Question 1:
Scope
This commercial website, argos.co.uk, specifies in selling every sort of everyday products to a wide geographical area. It sells general retails goods of all types. The company has over 34000 employees worldwide. The company has a unique of selling their goods. They catalogue their goods so that they are able to categorise the goods in different categories. The customers will select the goods that they are interested in, pay for these goods, and collect them. It has over 800 retail stores world wide. The company is the leading retail store in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company sells retail items ranging from electronic goods, to furniture, to home products. All these are there in different models and shapes. They are also sold in different prices.
Authority
The website has a high authority when it comes to sale of electronic products. When someone is looking for a retail business, Argos is returned by many search engines as the leading of most website. The site is trusted as it has been in business for a long time. It has been used and has a lot of visitors. It is ranked as one of the leading retailers in the UK and commands respect from many online shoppers who are looking for products. It ranks as one of the retail companies when search is done using Google.
The content of the website is relevant. They advertise their products through cataloguing. The content of Argos.co.uk is information regarding many items that are retailed by the company. They are placed in such a manner that they are appealing to the eye. Three quarter of the website is occupied by different products that are retailed by the company. The rest are statements regarding the online retailing and the process of undertaking research for this company. The content is relevant to the retailers as they are able to get the required information when they log into the website. All information is found on the homepage of the website. The visitor will find most of the information they need on the first landing which is the homepage(Zott et al. 2011).
Usefulness
The website is useful. This is because the content is relevant to the users. It is useful for both the first and common visitors to the website. Users are able to get all the information they need about a product without making a call or visiting the company in their physical locations. They are able to get the information about the pricing, the discount of the purchase, and the dates that they expect to get the items they have ordered. They are also able to get the contacts pf important people regarding the purchase. The content also guides users on how to go about the purchase(Wirtz et al. 2010).
Reliability
The website is reliable. This is because it has a high authority and is trusted by many people. There are many visitors that are seen to be visiting the website on a daily basis. The number of visitors that visit the website makes it reliable and trusted by many people. The high number of visitors that have been using the website is enough to gauge the reliability and the authenticity of the business that they transact. Another parameter is the fact that it has been in business for many years. This means that it has been reliable to many people and has been trusted by people for a long time. Its story dates back to 1973 when it started business. This shows that it is reliable(Janssen et al. 2008).
Structure
The structure of the site is another factor that is looked into. The products are catalogued. This makes it easy for buyers and/or visitors to search for various products. They are able to get the information they want about an item. The catalogues have enough sub-levels. After the major levels of categories, there are sub-levels that the users will easily identify and recognise. This makes it easy to search for items that have not been bought before(III 2008).
Question 2:
One of the objectives of the company is to be the leader in online retailing. They have made use of latest technologies to achieve these targets. With the use of mobile phones and technologies, they are able to reach many customers. With the use of the website, they have been able to meet most of the objectives that they have set to achieve. Their strategy of Argos is one of growth. They would like to increase the presence of the company to many customers. They would also want to improve the working of the website so that they are able to reach many clients. They target the customers who have not started using the websites for their purchases(Cybul et al. 2002). The website is aligned with the strategy of the company. This is because it has relevant content and most information is targeted at new users. The content is placed strategically for new users who have not used the website. On first visit to the website, users are able to find information about the different products. There are graphics that show different product randomly. With this capability, users are able to check the diverse products which might be the products they were searching. This is a form of advertising for the company(Wang 2008).
The company has managed to make the website usable and appealing to many users. This has been achieved with the use of the website to sell most of their products. The company is known for investing in technologies for the website. Most of the advertising and the sales are driven by the website which is well designed. The design has put in place the issues that relate to the customers. With the use of the website, the company has been able to reach to a great number of audiences.
The website has been aligned with the strategy of the website of growth. This is because with the strategy of growth is enhanced by the website. The web presence serves many customers and wider area compared to the retail shops which will serve a few individuals who are able to reach to the locations of the retail shops. The web presence has enhanced the development of the brand so that there are many customers who are attracted due to the brand which has been developed for a long time. The company is synonymous with the technology. It has leveraged on technology and has succeeded in this aspect for a long time.
The website provides an adequate means of trading. The website has been designed in such a manner that all the information that is required for trading is available for all types of visitors. It has relevant information that will guide the traders in their process of purchasing from the website.
