Go Online Young Man (Woman)
To start with, a bit of techie jargon - the "digital divide" is slowing the achievement of a "knowledge economy". Translated for ignoramuses like me, it means there are still an awful lot of people not connected to the internet, many through choice. This is allegedly slowing the pace of economic development on a global scale.
Dr. Simon Moores, managing director of Zentelligence and an adviser to the United Nations on internet related issues, no less, stressed the importance of making people aware of the value of going online and ensuring they have access to the internet. "There are people out there who see no value in going online... We have to get young mums and retired people online, for example," he said.
So what does this have to do with retailing, you may well ask? That is precisely what I wondered when I recently read Jamie Doward's We're Wired...But Not Connected piece in the Observer.
So is it all about encouraging people to shop? Perhaps, it is to get more information from consumers before they shop or provide feedback on purchased items or the service they received (or not). Maybe it is about productivity and improving the quality of both front and back of house staff in the short, medium and long term?
In the article, Mr. Doward referred to studies that have shown education is improved through use of the internet.
Ultimately, it may not matter that the biggest users of the internet globally are middle-class young men. Will Davies of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), said, "Broadband access will become ubiquitous as the population ages and teenagers, weaned on the online world, become parents and then grandparents." Perhaps all the world has to do is wait.
On the down side, Dr Moores reckoned there will also be tensions, particularly with regard to copyright issues (downloading music, as we have already seen) and freedom of information.
Tim Berners Lee is working with Southampton University in the UK and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US to improve the quality of information available on the web. Mr. Berners warns there is a "great danger that it (internet) becomes a place where untruths start to spread more than truths."
But, to get back to the link with retailing, it is all about knowing as much as possible and applying that knowledge to operational efficiency and profitability. It's about innovation and improvement. It's about globalization, equality and access. There is more to the internet than shopping.
Discussion Questions: How has the internet shaped modern retailing and what will it mean for the future? Does the quality of information online have any implications for retail?