E-tailing has various advantages as well as disadvantages both for there tailers as well as buyers as explained below:
Advantages of E-tailing for retailers:
1. Location utility: Location is utmost important for the conventional retailing process to provide convenience utility to its consumers. However, in e-tailing location is not important. Retailers and customers need internet for e-tailing and transaction can happen from anywhere from within the country or overseas.
2. Less expensive: As compare to organised retailing, e-tailing is less expensive as it saves wages of salesmen and premises cost and maintenance. These expenditures are low as compare to internet cost.
3. High Reach: Integration with customers is high in e-tailing as customers can be local, national and international. Through internet, e-tailers can reach to large audience.
4. 24*7 businesses: The time utility for customers is high in e-tailing as customers can buy the products and services from anywhere and anytime.
5. Feedback: It’s easy to manage customer relationship management in e-tailing on the basis of feedback of consumers.
Advantages of E-tailing for buyers
1. Time utility as consumers can shop 24*7
2. Place utility as consumers can shop from anywhere
3. Convenience utility as consumers can shop from any mode via computer, laptops or mobile
4. Option utility as consumers can get wide range of option via e-tailing
Disadvantages of E-tailing for retailers
1. Lack to infrastructure: The issues of accessibility and connectivity of internet causes problems in functioning of e-tailing activities. Also, the initial investment cost is very high in e-tailing.
2. Lack of technological expertise: To start an online retailing project it is important to have technological expertise and not all retailers have it.
3. Complex logistic management:Intrinsic and extrinsic challenges increase the complexities in e-tailing logistics. Like cash on delivery increases the operational cycle, managing high rates of returns, poor logistic management in rural areas and problems in cross-nation shipments.
4. Customers’ expectations: In terms of flexibility in delivery, detailed product descriptions, cost and security of delivery, flexible payment options sets high expectations of customers.
5. Lack of personal touch: The lack of face-to-face interaction, persuasion and handling the customers’ query is a major disadvantage in e-tailing.
6. High competition:E-tailers have to compete with other e-tailers as well as the organised and unorganised retailers in the market that increase the competitions for them.
Disadvantages of E-tailing for buyers
1. Customers may be uncertain regarding the quality of the products and services offered online
2. Fear regarding online fraud and loss of money
3. Every time not every product is available.
4. Lack of technological know-how
