Internet positioning and performance of e-tailers: An empirical analysis

This paper presents an empirical study of e-tailers’ Internet positioning. Using a sample of 138 US webbased businesses and 20 positioning variables, the paper analyzes the visibility of e-tailers’ web pages, their relevance in search engines, their reputation in shopping portals and their popularity in blogs and news portals. Principal component analysis is used to conduct an exploratory examination. The relationship between Internet positioning and e-tailers’ performance is also examined in two ways: web metrics in terms of the number of visitors to the website, and financial results based on sales, profits, productivity, and sales growth. The results identify two kinds of Internet positioning: people-based and search engine-based. The study finds two basic kinds of competitive advantage for e-tailers: cost leadership and differentiation. No positive relationship is found between positioning and sales growth. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.