A firm in the electronic commerce sector that enables the transfer of money between users with e-mail accounts. It offers an alternative to traditional payment methods. PayPal also processes payment requests in electronic commerce and other Web services and earns a percentage of the amount transferred in each interaction.
Published in Chapter:
Online Private Sales Clubs: An Emerging Model of Fashionable E-Commerce at Promotional Prices
Ana Isabel Jiménez-Zarco (Open University of Catalonia, Spain), María Pilar Martínez-Ruiz (Castilla la Mancha University, Spain), Silvia Sivera-Bello (Open University of Catalonia, Spain), and Sandra Vilajoana-Alejandre (Open University of Catalonia, Spain)
Copyright: © 2010
|Pages: 8
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-611-7.ch037
Abstract
Considering the advantages of the Internet for commercializing a vast array of products and services (Steinfeld and Whitten, 1999; Webb, 2002), it is little wonder that more and more companies have decided to offer a broad array of products online (Jiménez, 2005). Some companies even have chosen to use the Internet as the exclusive channel for selling products and services. When they follow this route, one of the most successful sales models has been the online private sales club, a multibrand outlet format that relies on a strong, free-flowing relationship among the company, the supplier, and the consumer (B2B2C). The model also adopts an attractive and innovative (relational, emotional, holistic) marketing strategic orientation that combines the attractiveness of traditional marketing elements, including prestigious brands, sales promotions, and exclusive distribution, with marketing elements specific to virtual markets, such as viral communication, intensive customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and secure payment methods.