Question 3:
The business model of the company is that of a merchant. This is because it sells finished products from different companies. There are different products which have been manufactured by different manufacturers. There is not product which has been manufactured by Argos.co.uk(Palvia 2009). Merchants sell products which have been finished by other companies. The company has all sorts of products which are from different companies. This makes them suitable to be classified as merchants because of the handling of different products of different companies.
Flexibility of the e-business strategy is important. This is because e-business models change with time. Technology changes very fast. There are different technologies that are being developed. These technologies will change the way trading is done. This is the reason why flexibility should be an option when undertaking online business(Turban et al. 2008). There are different technologies that are being developed with the changes of technology. One technology may not work with a given business model. There could be different technologies that are required to work on a given business model. These changes will be required to be undertaken in the business models available. Suitability is an important aspect when handling business models that deal with technology. The e-commerce model that is used will be used with relevant with the technology that is being used. The e-commerce model that is used will have to be flexible to make use of the technology that is being used.
If the e-commerce model is to be practiced for a long time, there is a need to be flexible with the e-commerce model that is being used. Flexibility is an important aspect when dealing with e-commerce models. There are many changes that come with the use of technology. One technology will not stick for long before another technology comes along. This is the reason why there should be changes when dealing with business models that make use of technology. It is important to adjust to these changes in order to meet the requirements of the technology that is being used at that moment.
There are a times when more than one business models is required. This is when the company should blend the two models to make profits. One is when a manufacturing company is starting to sell their products online. In the start, there will be minimal sales. The company should retail some of complementary products of the items they are manufacturing. They will be able to make profits from the sales and the manufacturing of their goods. The company should be able to make profits from both ventures(Wu & Hisa 2008). There are times when one technology will be used or replaced with another technology. Flexibility is an important aspect that should be integrated in technology. With the fast changes that are being seen with the use of technology, it is important for companies that use this model to be prepared for changes.
Question 4:
One of the issues of the company is security. This is an issue because of online fraud which is common with many companies which operate online. With this issue, there is a need to have security controls in the company website. Argos makes use of Xiscan to audit their network infrastructure. This way, they are able to safeguard the trading process of the customers. It is important to assure the customers that they are operating in safe environments. This is an important aspect of online shopping and e-commerce trading(Kshetri 2008).
One recommendation is that can be made to the company is that they should integrate security protocol in the company website. One of the security measures and controls that can be suggested is that of secure socket layer (SSL). With this strategy, the company website will be secured from insecure hacks and attempts(Turban et al. 2009).
Another recommendation for the company is that they should secure the payment process. The payment process should be transferred to a secure environment. This way the customers will be able to have secure payment processes for their purchases. All the channels of the company communication systems were scanned to assess if there was gaps in the security assessment of the company.
Another recommendation is that the clients should always be advised to operate from their accounts. They should not make any purchases from outside. They should register before making any purchase about the products they purchased from the website. This is an important process and the customers should have their profiles which are updated on a regular basis. All customers should be blocked from making any purchase unless they are logged into the system. With the logging into the system, customers will be able to assess the security situation that they have in the company. They will only make purchases when they are assured of their security. The customers should update their credentials regularly. The credentials that should be updated are the password.
Reference:
Cybul, R., Szabo, R. & Toohey, J., 2002. Method for managing a frequent shopper program at an e-commerce site and an in-store site. US Patent 6,415,261.
III, I.C., 2008. Emerging Value Propositions for M-commerce. Journal of Business Strategies.
Janssen, M., Kuk, G. & Wagenaar, R., 2008. A survey of Web-based business models for e-government in the Netherlands. Government Information Quarterly.
Kshetri, N., 2008. Barriers to e-commerce and competitive business models in developing countries: A case study. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications.
Palvia, P., 2009. The role of trust in e-commerce relational exchange: A unified model. Information & Management.
Turban, E. et al., 2008. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR MANAGEMENT, (With CD).
Turban, E. et al., 2009. Introduction to electronic commerce.
Wang, Y., 2008. Assessing e‐commerce systems success: a respecification and validation of the DeLone and McLean model of IS success. Information Systems Journal.
Wirtz, B., Schilke, O. & Ullrich, S., 2010. Strategic development of business models: implications of the Web 2.0 for creating value on the internet. Long Range Planning.
Wu, J. & Hisa, T., 2008. Developing e-business dynamic capabilities: an analysis of e-commerce innovation from I-, M-, to U-commerce. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 18(2), pp.95–111.
Zott, C., Amit, R. & Massa, L., 2011. The business model: recent developments and future research. Journal of management.
