Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Clicks vs Bricks



These days the Internet is a part of almost every facet of modern life. Nearly two billion people world wide use the internet according to Internet World Stats. Naturally, companies of all types recognized the value of interacting with customers online. I have chosen three companies that all have brick and mortar establishments, but all utilize the internet differently.

Barnes & Noble

According to the Barnes & Nobles website thereare 720 bookstores and 637 college bookstores in the united states as of May 10, 2010. Currently they have no plans to build bookstores internationally. Barnes & Noble.com will serve their international customers.

The website is a full online store offering everything the regular store offers. Barnes & Noble is entering new territory by offering the Nook e-reader to customers. The core benefit of the Nook will be the abilty to buy electronic copies of books for a low price and read on the go. This last quarter Barnes & Noble managed to sell more electronic books then paperbacks.

This, in the long run may not be a positive trend for publishers or the authors that write the books. My friend Chris recently bought a Kendall e-reader and was able to purchase The Complete Works of Plato for about $9 dollars online. This could be the end of the wealthy author.

Wells Fargo Bank

Financial institutions and the Internet were practically made for each other. Most major banks and credit unions offer online services to their customers. In 1995 Wells Fargo was the first bank to introduce access to banking accounts on the internet. Wells Fargo has thousands of retail branches in the United States that offer every thing from simple deposit / withdrawal transactions to home equity loans. As long we still use cash; Wells Fargo will always need brick and mortar
banks and ATM machines. Wells Fargo's online banking helps their customers be able to do simple transactions from home.

The beauty of Wells Fargo's online banking is how it gives its customers the tools to manage their own finances. Through their website Wells Fargo's customers can manage their credit cards, transfer money between accounts, and take care of their bills. One of my favorite things about online banking is the spending reports. These reports let you know what percentage of your income you are spending on things like entertainment and education. Having that knowledge in front of me helps me to budget my money a little better ( I just realized how boring this last paragraph must have been to read). In conclusion, the internet and banking work well together.

Pei Wei

The relationship between the internet and getting lunch never really crossed my mind until last week when a co-worker ordered Pei Wei for the office online. Obviously Pei Wei needs to have multiple locations to serve their patrons, and yes you can just get in your car and go to a Pei Wei to order your beef and broccoli yourself, but I really like how the website works. The Pei Wei website is like any other restaurant chains website. It has information on where new Pei Weis are opening up and the new dishes that they want you to try. Its when you actually order lunch does the website become impressive.

After choosing the location of the closest Pei Wei you are then taken to the the menu page where you choose your food. Once you have chosen your lunch your are able to customize it. If you don't want rice and would rather have noodles your can order that way. Or if you don't want your noodles spicy you can request that as well. I thought this was very clever, especially if your are ordering for more then one finicky eater. Then you go pick it up. I know that the ability to customize your order online is not exactly earth shaking but it is a good example of how physical shops and the internet are working together.



Bibliography

Internetworldstats.com

Barnesandnoble.com/faq



















































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