RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Danielle Perri, Erica Alicchio, Jasmine Galloway November 16, 2015 Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report East Carolina University College of Human Health and Performance Department of Interior Design and Merchandising MRCH 3300: Technologies in Merchandising RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Part One. Competitive Analysis of Market Players Name of Company: Shoebuy.com FACTOR Strength of Shoebuy.com Weakness Shoebuy.com In Comparison to JustFab.com In Comparison to Zappos.com Importance to Customer Products -Products that Shoebuy.com carries: -Women’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -Men’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -Kid’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -Bags -Accessories -Products that Shoebuy.com does not carry: -Specialty shoes -Specialty clothing -Boutique items -Products that JustFab.com does not have in comparison to Shoebuy.com: -Men’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -Kid’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -Bags -Accessories -Products that Zappos.com does not have in comparison to Shoebuy.com: -Zappos.com has everything that Shoebuy.com has -Zappos.com has more products than Shoebuy.com -Products are very important to the customer because the store needs to have what the customer is looking for or has an idea what they are looking for Price -Women’s shoes range from $20 $800, ShoeFan rewards,1 point per $1 spent, $10 reward per 200 points earned, start with 100 points when you sign up, 200 points = refer a friend, 10 points =post a product review, 20 points= link your social media account to Shoebuy’s, Shoebuy.com’s customers -Does not have a credit card rewards program -does not have a VIP membership program where customers can buy one pair of shoes get one free -Two pairs of shoes for $39.99(buy one get one free) with VIP membership -Nothing over$50 -Women’s shoes range from $3,000 $16, Zappos rewards visa, Earn rewards while pampering yourself with clothing, bags, accessories, and of course, shoes, Earn 3 points for every dollar spent at Zappos.com, Earn 1 point for every dollar spent on purchases elsewhere, including restaurants, gas -Price is very important to the customer because the store needs to have the right price range for the customer in order for them to be interested and keep shopping -For example if a low income customer is shopping at RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report always receive the best value for their money spent with the company, Shoebuy’s customers always get the inside scoop on the company (what is going on in corporate, for example press releases) -no sales tax, Shoebuy.com has coupons available to customers Quality -With products ranging from $20 - $800 (roughly), the quality ranges from low to high -Focuses on higher quality department store products at discounted rates -Shoebuy.com has loved labels to boutique designers and everything in between -The website has a list of the top brands sold for each department so if a customer is looking for a -Does not design their own products, cannot sell their products for a lower price -Does not sell high quality shoes at higher prices -Designers at JustFab.com design their own products -Spend $20 on production -Sell it to the consumer on JustFab.com for $39.99 plus free shipping stations, movie theatres, and anywhere Visa credit cards are accepted, Rewards are automatic, As soon as you reach 2,500 points, a $25 Zappos.com gift certificate will be emailed to you by Zappos, No annual fee a high priced store they are going to walk out because they cannot afford anything -Focuses on higher end shoes at higher prices -Quality is very important to the customer because they need to know if a product is going to last them a long time or not RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report higher quality product then they would click on a more expensive brand Selection -Assortment: Wide and deep assortment in all departments Brands: Over 1,200 brands -Sells high priced products at discounted prices, not making maximum profit per sale Price points: Contemporary - Contact Shoebuy.com through email and live chat -Phone: Monday – Friday: 8:00 AM – Midnight ET, Saturday & Sunday: 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM ET -international phone line Assortment: Wide and deep assortment in all departments Brands: Only carries items made by JustFab Brands: Currently they have 1,032 brands with more on the way Price points: Budget Scarcity: Shoebuy.com does restock items when items run out Service Assortment: Wide and deep assortment in just women’s products Scarcity: If an item is out of stock you cannot purchase it and they do not restock it when it sells out. You can be put on a waitlist (if you would like) and they will email you when the item is back in stock again. -Does not have toll free phone calls -Does not have 24/7, 365 days a year phone calls - Compared to brand competitors, JustFab ranked at the top for customer service satisfaction -Over 300 member service agents ready to assist consumers -2.5 million phone calls, emails, and live chats answered -24/7 customer service -customer service is friendly, attentive, Price Points: Bridge -Selection is important to the customer because they need to know what kind of products the store has and at what price points Scarcity: Zappos.com does restock items when items run out - Call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year -Email, live chat, email a security issue -Service is very important to the customer because if there is a problem with the product they need to reach out to someone who can help them RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report and all around amazing Reliability -Free exchanges -free shipping -100% price match guarantee -100% safe purchase guarantee -no sales tax -Does not have 100% size match guarantee -over 35 million customers worldwide -The stylist creates a profile for every customer -new merchandise is hand picked for each and every customer, each month by the stylist -free shipping -perfect fit guarantee -$5.95 charge for exchanges -100% size match guarantee -video of the product -Safe shopping guarantee -fast, free shipping on every order, no minimums -365 days to return item -free shipping label -secure shopping guarantee Reliability is very important to the customer because they need to know if they can trust you with their money if they purchase something from you Stability -Sales Projects are up: estimated $315.0 million in online sales in 2015, up 10.3% from $285.6 million in 2014. -Sales projects are up but not the highest in increase in sales -Sales Projects are up: grew $15 million in revenue in 2015, proving subscriptions can work -Sales Projects are up: web sales of $800 million in 2015, an increase of 34% over sales of $597 million in 2014 Stability is important to the customer because they need to know if they are investing their