Comparing e-Commerce Sites
In this exercise, you will experiment with electronic shopping and compare alternative e-commerce sites. First, select a category of product widely available on the Web, such as books, CDs, or toys. Second, select five specific products to price on the Internet, for example, five specific CDs you might be interested in buying. Third, search three prominent e-commerce sites selling this type of product and record the price charged for each product by each site.
a. Using a spreadsheet, record a set of information similar to that shown for each product. (Categories describing the product will vary depending on the type of product you select-CDs might require the title of the CD and the performer[s], whereas toys or similar products would require the name of the product and its description.) See Figure 9.20.
b. For each product, rank each company on the basis of the price charged. Give a rating of 1 for the lowest price and 3 for the highest, and split the ratings for ties-two sites tying for the lowest price would each receive a 1.5. If a site does not have one of the products available for sale, give that site a rating of 4 for that product. Add the ratings across your products to produce an overall price/availability rating for each site.
c. Based on your experience with these sites, rate them on their ease of use, completeness of information, and order-filling and shipping options. As in Part (b), give a rating of 1 to the site you feel is best in each category, a 2 to the second best, and a 3 to the poorest site.
d. Prepare a set of PowerPoint slides or similar presentation materials summarizing the key results and including an overall assessment of the sites you compared.
