Deck 3: Retailing in Electronic Commerce: Products and Services

Question 1

Competition among online travel e-tailers is fierce,with low margins,little customer loyalty,and increasing commoditization of products and services

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The electronic job market can create high turnover costs for employers by accelerating employees' movement to other jobs.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A retailer is a sales intermediary,a seller that operates between manufacturers and customers.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

WAYN is a social networking Web site with a goal of uniting college student travelers from North America.

Question 5

Many insurance companies use a dual strategy,keeping human agents,but also selling online.

Question 6

As the number of Internet users reaches saturation,the challenge for e-retailers to increase the amount that shoppers spend online because the rate of increase in online shoppers will slow.

Question 7

Online banking and other financial services are growing slowly on the Internet because many customers are not yet embracing it.

Question 8

Online travel bookings and associated travel services are not yet profitable e-commerce implementations.

Question 9

Amazon is recognized as an online leader in creating sales through customer intimacy and customer relationship management (CRM).

Question 10

Being a virtual seller has several benefits,such as lower overhead costs,but it also has many drawbacks and barriers.

Question 11

On average,e-tailing sales are expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.6 percent from 2010 to 2012,compared to 14 percent for brick-and-mortar stores.

Question 12

Airlines and hotel chains encourage travelers to book directly from their Web sites,bypassing travel agents.This is an example of the Internet's indirect impact on the role of travel agents.

Question 13

When new capabilities are required to conduct EC,for example capabilities in logistics and distribution,one method is to obtain them through external strategic alliances.

Question 14

Sales of goods on the Internet are no longer increasing rapidly because of the bankruptcy of numerous dot-coms.

Question 15

With all else being equal in the online environment,goods that are relatively expensive or frequently purchased are expected to have higher sales volumes then goods that are inexpensive or infrequently purchased.

Question 16

The major risk of online trading is security.

Question 17

A business model is a description of how an organization intends to generate revenue through its business operations.

Question 18

Direct marketing describes marketing that takes place over the Internet involving wholesalers and retailers.

Question 19

A click-and-mortar retailer is a combination of both the brick-and-mortar retailer and an online transactional Web site.

Question 20

According to Internet Retailer,in 2007,approximately 80 percent of adult U.S.Internet users shopped online and/or research offline sales online.

Question 21

With all else being equal in the online environment,goods with any of the following product characteristics are expected to facilitate greater online sales except:

A)relatively expensive items
B)high brand recognition
C)digitized format
D)frequently purchased items

Question 22

Both online banks and click-and-mortar banks carry some risks and problems,especially in international banking,including hackers and liquidity risk.

Question 23

All of the following categories have been selling well online except:

A)groceries
B)travel
C)cars
D)health and beauty

Question 24

Customers accessing the bank system from the outside should verify that the Web site uses encryption provided by SSL (Secure Socket Layer)and digital certificates.

Question 25

The direct sale of digital content through download allows a producer of digital content to bypass the traditional retail channel,thereby reducing overall costs and capturing greater profits.

Question 26

Only a few pure-play virtual banks failed by 2003 due to lack of financial viability.

Question 27

According to Internet Retailer (2007),approximately ________ percent of adult U.S.Internet users shop online or research offline sales online.

A)25
B)45
C)65
D)85

Question 28

Which of the following is a characteristic of e-tailing?

A)Competition is local.
B)Customer relations are less stable due to anonymous contacts.
C)Price changes are expensive,but can be done at anytime.
D)Fewer resources are needed to increase customer loyalty.

Question 29

In an e-market,Federal Express and PayPal are examples of ________.

A)intermediaries
B)service providers
C)content disseminators
D)viral marketers

Question 30

Amazon.com experienced all of the following except:

A)It maintained its position as the number one e-tailer in 2006.
B)Growth was driven largely by product diversification and its international presence.
C)It assured its financial success and profitability by 2005.
D)Profitability dropped in 2006 because of huge investments in IT infrastructure and their new Prime discount shipping program.