money in the right company Expertise -Shoebuy.com sells national brands that customers are competitively shoping for the lowest price such as: UGG, Converse, The North Face, Timberland, -does not have a style panel that makes all of the designs for the company -style panel of 13 women who make all of the designs for JustFab.com -designed in Los Angeles, CA -Zappos.com is owned by Amazon.com but they independently run their site -Zappos.com sells national brands that customers are competitively -Expertise is very important to the customer because they need to see that the company knows RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Sperry, Patagonia and many more -Shoebuy.com buys their products from these brands and sells them through their website Company Reputation -“Shout-out to JOHN--who helped me out today with a small issue on the Vans that my 15 year old just bought, and won't part with. Thank you for helping me even though I didn't have my order number handy.....we are really enjoying all the shoes we've bought lately and wanted to say THANK YOU (!) for some great customer service today!!” -Rachel R. “Just worked with John B. on checking the status of an order. He very nicely helped me to find when my order would arrive. In fact he is so shopping for what they the lowest price are doing when they are selecting products to sell on their website -does not value customer feedback for the design of the product -“Rarely do I take the time good or bad to leave a comment, not this time. Worked CS for 40+ years, very difficult job. I just wanted to say thank you! You're company has undoubtedly the best customer service I have ever done business with. No other company comes close! Kudos to ALL involved.” -The customer -Pamela perceives “I just finished JustFab.com as a printing my company that values return label and their feedback I wanted to -JustFab.com values express my this feedback because deep they personalize a set appreciation for amount of products always such a for every wonderful subscription/customer online - "When I opened the box and saw the quality, not only of the shoes but of the shoe box and packaging, I was amazed. I even received a shoe bag to keep my shoes in. I will definitely be telling all my friends about this." - Deb F., Grand Rapids, MI -"JustFab is fantastic! They have better customer service and higher quality shoes and purses. AND they listen to our feedback! Love it!" - Christy C., Jerome, ID -Company reputation is very important to the customer because they need to hear good word of mouth through family and friends who have shopped and purchased items on the company’s website RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Location good as I was finishing the call knowing the truck would deliver the items yet today, the little brown truck was pulling in my yard. Talk about great customer service.” -Sharon H. -The customer perceives Shoebuy.com as a company that is very helpful when they are not satisfied with a national brand product and Shoebuy.com can suggest a similar style but in a different brand the customer may like -The customer likes that Shoebuy.com will assist them when checking out and when the product will be shipped to their door they have based on that customer’s preferences they choose through a short styling quiz one a month shopping experience with Zappos, ordering and receiving so fast, and so user friendly for returns! Have a wonderful day.” -Michelle -The customer perceives Zappos.com as a company that makes ordering on their site very easy, ships their orders fast, and also returns and refunds their orders fast -Lives on -does not have Google.com any brands of -Owned by IAC its own -Lives on Google.com -Lives on Google.com Owned by Amazon.com JustFab, Inc. Brands: -JustFab Location is important to the customer because RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report -IAC sister brands: -About.com, DailyBurn.com, Dictionary.com, HomeAdvisor, Vimeo -ShoeDazzle -Fabkids -Fabletics they need to know where they can find the company online IAC Partners: -Expedia.com -Hotwire.com Appearance -The way the site looks: Shoebuy.com promotes the sale going on in their main picture as soon as you go to their site, promoting holiday gifts, and seasonal merchandise -Overall aesthetics: search bar, wish list, cart, shoefan rewards, sign in, chat for help, shop by department -does not have a personalized shop for each and every customer based on their preferences -The way the site looks: overall the site looks like a fashion blog page, social media site such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, or an online magazine -Overall aesthetics: very user friendly, JustFab.com’s purpose to looking like a social media site so that their page is very easy to use just like how Facebook isn’t that hard to use -they want the customer to click on the picture of the product they like and check out within a few minutes -The way the site looks: pictures popular of seasonal merchandise, top rated items, new arrivals, holiday gift guide -Overall aesthetics: chat for live help, login or register, my account, my favorites, search bar, search by size, narrow shoes, wide shoes, popular searches, my cart, shop by department, alphabetical brand index Appearance is very important to the customer because the site overall needs to look appealing in order for the customer to want to shop on the site -The site’s overall aesthetics need to be very user friendly otherwise they will just get frustrated and shop on another site that is easy to use RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Sales Method -Customer Service: -Email -Call: National and international Monday Friday: 8:00 AM - Midnight ET Saturday & Sunday: 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM ET -does not have a toll free phone 24/7 365 days per year - does not have live chat -Customer service: Live chat: Hours: 6:00 AM - 5:00PM PST -Phone: Toll free 24/7 -Mail Customer Service: -Phone: 24/7, 365 days per year -Email -Live chat -Customer service is important to the customer because if they cannot get someone to help them quickly they will complain and leave a bad review on the site Credit Policies -Returns: -Free exchanges/store credit -$6.95 restocking fee for returns for refunds -Returns must be within 60 days -does not have 365 days for a full refund -does not have free returns Returns: -Free exchanges or store credit -$5.95 restocking fee for returns for refunds -Returns must be within 30 days -Returns: -Full refund within 365 days -Free exchanges/store credit -Credit policies are important to the customer because they need to know if they can return a product if it does not fit before they buy it -”Powered by Service” Advertising is very important to the customer because they need to know what your company is best at or what your Advertising - “Free Shipping and Exchanges, No Worries” -does not focus -”Personal Styling by on Celebrity Stylists” personalization for customers RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report