopper. The convenience  to go from checking,to buying, to using product all for a couple of clicks and right at the desk is very appealing and delivers almost instant gratification.

While businesses work to the "costumer is king" model of service, in the online world the customer reigns over the vast range and choice of products presented to him. Style, size, colour all available to be browsed, compared, and purchased with just a credit card,and a parcel delivery and all with a no quibble ,money back, exchange policies.

The richness of websites invites customers to spend time there, watch video, enjoy every angle or feature of a product before you make that decision.


Customers are savvy beasts, and for those who don't do well online buying there is "show-rooming";go to the local stockiest,  check it out, get a feel, a smell of it and  then go purchase online with all the advantages that offers, maybe lower price, free delivery, free gift, better return policy.




Being that savvy beast does present customers with some issues though. They want a reputable firm to buy from,using a recommended payments method model like Paypal. This may be a disadvantage to smaller businesses, but worth the investment in ensuring a secure payment system to invites customers and get return business.

Lack of computer skills can be a barrier to shopping online for some people, but when the price is the bottom line more and more the technophobes learn to overcome the fear or find someone to help them out. Many of the golden generation with very little computer skills learned quickly to book flights on Ryanair and book rooms in travel destinations.

Customers will seek out what they want and search for the best value they can get they may be loyal to more than one way of shopping, online or in store. The advantages of ebusiness has not passed the attention of customers and businesses (and ebusinesses) will do well if they remember it is the customer that put them where they are and can keep them there (or not)