An_E-Commerce_Experience__Environment,_Value_and_Structure

The website this report discusses is ww.play.com, the site is an online store for CDs, DVDs, games, tickets, books and clothing among other items. Applying the e-business framework I will consider the external environment and markets, the firm structure and organisation and the value creation and strategy options. Looking firstly at the external environment and markets, play.com has many competitors both online and on the high street such as Amazon, CdWow, HMV, Tesco and WH Smith among others. Considering PEST analysis, in particular Economical, Play.com has exploited the fact that they can offer much better prices than the high street on a wide range of products, this means consumers who would normally just go without in the recession will instead use a site such as play.com. Looking at the value creation and the strategy options, postage is free with play.com and the whole “purchasing journey”, i.e. viewing, choosing and paying for a product can be done entirely from the comfort of their own home. A disadvantage of buying products online is that the customer cannot physically see or touch the item that they are buying. Play.com also offers a service for the user to sell their stuff or sign up for a play.com credit card, offering further value for the consumer and the retailer. A recommend and reward scheme is offered to draw in new customers by encouraging existing customers to get people they know to use the site. Considering the e-commerce value chain play.com draws in the customers with search engine optimization. When a product is selected, the stock availability is confirmed and most products are always in stock, the average cart amount is driven up with the use of recommendations based on products viewed and bought. Profit margins are better because of less overheads and such a massive target market. Customers can visit and buy 24 hours a day and by selling such a wide variety of stock, more choice means more products likely to be bought. Play.com requires the user to sign up before completing their purchase, this allows them to send target emails and draw them back for repeat purchases. Looking at the firm structure and organisation of play.com, products are well categorised and easy to find. The use of tabs for different types of product makes the site very easy to navigate. The use of imagery draws the eye to different sections of the page. A search tool lets the user search for a product based on title or some other attribute. The main homepage shows images and descriptions of products which are on promotion at the time. Once a purchase is made, the user is asked to sign into their account to retrieve their details. If they are not already signed up they must do this to complete the purchase linking back to value creation. Most payment and delivery details are saved with the option to change them from the last purchase. A final confirmation screen appears, once the order is confirmed an email with the order and payment details is sent. If something is wrong, play.com does offer a help service and by telephone, email or chat.