company is known for -overall message -they want to know if their personal values match your company’s values Image Shoebuy.com’s overall image is discounting high end shoes -Offers department store brands at a discounted price -could focus more on customer service -JustFab.com’s overall image is celebrity styled shoes at a lower price than department stores -They recommend shoes just for you by having the customer take a short survey of their preferences once a month -Zappos.com’s overall image is customer service and showing their customers that they really do care -They value customer ratings and they put the top rated products/brands (by customers) on their homepage so customers can find them quickly and check out fast -Image is very important to the customer because they need to know what your company is best known for -strongest aspect of the company -what your company markets to the public RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Name of Company: Zappos.com FACTOR Strength of Zappos.com Weakness Zappos.com In Comparison to JustFab.com In Comparison to Shoebuy.com Importance to Customer Products Products that Zappos.com carries: -Women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories - Men’s clothing, shoes, and accessories -Kid’s clothing, shoes, and accessories -Bags and Handbags -Watches -Boutique store -Zappos.com has everything that JustFab.com and Shoebuy.com has and even more -Compared to JustFab.com Zappos.com does not have: - Zappos.com has everything that JustFab.com has plus more -Compared to Shoebuy.com Zappos.com does not have: - Zappos.com has everything that Shoebuy.com has plus more -Products are very important to the customer because the store needs to have what the customer is looking for or has an idea what they are looking for Price -Women’s shoes range from $3,000 $16 -Zappos rewards visa, Earn rewards while pampering yourself with clothing, bags, accessories, and of course, shoes, Earn 3 points for every dollar spent at Zappos.com, Earn 1 point for every dollar spent on purchases elsewhere, -Zappos.com has more expensive shoes -Does not discount products frequently -Does not have a membership that allows customers to buy 2 pairs of shoes for $40 -Has sales tax on products Compared to Zappos.com, JustFab.com has lower priced shoes and a VIP membership that allows the customer to get 2 shoes for $40 Compared to Zappos.com, Shoebuy.com has lower priced shoes, has a store rewards program that is not a credit card, and has no sales tax -Price is very important to the customer because the store needs to have the right price range for the customer in order for them to be interested and keep shopping -For example if a low income customer is shopping at a high priced store they are going to walkout because they RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report including restaurants, gas stations, movie theatres, and anywhere Visa credit cards are accepted, Rewards are automatic, As soon as you reach 2,500 points, a $25 Zappos.com gift certificate will be emailed to you by Zappos, No annual fee cannot afford anything Quality -Focuses on higher end shoes at higher prices -Does not manufacture their own products -Cannot sell products at lower price because they have to go through a middleman -Does not discount higher priced items frequently -Designers at JustFab.com design their own products -Spend $20 on production -Sell it to the consumer on JustFab.com for $39.99 and free shipping -With products ranging from $20 - $800 (roughly), the quality ranges from low to high -Focuses on higher quality department store products at discounted rates -Shoebuy.com has loved labels to boutique designers and everything in between -Quality is very important to the customer because they need to know if a product is going to last them a long time or not Selection -Assortment: Wide and deep assortment in -Does not manufacture their own private brand -Assortment: Wide and deep assortment in women’s shoes, clothing, handbags, and jewelry -Assortment: Wide and deep assortment in all departments -Selection is important to the customer because they need to know RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report -women’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -men’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -kid’s shoes, clothing, and accessories -bags -accesories -boutique shop Brands: 1.032 brands with more on the way -Price points: Bridge -Scarcity: Zappos.com will replenish items when they sell out -Price point may be too higher for some customers -Brands: Only carries JustFab -Price points: Budget -Scarcity: JustFab.com does not replenish items when they sell out, but the customer has the option to be put on a waitlist and they will email you when that item is available again -Typically specific sizes in select styles will sell out first before the product sells out as a whole Brands: Over 1,200 brands Price points: Contemporary Scarcity: Shoebuy.com does restock items when items run out what kind of products the store has and at what price points Service -Call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year -email -chat with live help -email for security issues -Does not have an international line - Compared to brand competitors, JustFab ranked at the top for customer service satisfaction -Over 300 member service agents ready to assist consumers -2.5 million phone calls, emails, and live chats answered -24/7 customer service -customer service is friendly, attentive, and all around amazing - Contact Shoebuy.com through email and live chat -Phone: Monday – Friday: 8:00 AM – Midnight ET, Saturday & Sunday: 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM ET -international phone line -Service is very important to the customer because if there is a problem with the product they need to reach out to someone who can help them Reliability -Safe shopping guarantee -fast, free shipping on -Does not have 100% price match guarantee -over 35 million customers worldwide -create a profile for the stylist -free shipping -100% price match guarantee Reliability is very important to the customer RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report every order, no minimums -free shipping label -secure shopping guarantee -Does not have 100% size match guarantee -Does not have 100% safe purchase guarantee -Does not have a perfect fit guarantee -new merchandise is handpicked for each and every customer, each month by the stylist -free shipping -perfect fit guarantee -100% size match guarantee -video of the product -100% safe purchase guarantee because they need to know if they can trust you with their money if they purchase something from you Stability -Sales Projects are up: web sales of $800 million in 2015, an increase of 34% over sales of $597 million in 2014 -Zappos.com does not have any weakness, their sales projects have increased the most out of their competitors -Sales Projects are up: Grows an additional $15 million in revenue in 2015, proving subscriptions can