Levering Business to Customer Business Value through Internet Research Proposal

Essays on Levering Business to Customer Business Value through Internet Marketing Research Proposal The paper "Levering Business to Customer Business Value through Internet Marketing" is an excellent example of a research proposal on e-commerce. This report proposes research to assess the levering of B2C business models through internet marketing. The proposed research strategy is a case study of Tesco. The choice of this firm is justified by indications of its business model and its marketing and advertising strategies. Past studies have shown how e-marketing adds business levers to businesses. The literature review will guide this study through the identification of variables, parameters, scope and data sets. Primary data shall be collected via emailed questionnaires. The data obtained will be tabulated and analyzed using qualitative data analysis techniques. Grounded theory or analytic approach will be used to analyze the data through the former option is more preferable. The data shall then be used to test the hypothesis. The findings of the research will be important to Tesco and other B2C firms as it will inform them about the effectiveness of internet marketing.IntroductionE-commerce has grown tremendously in the past few years in the UK and globally more so in the developed world. This has been facilitated by increased access to internet connection especially broadband, technology growth, increased awareness of the benefits of e-commerce and a change in lifestyles. The e-commerce industry has been segmented into a number of sections with the main ones being groceries, clothing and apparel, electronics and hospitality and travel. The grocery segment, dominated by supermarkets, faces numerous challenges as opposed to the other segments due to the short shelf life of the majority of the items on offer. For this reason, online groceries shoppers account for only 6% of total grocery sales in the UK (Online grocery shopping 2011). However, the industry is expected to grow further to 5.4% of the retail market by 2015.A report carried out by the Guardian in O ctober last year put the UK’s internet industry at  £100 billion worth accounting for over 7% of the GDP. This growth of the internet is powered by growth in online shopping. In fact, the UK has the biggest e-commerce market globally by the amount spent per capita. This has also fueled online marketing and advertising. The online advertising industry generates  £3.5bn per year. Projections indicate that the industry is poised for greater growth spurred by increased online retailing and online marketing.Business BackgroundTesco is a brand name for one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK that is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Established in 1919, the supermarket introduced online retailing in December 2009 on some of its items. As of May 2011, it was the third biggest online retailer in the country after only a brief presence (Tesco, 2012). Online shopping has grown in popularity as it allows more convenience especially for working mothers who have li ttle time to go shopping. Thus the creation of an online store was a response to a market need.