Thursday, January 08, 2009


	
    

Better bargains on the Web?

The Internet is the uncontested destination for consumers looking for ‘good bargains’. Companies incessantly innovate on the Internet to attract a steady clientele.

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Why go through the time-consuming hassle of queuing in supermarkets or shopping malls when nowadays a few clicks can get you pretty much anything, often at a lesser cost? More and more consumers have asked themselves just that – and opted for online shopping.

But Web consumers can be very volatile. Online retail companies are constantly looking for innovative marketing techniques that will attract a new generation of frequent and faithful shoppers.

Some, like the French site vente-privee.com, focus on giving their clients the impression that they belong to an exclusive shopping elite, with catchy video presentations advertising the luxury brands they sell at bargain prices. Others, like the retail giant Amazon.com, have mastered the use of cookies to tailor their website to individual Internet user's tastes.

In some cases, though, online advertising has been viewed as intrusive, and web users are quick to reject overly aggressive marketing techniques. How far can companies go in getting to know their clients tastes and catching their attention, without invading their privacy?

Chasing bargains on the Internet A growing number of customers are turning to the web to do their shopping, and to private sales websites in particular. Join the club and you’ll have access to attractive discounts on all the products you’ve been dreaming of buying.

Surf the Web, you’re being tracked… Webmarketing companies are on the hunt for new techniques that target consumers on the Internet. But where does one draw the line between marketing technique and confidentiality?

'Advertposting' - when advertisers attack Internet forums The proliferation of blogs and forums makes it easy for entrepreneurs to create false praise for their product and put down competitors. A look at a phenomenon that endangers credible sources of information.

Amazon spurred on by web users Amazon’s success is based on a strategy that is perfectly tailored to the logic of the World Wide Web. Internet users are the ones who advise the customers on what to buy – a model based on social networking systems.


 

 

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