There is so much to learn about the Web and what it will mean to
the business that it is dangerous to form conclusions at this
stage, but with that in mind I think it's safe to say that as the
Web evolves, one principle is becoming clear: Retailing is
retailing.
The brick-and-mortar world looks very different than the on-line
selling world but as e-commerce evolves, e-tailers are learning
that while they can use the capabilities of the Web to their
advantage, they also must abide by the tried-and-true practices of
good retailing.
At the Jupiter @travel meeting in Miami last week, Rich Barton,
the president and CEO of Expedia.com, said "Expedia really is a huge store and
we have to think about establishing loyalty the same way any store
establishes loyalty."
Later that day, Michael Dauberman, senior vice president of Uniglobe.com,
said the role of the on-line travel retailer is to "work on
interpreting the alternatives" available to shoppers. Isn't that
the same thing brick-and-mortar agencies do every day?
Building loyalty to a retail store can be accomplished in a
variety of ways. Good prices are one way to do it but there are
many retail niches where price is not the principal
consideration.
One common denominator among all successful retailers, whatever
their price policy, is good service and Web sellers are rapidly
learning that service factors may be the single most important
consideration for shoppers seeking to differentiate among
sites.
Just as shoppers in physical locations want good customer
service, including return policies, on-line shoppers want the same
kind of assurances.
Phil Bakes, the chairman and CEO of Far & Wide Travel, which
has bought a number of tour operators, said at the Jupiter meeting
that on-line shoppers need to develop "confidence in vendors."
That confidence comes from experience with the quality of
service provided. The quality of service is a far greater
consideration than price or reward programs for frequent
shoppers.