By Diana Scott
Diana Scott, Once the exclusive domain of the internet savvy, transacting on-line has now become part of every day life for most of us—regardless of our alphabetical generation.
Forty-something's order groceries on-line and have them delivered to their door.
Frequent flyers have stopped queuing up at check-in terminals. They pay for their flight, select their seat and print out boarding passes—all with just a few clicks on the keyboard.
Pizza lovers can order and track the delivery of their dinner while catching up with friends on Facebook.
And anyone can sell anything (even Madonna look-alike toast burns) by advertising on e-bay—a site that boasts over 53 million customers.
This e-commerce revolution has not been lost on major retailers. Big brand names like Myers and K-mart and Harvey Norman are selling on-line. They have to if they want to stay in the game. They know that the key to smarter business is on-line.
Like the traditional ways of shopping before it, on-line business has also become very competitive. Customers now know that they will get a better deal 'on-the-net' than they would by visiting the store. It makes sense. There are no electricity bills, no staff sicknesses to pay for, no thefts to factor in. And the customers are loving it.
But there is a down side.
With plethora of on-line shopping options, traders are facing the inevitable challenge of cut-through marketing. Who can put their virtual discount hand up the highest to attract customers? And how low in the discount stakes can they go? How do they attract customers to their site and, just as importantly, how do they create an on-line shopping experience that will continue to bring those customers back?
After seven years of development, relatively new kid on the block, Dubli.com may be leading the way. This customer driven on-line shopping portal has incorporated the multi-billion dollar Costco retail model with the fun of a reverse style auction concept.
Launched in the US in July, 2008 and due to launch in Australia and New Zealand in March, 2010, DubLi. com boasts three separate shopping experiences. The products they sell are all new and from major suppliers like Apple, Nintendo and American Express. That's where the similarity to other on-line shopping sites ends however.
The starting price of the products on offer are guaranteed to be the lowest internet price available. Then, by purchasing DubLi credits (similar to the Costco membership program) and using a unique reverse auction function, DubLi.com customers drive the price of products down rather than up.
An intriguing concept and if the on-line testimonials are anything to go by, the savings can be staggering.
The lowest unique bid component of the site uses the same 'timed' concept as e-bay, but again the products for sale are new and it's the lowest price that secures the product.
Incorporating over a thousand brand name merchants into the shopping mall component of the site also adds some serious credibility to the total offering. In what could be an e-commerce first, DubLi.com are also harnessing the power of social networking by allowing what they call business associates, to purchase their own DubLi shopping portal. Like a franchise, business associates are able to market their site to customers—globally—and share in a percentage of the transactions. Using both on and offline social networking, advocates, and as a consequence, customers, accumulate at a viral rate.
Rewarding people to market an on-line shopping portal could very well be the next e-commerce business model. And if everyone wins—the company, the customer and the business owner, then this model could be a smart move.
