An Examination of Strategic Practices in Online Retailing

Online sales growth has far outpaced that of traditional retail channels and increasing competition heightens the importance of effective online practices. This empirical research first considers website design-based strategies in three strategic areas-convenience, experiential/relationship, and trust-that may enhance the marketing effectiveness of online retailers by helping to satisfy online customer needs and wants. Next, focusing on the three strategic areas, a comprehensive content analysis of site design elements in 285 retail sites supporting online transactions is described. Analysis of variance is used to examine how online site strategies differ depending on online retailer size (small, medium, and large), type (pure play and brick-and-click), and across 12 different retail categories, while also controlling for length of online experience. Results indicate significant strategy differences in the usage of convenience/efficiency and experiential/relationship strategies by size, a significant size by form interaction, and differences in all three strategy areas across retail categories. These results are presented and five key takeaways of the research are discussed. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.