work -Sales Projects are up: estimated $315.0 million in online sales in 2015,up 10.3% from $285.6 million in 2014. Stability is important to the customer because they need to know if they are investing their money in the right company Expertise -Zappos.com is owned by Amazon.com but they independently run their site -Zappos.com sells national brands that customers are competitively shoping for the lowest price -Does not have a style panel who makes all of the designs for their company -style panel of 13 women who make all of the designs for JustFab.com -designed in Los Angeles, CA -Shoebuy.com sells national brands that customers are competitively shopping for the lowest price -such as: UGG, Converse, The North Face, Timberland, Sperry, Patagonia and many more -Shoebuy.com buys their products from these brands and sells them through their website -Expertise is very important to the customer because they need to see that the company knows what they are doing when they are selecting products to sell on their website RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Company Reputation -“Rarely do I take the time good or bad to leave a comment, not this time. Worked CS for 40+ years, very difficult job. I just wanted to say thank you! You're company has undoubtedly the best customer service I have ever done business with. No other company comes close! Kudos to ALL involved.” -Pamela “I just finished printing my return label and I wanted to express my deep appreciation for always such a wonderful online shopping experience with Zappos, ordering and receiving so fast, and so user friendly for returns! Have a wonderful day.” -Does not personalize a set amount of products for each customer based on their preferences -They don’t alter their products based on customer reviews -Does not value customer feedback as much as JustFab.com does because Zappos.com does not manufacture it’s own products - "When I opened the box and saw the quality, not only of the shoes but of the shoe box and packaging, I was amazed. I even received a shoe bag to keep my shoes in. I will definitely be telling all my friends about this." - Deb F., Grand Rapids, MI -"JustFab is fantastic! They have better customer service and higher quality shoes and purses. AND they listen to our feedback! Love it!" - Christy C., Jerome, ID -“Shout-out to JOHN--who helped me out today with a small issue on the Vans that my 15 year old just bought, and won't part with. Thank you for helping me even though I didn't have my order number handy.....we are really enjoying all the shoes we've bought lately and wanted to say THANK YOU (!) for some great -The customer customer perceives service JustFab.com as a today!!” company that values -Rachel R. their feeback “Just worked -JustFab.com values with John B. this feeback because on checking they personalize a set the status of an amount of products order. He very for every nicely helped subscription/customer me to find they have based on when my order that customer’s would arrive. preferences they In fact he is so choose through a good as I was short styling quiz one finishing the a month call knowing the truck would deliver the items yet today, the little brown truck -Company reputation is very important to the customer because they need to hear good word of mouth through family and friends who have shopped and purchased items on the company’s website RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report -Michelle -The customer perceives Zappos.com as a company that makes ordering on their site very easy, ships their orders fast, and also returns and refunds their orders fast Location -Lives on Google.com Owned by Amazon.com was pulling in my yard. Talk about great customer service.” -Sharon H. -The customer perceives Shoebuy.com as a company that is very helpful when they are not satisfied with a national brand product and Shoebuy.com can suggest a similar style but in a different brand the customer may like -The customer likes that Shoebuy.com will assist them when checking out and when the product will be shipped to their door - Does not have any brands underneath Zappos.com that customers can search for -Does not have any sister brands that -Lives on Google.com JustFab, Inc. Brands: -JustFab -ShoeDazzle -Fabkids -Fabletics -Lives on Google.com -Owned by IAC Location is important to the customer because they need to know -IAC sister where they brands: can find the About.com company DailyBurn.com online Dictionary.com -HomeAdvisor RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report customers can search for -Does not have any partners Appearance The way the site looks: pictures popular of seasonal merchandise, top rated items, new arrivals, holiday gift guide -Overall aesthetics: chat for live help, login or register, my account, my favorites, search bar, search by size, narrow shoes, wide shoes, popular searches, my cart, shop by department, alphabetical brand index Sales Method Customer Service: -Phone: 24/7, 365 days per year -Email -Live chat -Vimeo IAC Partners: -Expedia.com -Hotwire.com -Does not advertise any sales going on -Does not look like a social media site for easy accessibility -does not have a wish list -does not have rewards program at the top of the page -The way the site looks: overall the site looks like a fashion blog page, social media site such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, or an online magazine -Overall aesthetics: very user friendly, JustFab.com’s purpose to looking like a social media site so that their page is very easy to use just like how Facebook isn’t that hard to use -they want the customer to click on the picture of the product they like and check out within a few minutes -The way the site looks: Shoebuy.com promotes the sale going on in their main picture as soon as you go to their site, promoting holiday gifts, and seasonal merchandise -Overall aesthetics: shoefan rewards, Appearance is very important to the customer because the site overall needs to look appealing in order for the customer to want to shop on the site -The site’s overall aesthetics need to be very user friendly otherwise they will just get frustrated and shop on another site that is easy to use -does not have an international phone line - phone line is not toll free -does not have mail -Customer service: Live chat: Hours: 6:00 AM - 5:00PM PST -Phone: Toll free -Mail -Customer Service: -Call: National and international Monday Friday: 8:00 AM - Midnight ET Saturday & Sunday: 8:00 -Customer service is important to the customer because if they cannot get someone to help them quickly they will complain and leave a RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Credit Policies -Returns: -Full refund within 365 days -Free exchanges/store credit Advertising -”Powered by Service” Image -Zappos.com’s overall image is customer service and showing their customers that they really do care AM - 11:00 PM ET bad review on the site -Zappos.com does not have any weaknesses compared to their competitors -Returns: -$5.95 