Last month's acquisition by a traditional bricks-and-mortar
company, John Lewis, of on-line retailer Buy.com has demonstrated
where the power in business-to-consumer e-commerce now lies.
David BicknellManaging editor
Many companies have tried - and so far, failed - to make money
out of e-commerce, and it is the Old Economy names - complete with
their brand names, existing customer relationships, and ability to
better-deliver fulfilment, that are now in the best position to
succeed.
For many of the old dotcoms, the best bet for them is to get
together in an alliance, similar to that originally fashioned by
Great Universal Stores and Jungle.com, Kingfisher and ThinkNatural,
or Wal-Mart and Shopsmart. It is these alliances that are featured
in our special report on business-to-consumer e-commerce, which
also looks at how to avoid the pitfalls in setting-up your online
operation. And together with market researcher Gartner Group, we
have a special quiz designed to help you decide whether or not you
have a successful e-commerce strategy.
In news analysis, we also look in more detail at John Lewis's
Buy.com purchase, including how it might integrate it into its core
high-street operations.
Meanwhile, as dotcom start-ups fade away, opportunities exist
for 'scavengers' to fly by and pick up 'carrion' from what just a
year ago were fledgling companies with good ideas, high hopes of
success - but which were dependent on funding that has now slipped
away. We also explain how you can windowshop for dot-com
bargains.
For some small- or medium-sized organisations, opportunities
still exist to create a Web presence without paying a fortune. We
detail how Sussex Yacht Club managed to create what it hopes will
be a "communications hub for yachting" on a budget of £1,500.