Question 31

Sears' marketing strategy would best be described as ________.

A)a brick-and-mortar strategy
B)a shared service mall strategy
C)a click-and-mortar strategy
D)direct marketing from a manufacturer

Question 32

Channel conflict occurs when adding an online distribution channel causes problems with existing distribution channels.

Question 33

Direct marketers ________.

A)use one or more distribution channels
B)do not operate physical stores
C)are pure-play e-tailers
D)are manufacturers

Question 34

Dell's distribution strategy is best described as ________.

A)a brick-and-mortar strategy
B)a shared service mall strategy
C)a click-and-mortar strategy
D)direct marketing from a manufacturer

Question 35

All of the following describe retailing except:

A)A retailer is a sales intermediary.
B)Many manufacturers sell directly to consumers and through wholesalers and retailers.
C)E-tailing makes it easier for a manufacturer to sell directly to customers by cutting out the intermediary.
D)Companies that produce a large number of products,such as Procter & Gamble,do not need retailers for efficient distribution.

Question 36

A key difference in competition between retailing and e-tailing is that ________.

A)retailers face greater global competition
B)e-tailers face fewer competitors
C)retailers face fewer competitors
D)e-tailers face greater local competition

Question 37

An online seller of travel services that generates revenue by charging fees for its services is an example of a ________.

A)market maker
B)transaction broker
C)content disseminator
D)viral marketer

Question 38

A company that creates and manages many-to-many markets is called a ________.

A)market maker
B)transaction broker
C)content disseminator
D)viral marketer

Question 39

A marketer that uses e-mail to advertise to potential customers is called a ________.

A)market maker
B)transaction broker
C)content disseminator
D)viral marketer

Question 40

What is the primary advantage of catalog sales?

A)It eliminates the constraints of space and time.
B)Customers prefer catalog shopping to e-tailing.
C)Catalogs increase interest in products that are then bought online.
D)Products and services can both be sold via catalogs.

Question 41

Which of the following is not a characteristic of e-banking?

A)saves users time and money
B)is more expensive for banks
C)is becoming an enabling feature of business growth in the developing world
D)is increasing peer-to-peer (P2P)online lending

Question 42

Which is not a characteristic of social computing technologies?

A)Social computing is increasingly playing a larger role in corporate online strategy.
B)Social computing has shifted online travel from passive selling to active customer engagement.
C)Companies that implement social computing technologies on their own Web sites should view it primarily as a sales tool and less as supporting business goals.
D)Social computing plays an important role by providing more correct and relevant information.

Question 43

The TRUSTe seal is an example of ________.

A)a business rating
B)an intermediary
C)a B2B exchange
D)a trustmark

Question 44

Software tools that scout the Web for stores that sell similar items at low prices are called ________.

A)shopping portals
B)shopbots
C)shopping browsers
D)intelligent search engines

Question 45

Compared to the traditional job market,the online job market ________.

A)has a shorter life cycle
B)is usually specialized and local in scope
C)tends to be less reliable
D)tends to be much less expensive

Question 46

Charles wants to buy a John Lennon lithograph over the Internet,but he is unwilling to pay for it until he inspects it to ascertain authenticity.The auction site through which he purchases the painting agrees to hold his money until he tells them to release it to the seller.This is an example of ________.

A)an escrow service
B)a trustmark
C)a warranty
D)a verification

Question 47

All of the following are characteristics of WAYN except:

A)It is a popular social networking Web site.
B)When it introduced fees for its premier travel membership service,it lost most of its new subscriptions.
C)It is not aimed at any particular age group.
D)It enables its users to create a personal profile and upload and store photos.

Question 48

One of the characteristics of Web 2.0 in the travel industry is ________.

A)standardization
B)segmentation
C)personalization.
D)intermediation

Question 49

Characteristics of the job market and employment placement include all of the following except:

A)They are very stable.
B)There is an unbalanced supply and demand.
C)Career portals on corporate Web sites reduce recruitment costs.
D)The job market has essentially moved online.