restocking fee for returns for refunds -Returns must be within 30 days -Returns: -$6.95 restocking fee for returns for refunds -Returns must be within 60 days -Credit policies are important to the customer because they need to know if they can return a product if it does not fit before they buy it -does not personalize products for each and every customer -”Personal Styling by Celebrity Stylists” - “Free Shipping and Exchanges, No Worries” -Advertising is very important to the customer because they need to know what your company is best at or what your company is known for -overall message -they want to know if their personal values match your company’s values -Does not focus on personalizing products for customers -does not discount high priced products -JustFab.com’s overall image is celebrity styled shoes at a lower price than department stores -They recommend shoes just for you by having the customer take a short survey of Shoebuy.com’s overall image is discounting high end shoes -Offers department store brands at a discounted price -Image is very important to the customer because they need to know what your company is best known for RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report -They value customer ratings and they put the top rated products/brands (by customers) on their homepage so customers can find them quickly and check out fast their preferences once a month -strongest aspect of the company -what your company markets to the public JustFab.com (JustFab.com, 2015) Shoebuy.com (Shoebuy.com, 2015) Zappos.com (Zappos.com, 2015) Part Two. Combining Elements JustFab.com A value proposition is marketing statement that summarizes why a consumer should buy a product and/ or use a service. JustFab co-CEO Mr. Goldenberg states their value proposition is “to make every effort to reward the support of our loyal customers and to attract new audiences by having the best selection of shoes, accessories and apparel at the best price.” In 2021, JustFab was the first to launch its own online community that creates a space for all members to upload photos and get style advice from other members as well as from JustFab style panel experts. Additionally, JustFab is extending its support services so that all members have access to fashion consultants 24/7. With features such as expanded purchasing options, VIP perks, and a user community JustFab provides consumers the comfort of shopping at its most convenient. Shoebuy.com Shoebuy.com credits its ongoing success to offering a value proposition that makes it very difficult for the customer to say no. The site offers footwear, handbags, accessories and luggages. As inventory from over 200 brands in a vast array of size, widths and color. The site also free shipping, free returns, no sales tax, 110% price guarantee and live customer service. The CEO and cofounder of the company, Scott Savitz, has said that he didn't want to enter this business if he couldn’t sell a product that offers free shipping because he believed it was part of the whole value proposition. He felt that just because Shoebuy.com was offering a product on the internet, that alone wasn’t enough for somebody to make a purchase.(If the shoes fit , 2014) Shoebuy does offer a customer to join ShoeFan rewards for free, that allows a customer to spend and receive points. The more they spend, the more points they will have to cash in towards a pair of shoes. Shoebuy is all about finding what the customers to find the perfect match for fit, style and value and if the customers doesn't love it, they will fix the problem. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Zappos.com Zappos carries more than 1,000 brands, over 200,000 style and over 900,000 unique UPCs. They are a company that sells footwear, clothing, handbags, accessories and housewares. They do offer free shipping and returns and VIPS to gain more benefits throughout the site. The company’s #1 core value is “deliver WOW through service.” That’s the true value proposition. Zappos doesn’t call their call center a customer service department, it is the customer loyalty department. Unlike traditional call centers, the Zappos team doesn’t have call time limits, in fact, their longest call was 8 hours and 28 minutes, but that was an extreme outlier. The team doesn’t have any sales performance goals. They are there to satisfy their customers, period. (Marketing Trend Watcher, 2012) They do so via phone, live chat, twitter, email, zappos.com and other social sites. The key is about creating value for their customers and build long term relationships. 1. E-commerce presence JustFab.com A competitive advantage is an advantage that a firm has over its competitors, allowing it to generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more customers than its competition. Ecommerce sites such as JustFab have the advantage of technology over its competitors. “Using data from customer activity on its website, JustFab can score customers on their likelihood to make purchases within the next month based on how frequently they visit the site, the number of items they have on their wish list, household income and other attributes”, says JustFab co-CEO Mr. Goldenberg (Chao, 2015). That helps inform the company of how many items it needs to stock in each size, and can even help JustFab keep hot items in stock. Another advantage is having their inventory composed of products by their own designers. Shoebuy Shoebuy does offer international shipping and free returns for exchanges, unlike their competitors they want their customers to not have to pay more than they need to. They offer so much for their customers to make sure they are happy. Their biggest competitive advantage than the other competitors is happy at both of option for the customers to look at and other benefits that comes with buying for ShoeBuy. They have a price guarantee which if they find a shoes on their website and a different website that is cheaper, they will give the customer that price. ShoeBuy is great for people wanting to get the best for their money. