E-stuff: In the rush for high tech, have we forgotten the high touch?

Argues that e-commerce to succeed must develop the human touch (personalisation, interaction). Six hypotheses are posed and discussed: 1) customers are deterred not by technology but by lack of customer support strategies; 2) order fulfilment is neglected by could be the best way of demonstrating customer satisfaction; 3) e-commerce changes the balance of the supplier-consumer relationship, making the consumer more equal/in control; 4) potential for one-to-one marketing grows hugely, and both sides win if it is correctly deployed; 5) physical shopping will not be superseded, but will become complementary; 6) e-businesses are making no profit from selling to consumers: the most productive area in the next year or two will be b2e: business to employees.

E stuff: In the Rush for High Tech, Have we Forgotten the High Touch?

Steve Reiman The HPI Research Group

INTRODUCTION

This paper seeks to demonstrate that there needs to be a 'balancing effect' whenever new technology is introduced: 'high tech' solutions invariably only become effective when 'high touch' (eg. human interaction, personalisation) is also present.

There is an inherent danger that as we potentially go more remote in society via Internet, home shopping and mobile communications strong counterbalancing drivers are needed to compensate for this lack of 'high touch'.

Why do we believe this to be...

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