Athanasios Gkanos
Unit 8
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D1 Evaluate the use of e-commerce in a
‘brick and click’ organisation
Introduction
On this task I will evaluate the use of e-commerce in Treading
Ahead ‘bricks and clicks’ organisation.
What is a ‘bricks and clicks’ organisation
Bricks and clicks is a term used in business which indicates that
business has shops or outlets (bricks means physical presence) and
also deals online (clicks means internet presence).
The brick part of Trading Ahead organisation allows the
customers to visit the store and try some of the products. Also in case
that a customer needs to return something, the retail store will accept
the item and give the refund to the customer. The customer can buy
on spot anything they tried and liked from Treading Ahead.
The clicks part of Treading Ahead organisation gives access to
the customer in a big catalogue of the organisation’s products. The
customer can look through the catalogue and order the product that
they liked. If the product is not in stock they can still make an order
and receive the item whenever it is available. Items that are not
available to look in the store may be available on the catalogue online.
Having both retail and online presence is very beneficial to the
customer for the ease of use. Some customers may not be confident
buying a product online and they would like to visit the store. On the
other hand some customer may not be able to visit the store and
purchase a product so they want to order it online. Having both
‘bricks and clicks’ presence has a big advantage on the customer
services. For Treading Ahead which is a footwear store, some
products may only be found online. Customers normally want to try
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shoes before buying therefore there is need for both retail and online
presence. Moreover customer benefits from the online presence of
Treading Ahead by getting discounts and free deliveries.
Benefits of Bricks and Clicks
 Convenience - the customer may not work during normal
working hours but, if they still want to order product or look up
product they need so they can go to the online catalogue and
then order what they need.
 They can go to a store and put hands on a product to ensure it is
what they need. Then, order it from the store or order it later
online; whichever is most convenient.
 customer can pay bills online
 customer can check stock online
 customer can set-up delivery online
 customer can come into the store and dispute a bill they saw
online
 customer can come into the store and pick-up a will-call order
they placed online
Disadvantages of Bricks and Clicks
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Rent - Leasing commercial space is among the largest expenses
offline business owners pay. And it isn't cheap, ranging
anywhere from £20 to £80 per square foot, and maybe more in
big box shopping malls.
Employee Costs - Offline businesses need employees to perform
the functions of the company, be they service or product based.
For instance, a retail store needs people to ring up sales, stock
inventory and clean the facility. A service-based outfit requires
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people to perform the service offered. At the very least, it will
have a payroll.
Startup and Overhead Costs – Brick and click businesses
typically require larger investments to start and maintain. For
instance, it can run in the tens of thousands of dollars just to
acquire a franchise. Other sizable costs include utilities, business
insurance, property taxes and merchandise inventory.
Locale Limitations – Brick and click businesses can reach only
so many customers unless they are a major player in their
industry. If your intention is to serve only local clients, this may
be fine. But if you aspire to have a national or even global
presence, a fixed location and the costs that incurs may lessen
those chances.