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Zappos.com Zappos is very customer oriented and that set them high over the other competitors. They are willing to do anything to keep their customers happy and the business going. They are known for staying on the phones for a long time with their customers. The longest customer service record was 6 hours. Just by looking at that number, it is easy to tell that Zappos cares more about their customers than sales. They are focused on building that relationship with the customers. This is the reason why the company been doing so well, by having a good customer relationship lets the customer know they trust you and want shop more. They will even go above and beyond to surprise their customers with free overnight shipping and even send them flowers. (Zappos Show Culture is a Competitive Advantage, 2010) 2. Mobile presence. JustFab.com JustFab uses both online and multichannel marketing strategies to capture its target market. The company effectively uses its website and social media to enhance its online strategy. The JustFab company website is linked to social media networks such as Facebook, twitter, etc. The company uses an online strategy via email to send out newsletters and promotion information, and to inform subscribers of their marketing communication campaigns. Multichannel marketing is used by JustFab as a means of providing alternative methods for to customers to purchase products. JustFab is was known as just an online fashion company until it incorporated the multi-channel marketing strategy by opening a retail store. The goal was to provide customers with the opportunity to try on products before buying them. Shoebuy.com ShoeBuy uses it online website to attract customers but as well at their several social media accounts to let the customers know about certain deals coming up and what work bests with their style. They have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and a blog to connect with their customers. The company does offer a rewards program to sign up on to get more points every time they purchase an item. Those points gets added to your next purchase and you get a discount. By adding this as their market strategy allows the company to reach the customer more with deals. Shoebuy does market with email, email is the most convenient way to let a customers know that has been shopping with them forever or a first time buyer to let them know what is going on. Not everyone has a social media account so email is the best for the company to connect with their customers RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Zappos.com They have been successfully executing their marketing strategy with a social focus since the first days of social media. For over 5 years, and their strategies have played a significant role in their growth. Their social media strategy is built around their company web site and 5 additional core social platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, G+, and YouTube. We will review Zappos’ social media strategy in detail below. Zappos is very customer oriented and they connect with them more on social media than anything else. Their goal is make their customers happy. (Zappos Show Culture is a Competitive Advantage, 2010) Part Three. Determining Market Players’ E-Commerce Presence JustFab.com Type of Presence Platform Activity Website/Apps Social Media Traditional, Mobile, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr Search, Display, Affiliates and sponsorships Sharing, engagement and conversation Email Internal Lists/ Purchased Lists Newsletters, updates and sales Offline Media TV Exposure, Branding Shoebuy.com Type of Presence Platform Activity Website/App Social Media Traditional, Mobile, Tablet, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest, Facebook Search, Display, Affiliates and sponsorships Sharing, engagement and conversation Email Internal lists/Purchased Lists Updates, Sales, Newsletters Offline media TV Exposure and Branding, Education RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Zappos.com Type of Presence Platform Activity Website/Apps Social Media Traditional, Mobile, Tablet, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Youtube Search, Display, Affiliates and sponsorships Sharing, engagement, conversation and advice Email Internal lists/Purchased Lists Newsletters, updates and sales Offline media Tv, Direct mail and digital campaigns Education, Exposure and branding 3. For each company (all three), describe their e-commerce presence. a. Make sure to discuss the following topics (Provide a minimum of 3 paragraphs, 5-6 sentences each): i. System Design/Web Server JustFab.com JustFab has a logical design system, which includes a data flow diagram that describes the flow of information at the e-commerce site, the processing functions that must be performed and the databases that will be used. The logical design also includes a description of the security and emergency backup procedures that will be instituted, and the controls that will be used in the system. In the customer's eyes and how it works for them is going on the website, login to their account where it personally tells you the type of shoes you should get based off the style quiz that was taken before signing up to the website. Then the customer will shop the website, items goes into their chart and will be purchased and sent to their order database and shipped to the customer. JustFab has a much more logical and simple design that allows their customers to go step by step through the site and understand what is going on. Every click that is made, goes to the next step in order to reach the end and purchase an item. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Shoebuy.com Shoebuy has the same system design as JustFab, they have a logical design for their website to allow their customers, includes a data flow diagram that describes the flow of information at the e-commerce site, the processing functions that must be performed and the databases that will be used. The logical design also includes a description of the security and emergency backup procedures that will be instituted, and the controls that will be used in the system. Zappos.com ii. Zappos also has a logical design for their website, it's the most use design that is simple for the customer to understand and follow throughout the site. The customer is able to look at the digital catalog, shop online, add things to their chart, purchase the item and have it shipped. The logical design is designed for the website to function that way and make sure every click goes in order. E-Commerce Software JustFab.com Uses an e-commerce merchant server software, that provides the basic functionality needed for online sales, including an online catalog, order taking via on online shopping cart, and online credit card processing online catalog allow the customers to see the lists of products available on the web site. This would include a database capability that will allow for construction of a customized online catalog. The complexity and sophistication of the catalog depends on the size of the company and its product lines. Since JustFab is one of the largest shoe store online, their catalog is very easy to follow and sophistication. The shopping cart allows shoppers to set aside desired purchases in and preparation for checkout. The merchant server software automatically stores shopping cart data The credit card processing, verifies the shopper’s credit card and then puts through the debit to the card and the credit to the company’s account at checkout. E-commerce software suites typically supply the software for this function. