Retail to E-Tail

Author: Jane Lansdown

First Authored: February 20, 2012

Last Revised: June 13, 2018

Introduction

Students will gain new knowledge of "e-tailing" which is an increasingly important way of doing business. The trend is growing and changing with advances in technology. E-Tailing allows retailers to increase their customer base; more customers mean more sales, and more sales mean more profit. This lesson will also help students to become confident e-tail consumers.

Related Instructional Objectives

Activities in this Lesson

Introduction/Web site examples

Hooks / Set

 

* When students enter the classroom they will see up on a screen 2 web sites; I have chosen Amazon and Wal-Mart. They both sell a similar variety of merchandise and high school students are familiar with both. At the time you present this lesson, there may be other sites with as much popularity that you may choose instead. See slide #1.

Teacher: Take a look at both of these web-sites on the screen. Most, if not all of you are very familiar with both. They both sell the same products shown, and many other products that are identical. What are some of the differences between the two? This will open up some discussion, typical answers may be:

  1. Amazon is a web-site only, there is no store to buy the merchandise.
  2. Wal-Mart is down the street from us and we can buy things at the store.
  3. Some Wal-Marts sell groceries and tires. Amazon doesn't.
  4. Amazon has a better selection of electronics.
  5. Wal-Mart sells specific brands, Amazon sells most every brand.

Teacher: We have previously learned that retailers are always looking for new and better ways to serve their customers. *Show slide #2 Retailers also search for ways to attract new customers. Through what we call multi-channel retailing, retailers have many methods of maximizing their exposure to customers: through advertising, catalogs and other mailers, within a retail store, and by a fast growing trend, I'm sure most of you are familiar with, but we'll be exploring in more detail. There are many of us who love to shop, we enjoy seeing what's new in the stores, handling the products, conversing with sales associates and the overall experience of shopping. But there are just as many consumers who really don't enjoy the shopping experience, fighting the crowds, or interacting with strangers, better known as sales associates. Thankfully, we have options! Let's kick the "R" out of Retail and explore the world of e-tailing. * Show slide #3

E-Tailing can best be defined as an on-line store or website where consumers can purchase products from their computer and have have those products delivered to them.

Let's take a look at a couple of e-tailers that may sell some of the same products but have some major differences: *project onto the screen www.amazon.com. Take about 2 minutes to navigate through the site, highlighting the types of merchandise it sells, descriptions and price ranges of the products, etc. Amazon is a well known, successful e-tailer that sells exclusively on the internet with no physical store. All purchases are made through the website and shipped from a warehouse. *project onto the screen www.bestbuy.com. Take another couple of minutes to show that these two sites sell the same products with product descriptions, competitive prices, internet sales, etc. Best Buy is also an e-tailer, is highly successful, the two companies sell the same products, but the major difference between these two e-tailers is that Best Buy is also a brick and mortar business, and Amazon is not. Best Buy is an example of a chain store which exists physically in different locations but also has an e-tail site. A consumer can shop at the physical store or on-line, and can either have the merchandise shipped to his home or to the store for in-store pickup.

Teacher: Have any of you shopped on-line? Have you purchased anything on-line? What did you like or dislike about on-line shopping?

This will begin a discussion about various web-sites and student's experiences of shopping on-line.

 

 

Resources and Materials

Why E-Tail?

Lecture

 

*Instruct students to take notes during lecture and to define key terms.

Teacher: Let's take a look at reasons to shop from a web site or for retailers to e-tailers. Again, e-tailing is the selling of goods and services to the customer by means of the internet. Some e-tailers sell from a store, catalog and web-site, while others sell only from a web-site. So why would we buy from an e-tailer? What's in it for the customer? (Students will volunteer answers) *Show E-TAIL slide #1

What are some reason's a customer might prefer to shop in a retail store?

* Show E-TAIL slide #2

Why would a retail business choose to e-tail, and what factors should they consider before becoming an e-tailer? (Students will volunteer answers) * Show E-TAIL slide #3

A good web site design should reflect the business in a positive way. The site should be attractive and inviting. Let's take a look at a well designed web site, while examining important factors of a well designed site:

*Note: The website below is a perfect example of a well designed web site. Easy to navigate through, well organized and contains all of the components discussed in this lesson. I project the site onto a large screen in the classroom and spend plenty of time "shopping" to demonstrate to the students how easy and convenient it is to shop online.

www.ikea.com

 

* Show E-TAIL slide #4 Once an online order is processed it must be packaged and shipped. Packaging is important because it's the first thing a customer sees of a purchase. Online orders deserve the same customer attention and prompt service as in-store customers. Packaging is a good way to let customers know they are valued and that the merchandise is valued by the business.

 

Resources and Materials

Web Site Activity

Projects

 

Students will choose a web site in which they would enjoy navigating through. They will gather as much information from the site and respond to the questions on the handout Web Site Activity. Only one student may be assigned per web site. I put names of my students into a box and when the name is pulled out, that student is able to choose the site. That student then picked the next name from the box. As students choose their web site, I write it down to ensure their "ownership".

*Teacher note: Be sure to reserve a computer lab for this activity and ask that any shopping site blocks be removed previous to this ativity. Once I explained my class project to the school's IT, it was not a problem to remove the block.

This activity will take a full class period at the computer, and another class period to create a poster. As students are using the handout as a guide, they are able to gather information needed to create a poster highlighting their web site. They may have a little difficulty gathering all of the information asked for, such as shipping charges but if they go through the steps of making a purchase, the shipping policy will show. Another link that may not show is History but the student may google the history of the company.

Resources and Materials

Future e-tailing:Just a click away: video clips

Closure

 

Teacher: I think we can all agree that online shopping is easy, fast, and convenient. Lets look at two examples of what we can expect during future online "shopping trips". These short demonstrations show how the shopping experience is evolving to meet the demands of the smarter consumer. Futuristic shopping is just a click away!

Show video: The Future of the Shopping Experience

Show video clip: Minority Report GAP scene

Resources and Materials

Web Site Poster Presentation

Assessment Types: Rubrics, Projects, Demonstrations

Students will present their web site poster to the class audience, indicating the various contents of the site. I encourage the audience to be active listeners and participants by asking questions such as "What would you change about this site?", "What is the shipping policy?",  "Where is the nearest store location to us?" and the presenter should be well prepared with answers, as he/she has spent ample time at the site.

* Before the student begins to present, I show their chosen site on the projector screen. As the student is presenting the information I click on the specific areas that he/she is pointing out to the class. This makes the presentation much more interesting to the audience; they are engaged in what the presenter is saying as well as enjoying the visual aspects of the poster and site. Posters are dislayed in the classroom.

Resources and Materials