Tough Competition For Online Business

The fight is on – as far as online businesses is concerned.

Let’s just say that ever since the rise of internet and mobile phone usage, businesses have been put on the edge of their seats trying to outsmart each other. This can only mean good things for the consumers and have put consumers in the very position that they should be placed…at the top. With the power in consumers’ hands, businesses have to deliver on their promises and outperform each other. This can be seen by the moves made by the likes of eBay, Amazon and Walmart, all of which have been doing their utmost best to cut as big a slice of the pie as possible as and when they are given the chance.

How so, you may be asking?

Well, it is a current trend right now for companies to offer same-day delivery. If you are shopping at Walmart, eBay or Amazon, you may have noticed that they now offer the same day delivery service if you scanned a QR Code…but for a fee (at this point in time). We are not sure how well these pilot programs are going but it sounds interesting all the same.

What is truly missing for online shoppers is that they do not have the instant gratification factor. You actually have to wait a couple of days, and sometimes weeks, to actually enjoy what you have paid for…it is something that other conventional businesses enjoy. You can to test the clothes out when you are shopping in the mall. You get to test the car that you are about to buy and you can also smell the perfume you are about to purchase. This is sadly what is missing for online shoppers, and furthermore, the wait dampens the joy of shopping.

So, what these companies have done is to close in on the waiting time and deliver the very same day that the purchase was made.

But for online businesses, this is tricky business. And hard to manage and implement as well. The company would have to have a solid logistic solution to all of that, otherwise, they would only be breaking their promise and lose the loyalty of their fans and customers.

Target is another company and brand name that had decided that QR Code could be the way to go because earlier in October 2012, there was an announcement made that about twenty toys in their stores will have QR Codes on them in preparation for the coming holiday season. Christmas is a big thing for Target, not surprisingly. Anyway, their promotion includes a QR Code that consumers can scan and have the toy delivered to anywhere within the country for free. Yes, not a same-day delivery promise but it is still note-worthy. And besides, ever since the dawn of iOS, android and mobile devices, people are slowly becoming more fond of QR Code marketing and mobile sales.

As it is, it is hard to get consumers’ attention these days. Not only are they more skeptical of marketing tactics and gimmicks but they are smarter too. They compare prices consistently, even when they are standing right there in front of the product, they would use their phones or devices to compare the price with other outlets and brands before deciding to buy. Forty-six percent of US consumers admitted to actually comparing price before taking the product that they want to the checkout counter.