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Shoebuy.com Uses an e-commerce merchant server software, that provides the basic functionality needed for online sales, including an online catalog, order taking via on online shopping cart, and online credit card processing Online catalog allow the customers to see the lists of products available on the web site. This would include a database capability that will allow for construction of a customized online catalog. The complexity and sophistication of the catalog depends on the size of the company and its product lines. Since JustFab is one of the largest shoe store online, their catalog is very easy to follow and sophistication. The shopping cart allows shoppers to set aside desired purchases in and preparation for checkout. The merchant server software automatically stores shopping cart data The credit card processing, verifies the shopper’s credit card and then puts through the debit to the card and the credit to the company’s account at checkout. E-commerce software suites typically supply the software for this function. Zappos.com Zappos is known to have an open source software that is developed by a community of programmers and designers and is free to use and modify. The advantage of using opensource web building tools is that you get exactly what you want, a truly customized unique website. Analytics is used to keep track of the sites customer activities and the success of the web advertising campaign. They use google analytics, to advertise and provides good tracking tools, most hosting services will provide these services as well. Since Zappos is very customer orientation, they want the best for their customers and making sure to track how much time they spend on the website and improve on certain things to make the website better. According to the Zappos website “We love open source software and try to use it whenever we can because it saves us some development time and is easy to customize. “Our developers are also expected in some degree to be architects, project planners, designers, database programmers and system administrators. They are more interested in making the experience better for the customers. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report iii. E-Commerce Hardware JustFab.com On the demand side, uses an I/O intensive that requires input/output operations rather than heavy-duty processing power. As a result, web site performance is constrained primarily by the servers I/O limitations and the telecommunications connection rather than the speed of the processor. Other demands on the web site is looking at the user profile and the nature of the content, if users request searches, registration forms and order taking via shopping charts, then the demands on processors will increase markedly On the supply side, uses the vertical and horizontal scaling hardware, vertical refers to increasing the processing power of individual components. Horizontal refers to employing multiple computers to share the workload and increase the footprint of the installation. You can scale your site vertically by upgrading the servers from a single processor to multiple processors. You can keep adding processors to a computer depending on the operating system and upgrade to faster chip speeds as well. JustFab wants to be able manage connections, aggregate user data, use appliance servers, use a faster computer and segment workload to make sure their website is running property and that works for the customer wherever they need to go on it. Shoebuy.com On the demand side, uses a stateless platform that refers to the fact that the server does not have to maintain an ongoing, dedicated interaction with the client. A web session typically begins with a page request, then a server replies and the session is ended. The sessions may last from tenths of a second to a minute per user. System performance does degrade as more and more simultaneous users request service. Since Shoebuy is under shopping, their content would use a catalog, dynamic items and user profiles with data mining. They have security that involves privacy, non-repudiation, integrity, authentication and regulations, the number of page views would be moderate to high. All these relate to the stateless to see if the server needs to maintain the client. On the supply side, they use scalability that refers to the ability of a site to increase in size as demands warrants. There are three steps you can take to meet the demands for service at the site: scale hardware vertically, scale hardware horizontally and/or improve the processing architecture of the site. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Zappos.com On the demand side, uses an I/O intensive that requires input/output operations rather than heavy-duty processing power. As a result, web site performance is constrained primarily by the servers I/O limitations and the telecommunications connection rather than the speed of the processor. Other demands on the web site is looking at the user profile and the nature of the content, if users request searches, registration forms and order taking via shopping charts, then the demands on processors will increase markedly On the supply side, uses the vertical and horizontal scaling hardware, vertical refers to increasing the processing power of individual components. Horizontal refers to employing multiple computers to share the workload and increase the footprint of the installation. You can scale your site vertically by upgrading the servers from a single processor to multiple processors. You can keep adding processors to a computer depending on the operating system and upgrade to faster chip speeds as well. Zappos connects with their customers 24/7, making sure they are getting the right products and see what the demands are for the site. They can update their vertical or horizontal to best fit the supply and demands for the site. 4. For each company (all three), describe their mobile presence. JustFab.com As a business objective, they have advertising and promotion, where they will email the customers the coupons and also let them know about any sales that will be going on. By handling the advertising and promotion, the information that is required is product descriptions, coupon management and inventory management. Another big one JustFab using is Gathering customer feedback, they would have the ability to retrieve and store user inputs including texts, photos and video by the customer sign in and identification and their database. They also use a building customer community experience by having the customers take a quiz on their website to get to know what certain customers like in style and find shoes that match their personality You can connect to JustFab on mobile devices, touch screen technology and tablets ShoeBuy.com Shoebuy interacts with their customers by having a shoe awards that lets them shop and get more points, those points can be a discount off their next purchase they connect with email and social media site to stay in touch with their customers. By branding, the only advertising they use or i have seen is by email and ads on certain website to get people to know their brand Shoebuy can be accessed anywhere on any mobile devices, tablets, hardware’s and etc. Their main focused is hardware that is where customers are able to view more products better and get a better feeling what they are buying. