Introduction
The advances made in information technology (IT) have led to establishment of easy and efficient strategies of marketing and increased employment opportunities. This technology has introduced people to access of information through cheap strategies that do not require movement and loss of time.
In this light, markets have arisen through internet to sell skills, goods, and services throughout the globe. In a bid to exploit the new marketing strategy, various companies have been made to sell good through this online industry. The companies introduced at early stages of this development advanced greatly leaving the others toiling behind them in order to reach their ultimate goals. In this respect, this essay will evaluate this industry and review various attributes of the companies in it.
Industry Analysis and Features
The online markets have been exploited by some companies which include Ebay, Alibaba, Amazon, and Walmart among others (Gifford 2013). They connect sellers to buyers through integrated and trusted systems of services which include transport of goods bought, search engines in the market, and packaging among others.
Most goods have fixed or proposed costs together with other descriptive information indicated on the sales’ websites in order to alert customers about products in a comprehensive manner. In addition, they have payment methods that accommodate most international money transfers involving internet banking services like Paypal, MasterCard, Skrill, and Visa among others. Finally, their advertisement strategies are based on the internet services and social media such as websites, Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus among others.
Profile of Leading Company
Alibaba is among the most successful online markets operating on a worldwide base. China, which locates the company’s headquarters, holds the highest proportion of online shopping within the globe and accommodates the largest population in the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that a significant proportion of online products are bought within the country.
This support has led to its global ambitions that are outstanding and reliable in most regions including United States of America and African countries. In comparison to other companies in this industry, Alibaba received a gross sale of $170 billion in 2012 which was a combination of Ebay’s and Amazon’s gross sales in the previous year (Gifford 2013).
Profile of Emerging Company
Ebay is an upcoming company with ambitions to lead the online shopping industry. Its main markets are located to a large extent in Asia, Europe and North America (Alexander 2013). Its sales include fixed and auctioned products/services marketed through online channels. This company offers the opportunity for people to; share ideas, find potential buyers and sellers, and deliver the requested commodities.
The growth of Ebay is evident from continued improvements made in the past. For instance, the sales in the last quarter of the year 2011were recorded at $570 million which had improved by 29% within the first quarter of 2012 (Alexander 2013).
Profile of Company at Risk
Amazon is an online market thriving in the competitive industry with various developing companies ready to outcompete it. Amazon was founded in 1994 and continues to sell its retail product within and outside the United States. Its focus is on the sale of electronic devices such as DVD players, phone, and computers among others.
The diversity associated with the goods being marketed is low and therefore makes the customers to shift on the broad and diverse companies. However, its markets are scattered within the globe in countries such as Italy, the UK, Mexico, and Canada among others. In the year 2013, the revenue recorded was $74.34 billion (Golden 2013). The payments methods are through wire transfer and PayPal. The factor affecting Amazon’s sale is the advertisement strategies which do not reach new customer throughout the globe.
The most recorded strategies of advertisement include web banners and videos which are not attended by most people as compared to social media. It faces threat from Ebay which is appreciating in a fast manner. Probably, the customers of Amazon will either shift to the advancing and efficient company or the new customer will not prefer Amazon in place of Ebay due to the diversity and quality services.
Selection Justifications
The successes of online marketing companies are determined by their income, quality of services, reliability and customer satisfaction. Consequently, it is apparent that the leading company must have outstanding qualities like high income received from high quality of service delivered to the customers at lower prices when compared to the others.
Alibaba fits these dimensions due to its economies of scale where it sells twice the amount of sales made by the subsequent companies in the industry. The goods on sale are diverse and many in order to meet most needs that people have on the online markets.
On the other hand, Ebay’s rates of development are evident from reviews and researches performed. In this light, there is a 29% increment recorded in the revenue accumulated in two consecutive quarters of a year (Alexander 2013). When compared to Amazon, the progress of Ebay is a threat to Amazon and other companies at this level.
Finally, the lack of complexity and plight to follow the arising technique will lead to the failure of Amazon eventually. The company needs to create developmental strategies in order to remain competitive in the industry without defeat from the arising companies.
Conclusion
Online markets are effective shopping strategies that should be integrated in all nations. This will make the trade fast and efficient where people sell their products efficiently through them. This implies that people will have reliable jobs and employments due to the formation of the sustainable companies.
The growth of this industry has countless positive impacts on the people through easy access to sales, employments, skills and other resources. Moreover, the time and money wasted when travelling to purchase goods will be reserved for other purposes. This will lead to some developments and improvements of the prevailing marketing strategies.
References
Alexander, T 2013, The new eBay: the official guide to: buying; selling; running a profitable business, Wrightbooks, Victoria, Australia.
Gifford, J 2013, 100 Great Business Leaders Of the world’s most admired companies, Marshall Cavendish, Singapore.
Golden, B 2013, Amazon web services for dummies, John Wiley & Sons Inc, Hoboken, N.J.