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Kudler Fine Foods

The U S Census Bureau states e-commerce sales as the "sales of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer or price and terms of sale are negotiated over an Internet, extranet, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network, electronic mail, or other online system. Payment for these goods may or may not be made online. (U.S. Census Bureau , 2009).
The Internet has revolutionized the way people shop. According to the United States Census Bureau e-commerce sales in the U.S. for the year 2006 were estimated at $108.7 billion; an increase of 23.5 percent from U.S. e-commerce sales in 2005. Just during the last quarter of 2006, e-commerce retail sales were estimated at $29.3 billion. (U.S. Census Bureau , 2009).
There is enormous opportunity for businesses to cash in on this rapidly expanding market. Today, e-commerce sales account for only 3 percent of total retail sales, up from only 0.6 percent in 1999. As businesses establish their e-commerce solutions, it is imperative that they understand how the online environment has morphed into the current online shopping landscape – and how it will continue to evolve. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009).
Kudler Fine Foods has experienced significant growth and is now focused on expanding the services, improving the efficiency of its operations and increasing the consumer purchase cycle as a means to increasing the loyalty and profitability of its consumers, through the use of a Frequent Shopper Program. (Apollo Group, 2007)
Kudler's new initiative is tracking purchase behavior of the individual customer level and providing high value incentives through a partnership with a loyalty points program. The customer purchase behavior patters will help Kudler refine its processes and offerings to best satisfy their valued customers, while increasing company revenues. Price is not the primary differentiating factor for Kudler consumers; these consumers are focused on quality and finding specialized items. Therefore, rather than...