E-handel, komplement eller hot till den traditionella handeln? -En fallstudie på Nilson Shoes och dess konkurrenter

Sammanfattning: Title:”E-commerce, complement or threat to the traditional stores -a case study of Nilson Shoes and its competitors” University: Lund University, Campus Helsingborg, Department of Service Management. Course: SMKK01 Service Management, Bachelor’s Degree, 15 credits, 2012 Seminar date: May 29, 2012 Authors: Carolin Berggren, Ida Linder and Cecilia Lindgren Supervisors: Ola Thufvesson and Kristina Backström Keywords: E-commerce, retail, consumer behavior, loyalty, service, price sensitivity Problem: Electronic commerce in the market for shoes continues to grow when more of the stores' customers choose to do their purchasing over the Internet. With ecommerce, the growth of the competitive situation has been strengthened for companies in the retail industry. The authors use Nilson Shoes and a number of its competitors to contribute to the research field. Using previous research as well as empirical material the authors wants to fill some of the existing gaps Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to study whether e-commerce can be considered as a complement or threat to the traditional stores. Method: A qualitative approach through interviews with well known companies in the footwear industry in the Malmö region and a quantitative survey conducted on an online social network and by e-mail has resulted in empirical data. The authors compare this with previous empirical research in e-commerce and customer behavior. Results: E-commerce brings benefits to the traditional stores in the integration of ecommerce and store when e-commerce can be used as a supplement in form of product availability, range of products, and more marketing channels. At the same time, e-commerce disadvantages to the traditional stores in terms of the Internet to some extent offering lower prices in parallel with price-sensitive customers as well as a generation that prefers to consume on the Internet. E-commerce brings benefits to the customer in price comparison, in getting a new kind of consumer experience and a greater range of products. E-commerce can also be a disadvantage in terms of complications in the customers’ distribution process, unmet expectations and the smaller supply of products to a particular customer segment.