Chapter 3. The Electronic Shop

Summary

When you walk down any high street, there is an obvious difference between the shops you see. Some, like the banks, don't have any goods on display but just display lots of logos. Others have attractive displays with discrete price tags (if any), and others still pile their goods high and promise that you can't buy cheaper anywhere else. Each style appeals to a different part of us – sometimes we are driven by quality, sometimes by desire and sometimes by economy.

The subtlety of the high street needs to be recreated for the online shop, and that is where this chapter has focused. The various forms of catalogue – the statement of what is for sale – have been explained and their use discussed. It is the form of these catalogues that determines their purpose, with some optimised for volume trade at best price, some for specialist purchases.