Core Concepts of Marketing

CHANNELINSTITUTIONS:CAPABILITIESANDLIMITATIONS 261

throughtheanchordepartmentstore.Thatsametrendpavedtheway

fortheflurryoffreestandingHo;neDepotsandTJMaxxstoresaswell

asdiscountgiantslikeWal-Mart.Allaresappingcustomersfrommid-

marketmalls,alreadystruggling.Inadditiontothefreshsuccessof

freestandingdiscountstores,theInternetisdrawingoffevenmore

customerswhoseeKtobuybooksormusiconline.

Forthemalltosurvive,they'llhaveto:Jesomethingdiffere:lt-a

high-qualityenvironmentfortheaeliveryofhighiouch,highexperi-

ence,highmarginretailgoodsandservices:aplaceyC:Jgoforthe

entertainmentshoppingexperience.

Sources:HerbGreenberg,"DeadMallWalking,"Fortune,July8,2000,p.304;

CalmetlaY.Coleman,"MakingMalls(Gasp!]Convenient,"TheWaltStreetJour-

na~February8 ,2000,pp. B1,B2;BillBriggs."BirthandDeathoftheAmeri-

canMall,"TheDenver Post,June4, 2000 ,pp.Dl,D4.

NonstoreRetailing Nonstoreretailingdescribessalesmadetoultimateconsumers
outsideofa traditionalretailstoresetting. Intotal,nonstoreretailingaccountsfora rela-
tivelysmallpercentageoftotalretailsales,butitisgrowingandveryimportantwithser-
taintypesofmerchandise,suchaslifeinsurance,cigarettes,magazines,books,CDs,and
clothing.
OnetypeofnonstOl'eretailingusedbysuchcompaniesasAvon, Electrolux,andmany
insuranceagenciesisin-home selling.Suchsalescallsmaybemadetopreseiectedprospects
orinsomecasesona coldcallbasis.Avariationofdoor-to-doorsellingis thedemonstra-
tionparty.Hereonecustomeractsasa hostandinvitesfriendsTupperwarehasbeenvery
successfulwiththisapproach.
Vendingmachinesareanothertypeofnonstoreretailing.Automatedvendinguses coin-
operated,self-servicemachinestomakea widevarietyofproductsandservicesavailable
toshoppersinconvenientlocations.Cigarettes,softdrinks, hosiery,andbankingtransac-
tionsarebuta fewoftheitemsdistributedinthisway.Thismethodofretailingis aneffi-
cientwaytoprovidecontinuou:;service.Itisparticularlyusefulwithconveniencegoods.
Mailorderisa formofnonstoreretailingthatreliesonproductdescriptiontosell
merchandise.Thecommunicationwiththecustomercanbebyflyerorcatalog. Magazines,
CDs,clothing,andassortedhouseholditemsareoftensoldinthisfashion. Aswithvend-
ingmachines,mailorderoffersconveniencebutlimited service.Itisanefficientwayto
covera verylargegeographicalareawhenshoppersarenotconcentratedinonelocation.
Manyretailersaremovingtowardtheuseofnewercommunicationsandcomputertech-
nologyincatalogshopping
Onlinemarketinghasemergedduringthelastdecade;itrequiresthatboththeretailer
andtheconsumerhavecomputerandmodem.Amodemconnectsthecomputertoa tele-
phonelinesothatthecomputerusercanreachvariousonlineinformationservices.There
aretwotypesofoniinechannels:(1)commercialonlinechannels-variouscompanieshave
setuponlineinformationandmarketingservicesthatcanbeassessedbythosewhohave
signedupandpaida monthlyfee,and(2)Inter:1et-aglobalwebofsome45,000com-
puternetworksthatis makinginstantaneousanddecentralizedglobalcommunicationpos-
sible.Userscansende-mail,exchangeviews,shopforproducts,andaccessreal-timenews.
Marketerscancarryononlinemarketinginfourways:(1)usinge-mail;(2)partici-
patinginforums,newsgroups,andbulletinboards;(3)placingadsonline;and(4)creating