Online Retailing Industry Analysis: A Case Investigation

There is a substantial literature concerning online retailing. This paper argues that much of it is confusing to the manager of a retail business who is trying to work out an online strategy. This paper briefly surveys the existing literature in three categories: that focussed on specific industries; that attempting to generalise broadly; and general theories that may be applicable or not. We argue that the appropriate approach for the curious manager is to study the nature of the industry and assess which of the general theories apply. From this bottom-up approach, a more rigorous, specific decision framework can be established. We use a single case study in the garden centre industry to frame the decisions for a manager in this industry. We argue that this approach can be readily adopted to other industry segments