When does e-business change business?

From...

By Molly Upton

(IDG) -- Online retailers are rolling out their new features in time to lure holiday shoppers for the important fourth quarter, which last year represented 28.9 percent of the annual business to consumer electronic commerce spending, according to analysis firm IDC's "Internet Commerce Market Model." (See chart.)

The online operations at Lands' End, for example, are now leading the company into the make-to-order business, quite a shift from this and other catalogue companies' traditional mode of make it, store it, sell it, ship it.

The new venture, if successful, could render obsolete the concept that online business is merely a channel for existing business.

Starting with chino pants, Lands' End's Web site offers customers the ability to order pants cut to their measurements as well as to select various features, such as pleats or no pleats, or pockets of various types, in a manner similar to configuring a PC online from Dell or other PC makers.

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For future orders, customers can specify their most recent order as the basis for reorders or for changes in any area of measurement.

Online requires new factory

In a departure from most online retail operations, the Web portion and the back-end links to the cutting machines weren't the only focus of corporate investment. Lands' End had to find a new supplier in North America in order to reduce shipping vagaries and had to set up a plant floor with the ability to make individual items at a reasonable through-put rate.

With this offering, Lands' End gains an edge in differentiating itself from the competition and a means of appealing to an additional sector of potential customers. In addition, the company hopes to reduce inventory and the rate of returns.

Lands' End plans to inform customers of the expected delivery date, which can vary according to the backlog. In addition, it's charging $54 for a pair of tailored pants compared with $35 for off-the-rack.

Visual acuity

Just in time for the holiday season, the L.L. Bean Web site is touting improvements in displaying its products on the Web, most likely in hopes that "if they can see it in detail, they'll order."

The site's new features enable the customer to change the colors of the online image as well as to enlarge it. These features also exist on the J. Crew Web site. The Lands' End site shows different color swatches of material but not the entire garment.

For shoppers wanting comparisons, L.L. Bean offers one screen listing features of different models of an item, such as a parka, which should help expedite a consumer's decision process.

The feature-and-function race continues among online retailers. The question now is whether the online retail segment can increase its share of holiday consumer spending.