Abstract
The rapid development of Internet use and b2c e-commerce led to many speculations about the impacts of ICT on society. In the Netherlands, there is a growing concern about the implications of b2c e-commerce for city centre retailing. Therefore, this dissertation has empirically investigated the implications of b2c e-commerce for
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retailing at city centres in the Netherlands. Approximately 1,000 city centre retailers and 3,200 internet users have been interviewed. So far, the large majority (around 80%) of the Internet users indicate that they do not make fewer visits to the city centre and purchases at city centre stores due to e-shopping. City centre shopping is still considered a pleasant activity. Internet users enjoy going to the city centre and there is no indication that this will be different in the future. Nevertheless, consumers already frequently use the Internet as an information channel prior to purchasing in the city centre. The reverse behaviour where people acquire information in the city centre prior to purchasing online is also frequently observed. E-shopping also modifies city centre shopping, as it tends to shorten the shopping duration at city centres. Finally, online searching also made consumers more aware of the prices of products at city centres. Given the interconnection between e-shopping and in-store shopping at city centres, it came as no surprise that city centre retailers also employ the Internet in a complementary fashion. City centre retailers have responded to the changes in consumers' city centre shopping behaviour, by operating a website in addition to their physical store(s). Results have shown that following an Internet strategy mainly had positive impacts on retailers' performance. Positive effects of going online most often concerned receiving more in-store customers, customer relationship improvement, increased competitiveness, and overall sales growth. Claims that adopting an online selling strategy may cannibalise retailers' in-store sales and induce a shift from costly retail space to distribution space were not confirmed by this research. In addition, following an Internet strategy did not alter the functions of shops, leading to new retail formats at city centres. Thus, in general b2c e-commerce does not seem to have a large detrimental impact on city centre retailing. In fact, consumers and retailers at city centres even benefit from exploiting new shopping and business opportunities as provided by the Internet. However, it should be noted that implications of b2c e-commerce largely vary among sectors and types of city centres. With e-shopping still rapidly expanding, city planners and property owners should be aware of the consequences of b2c e-commerce in relation with other trends that currently reshape the city centre
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