Introduction

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Electronic commerce is said to overcome barriers to trading internationally, hence making companies truly global without the need for a physical presence in another country. This ability to export while remaining in the same physical location presents opportunities for retailers, as it enables them to increase sales without opening more physical stores. The extension of retail sales through the Internet is a real opportunity for Irish retailers-as over 90 million people worldwide claim Irish descent. This Irish Diaspora represents a lucrative export market for Irish companies that can be reached cost effectively by leveraging the capabilities of electronic commerce.

The Crafts Council of Ireland (www.ccoi.ie) estimates that 66% of the crafts industry is located in rural areas. Therefore the Internet presents a great opportunity for these companies to overcome location disadvantages. The main areas of manufacturing in the Irish craft industry are pottery, glass, textiles (particularly knitwear), furniture and quality giftware. Irish craft businesses are typically small in scale and are geographically widespread, but taken nationally the industry is a significant employer. While the retail market in Ireland is said to be worth in excess of 25 billion euro a year, the Crafts Council estimates that the gross turnover of the crafts industry is 116 million euro per annum.

This chapter presents a descriptive study conducted with the aim of determining some of the factors that contribute to the success of retailers using electronic commerce to perform effectively in export markets. The focus of this research is on Irish export retailers in the gift sector, which includes arts and crafts.



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Advanced Topics in End User Computing (Vol. 3)
Advanced Topics in End User Computing, Vol. 3
ISBN: 1591402573
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 191

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