Question 50

________ are firms that conduct retail business online.

Question 51

Characteristics of JobCentral.com include all of the following except:

A)It is a career portal created by a number of leading companies to reduce recruitment costs.
B)It provides people at all education levels with timely information about careers and employment opportunities nationwide.
C)It is used primarily to catalog business and accounting job postings.
D)It makes it easy for job searchers to explore available openings.

Question 52

Security for online bank transactions include all of the following except:

A)firewalls
B)SSL encryption
C)virtual biometrics
D)digital certificates

Question 53

________ refers to marketing that takes place without intermediaries between manufacturers and buyers;or marketing done online between any seller and buyer.

Question 54

A disadvantage of online job advertising and recruitment for employers is ________.

A)an overload of applicants,both qualified and unqualified
B)a huge increase in employee turnover
C)an increase in the costs of finding candidates
D)a significant decrease in the number of qualified applicants

Question 55

Amazon.com is an example of a(n)________ because it sells directly to consumers over the Internet without maintaining a physical sales channel.

Question 56

Changes in the real estate industry driven by real estate online include all of the following except:

A)use of live chat
B)offering 3D video tours
C)stabilizing the industry and reducing credit fraud by borrowers
D)disintermediation of real estate agents

Question 57

Gateways to storefronts and e-malls are referred to as ________.

A)shopping portals
B)shopbots
C)shopping browsers
D)intelligent search engines

Question 58

A(n)________ is a combination of both the brick-and-mortar retailer and an online transactional Web site.

Question 59

All of the following are revenue models for online independent travel agents except:

A)direct marketing revenues
B)direct revenues from commissions
C)subscription or membership fees
D)revenue sharing fees

Question 60

Retailing conducted over the Internet is called ________.

Question 61

________ are gateways to storefronts and e-malls that may be comprehensive or niche oriented.

Question 62

________ refers to the removal of organizations or business process layers responsible for certain intermediary steps in a given supply chain.

Question 63

In addition to regular banks adding online services,________ have emerged;these have no
physical location,but conduct only online transactions.

Question 64

A firm that operates both physical stores and an online e-tail site is said to be a click-and-mortar business selling in a(n)________ model.

Question 65

An e-tailer can use cookie files and other technologies to track the specific browsing and buying behavior of each consumer.With that information,the e-tailer can create a marketing plan tailored to that consumer's pattern by showing items of interest or offering incentives that appeal to that consumer's sense of value,which is referred to as ________.

Question 66

________ is the use of software (intelligent)agents to facilitate intermediation.

Question 67

________ services enable users to receive information on their bank account balances via SMS and to settle payments for bills and purchase stocks.

Question 68

________ is the process whereby intermediaries,either new ones or those that had been disintermediated,take on new intermediary roles.

Question 69

In today's age of Web 2.0,the wide reach of ________ sites such as MySpace and LinkedIn can get people hired faster.

Question 70

________ refers to any situation in which direct competition and/or damage caused by bypassing a former existing channel partner is perceived to have resulted from the introduction of a new,often online,channel.

Question 71

________ are tools that scout the Web for consumers who specify search criteria.

Question 72

EC offers companies new opportunities to test prices and make prices more precise,which are referred to as ________ prices.

Question 73

Merchants can study and find out what customers want through ________.

Question 74

Members of ________ hope that consumers will use their trustmark seal as an assurance and as a proxy for actual research into their conduct of business,privacy policy,and personal information protection.

Question 75

________ are meta-search engines that search a range of related sites or search engines,seeking the best product or service for a particular consume.

Question 76

________ are retailers who conduct business in the physical world,in traditional stores.

Question 77

A major problem in B2C is the increasing rate of online ________.

Question 78

The two major limitations of the electronic job market are privacy and ________ because resumes are typically not encrypted.

Question 79

A shopping tool referred to as a(n)________ is a program that contains the shopper's information.

Question 80

The Internet has created a large demand for personalized products and services.Manufacturers can meet that demand by using a ________ strategy.