Electronic Mall

Electronic Mall By the increase in the internet usage in different aspects of today’s life, the amount of creative and innovative ways to utilize the electronic world have eventually increased. It is easy and popular among the users to use search engines as a method to gain access to a specific product or service. However, while using the internet for their shopping, they may face difficulties regarding to lack of enough information about the product or service they are looking for, such as the specifications, alternatives, vendors, quality, price list, etc. This is where the market opportunity for electronic malls (e-malls or Cybermalls) lies. Electronic mall is a collection of electronic shops gathered together via a single-point-of access website (Turner, 2000). E-mall can also be known as a web site that displays electronic catalogs from different suppliers and vendors, and charges commission from them for the sales revenue brought by the e-mall. The stores in the e-mall are usually linked together through a common category or relevance such as brands, industrial sector or even payment methods. The electronic mall simulates the real shopping experience in a shopping mall. For this purpose consumers should be able to browse through variety of stores, categorized by the industry. E-mall should also offer electronic payment facilities for online purchasing. A key aspect of a successful electronic mall is to provide a combination of several businesses and to manage them effectively. The goals of this approach are to engage the customer, encourage them to make a purchase, maintain save of time and ease of access for the customers. In addition it provides satisfaction and benefits for the businesses that subscribe to the website.
Conceptual Framework E-malls may contain the following components (or some of them) and may utilize them in several ways to obtain maximum marketing advantages.

As shown in the diagram above, an e-mall should be a

References: http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1377&context=infopapers http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/electronic-mall-e-mall.html