Business Reference Guide: E-Commerce & Retail Merchandising (PDF)

This volume begins with an essay by Ruth A. Wienclaw that details the fundamental elements of retail merchandising
and the most effective selling strategies. While many individuals continue to purchase products at local stores, a growing
population purchases their goods via the Internet in transactions known as e-commerce. While this phenomenon
captures the attention of the business-to-consumer industry, Marie Gould predicts that business-to-business trade will
reap the most benefits from the burgeoning e-commerce trend. Advances in Internet technology have also allowed
corporations to channel the marketing of their goods and services to a new arena. Wienclaw explores this fledgling
field of direct e-marketing and the many tools associated with it, including pay-per-click advertising, banner ads,
mass emails, and blogging. In addition to increasing product sales, e-marketing can also be used to develop a broader
advertising base and to facilitate the influx of Web traffic. Despite these obvious advantages, businesses must be cautious
about how they are impacting their customers; “as tools allow more and more data to be collected about the user,
there is an increasing need to develop enforceable guidelines that balance the needs of the business with the privacy
needs of the user.”