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report Zappos.com Zappos does advertising and promotion by giving coupons to their customers by e-mail and they did do advertising on TV to promote the business. They use customer feedback when the customer signs into the site and gives their feedback by shopping and how long they are on the site. Their biggest mobile presence is building customer community, they like to interact with customers by social media, email and the customer service chat. This allows them to know what the customers want and how to target them Zappos uses hardware, connectivity, displays and interface for their company to connect to their customers and get to them in any mobile devices. Part Four. Identifying Common Security Systems and Practices 1. JastFab.com Name Email address Billing/ shipping address Credit card information Phone number Demographics: age, gender, geographical location, language, time zone, income and education Shoebuy.com Name Email address Mailing address Credit card information IP address Zappos.com Name Billing/ shipping address Phone number Email address Credit card information Social security number Birth date RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report 2. The three risks that the above companies have in common are their consumer’s names, email addresses, and credit card information. At first glance having a consumer’s name or email address may not seem as much of a threat as having credit card information, but having such information is just as jeopardous. When hackers gain access to a name and email address the security risk can range from minor spam emails to phishing emails. Phishing emails occur when a sender disguises himself as a trusted individual or organization in order to trick the recipient into clicking a link that will download malware onto his or her computer or into giving the sender confidential information such as a password, credit card or Social Security number. Monetarily speaking the worth of a name or email address can range from fractions of a cent up to $1, and when that is multiplied by millions of users the risk value can easily be in the hundreds of thousands to millions. For example Zappos encountered a security breach in 2012 where its 24 million users’ names, email addresses, and last four digits of the credit card information were exposed. If hackers had in fact obtained data on 24 million customers, even if they sell only 5 million email addresses at five cents a they could’ve made $250,000 off of that one hack. The risk value of credit card information is of course credit card fraud of the users in their databases, which can cost millions for the company in compensation and other expenses related to the breach. For example, after Target was breached they offered a year’s worth of credit monitoring and identity theft protection to each consumer, costing $120-$300 per consumer who enrolled in the program. 3. In order to protect online consumers from such risks policies, tools, and technologies are put in my place. The Federal Trade Commission uses law enforcement, policy initiatives, and consumer and business education to protect consumers’ personal information. The objective of this agency is to ensure that consumers have the confidence to take advantage of the many benefits of the ever-changing marketplace. The Privacy Act of 1974 protects the disclosure of personally identifiable records maintained by agencies, the Financial Modernization Act of 1999 requires all financial institutions to maintain safeguards to protect customer information, and the FTC is always developing new tools to combat fraud, including the use of its Consumer Sentinel database which contains complaints from their consumer response center. Technologies include but are not limited to programs such as eTrust and TRUSTe Assessments & Certifications Overview. eTrust offers a PrivacyTrust Certification which indicates that your website has been reviewed by PrivacyTrust and meets their data protection requirements. Similarly to eTrust, TRUSTe was founded by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and CommerceNet to act as an independent, unbiased trust entity. The organization helps consumers and businesses identify trustworthy online organizations through trusted download programs and privacy seals for Web and email. Ultimately, the biggest steps for online consumer protection are the prevention policies put in place by the companies who wish to keep their consumers loyalty. For example JustFab has a policy and a IT Security Department that is responsible for establishing and RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report maintaining JustFab’s information security policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures. Their policy keeps employees on a need to know basis with its three information classification levels; secret, confidential, and public. The secret classification applies to their most sensitive information such as corporate level strategic plans, confidential classification applies to less sensitive information that can still impact greatly if disclosed such as consumer information, and public classification is all information that has been approved by management for its release to the public. 4. JustFab.com ACH Payments- Offers a top gateway payment system that allows merchants accept payments globally. It also serves as a merchant account, credit card processor, and mobile payment processor Shoebuy.com Authorize.net- Most widely used payment gateway on the internet with over 375,000 merchants. It is a payment gateway service allowing companies to accept credit card and electronic check payments through their Web site and over an IP connection. Zappos.com Amazon payments- Uses the information already stored in your Amazon account to check on both their sites and thousands of other sites/ apps. The system allows US-based web merchants to accept Amazon account information and use Amazon for payment processing, with the goal to make more online shopping checkouts easier like amazon. RUNNING HEAD: Module Two: E-Commerce Market Report References If the shoes fit . (2014). In E. Magazine, e-business: Step-by-Step Startup Guide (p. 22). Marketing Trend Watcher. (2012, May 26). Retrieved from Zappos Creates Value That Truly Develops Customer Loyalty: http://marketingtrendwatcher.blogspot.com/ Zappos Blogs: Zappos Family. (2008, April 3). Retrieved from Zappos: www.zappos.com Zappos Show Culture is a Competitive Advantage . (2010, June 9). Retrieved from Zeepleap: http://www.zealeap.com/ Online Shoes, Clothing, Free Shipping and Returns| Zappos.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2,2015, from http://www.zappos.com Women's Shoes, Boots, Handbags & Clothing Online | JustFab. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2,2015, from http://www.justfab.com Shoebuy.com - FREE Shipping & Exchanges. (n.d.). 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