Final Customer Purchasing from an Intermediary of the Product

Use Steps: Use steps include all the Final customer's activities to find the appropriate product category at the Intermediary, to choose among the alternatives to the product and to take delivery of the product.

B.
Resources: Reduce resources required for the use of the product

2.
Time: Reduce the time the customer must spend with the product

B. Improve wait times in the process

Increase service capacity
Add more regular customer assistance
To find and choose product

Use technology to guide customer search for product

No. Year SIC Note
1 1999 3944 eToys Inc. pioneered parent friendly innovations, including sophisticated search engines that let consumers shop for items based on age, brand and theme, and "wish lists" that allow children to choose gifts and e-mail the wishes to family members.
2 2004 5411 A small but growing number of supermarkets are testing a variety of high-tech gadgets designed to change the way people shop and the way stores promote their products. Shopping Buddy is a hand-held bar code reader that keeps a running tally of a grocery shopper's purchases. It can document shopping habits and find appropriate discount items and their locations in the aisles.
3 1993 5500 Circuit City to open first 12 acre used car lot. Company saw opportunity in used car sales, better customer service: touch-screen computers to find cars on lot, golf carts to reach them, no-haggle pricing, playroom for children, women salespeople.
4 2002 5511 On the sales side, prospective buyers can cruise inventory online, and see photos, calculate monthly payment and fill out loan applications. Dealers say the system cuts 15 minutes from the three hours customer typically spends at the dealership.
5 1995 5900 Customers at Circuit City's CarMax stores browse through the offering from easy-to-use computer kiosks that print a photo, price, & specs for any car selected. Also print row parking space, so shoppers don't get lost in huge inventory.
6 1988 5999 Personal-shopping services often include some free alterations.
7 2003 5999 A handful have gone much further, finding creative ways to let their channels complement each other, such as putting Web kiosks in stores so customers can order out-of-stock items.
8 2004 6211 E*Trade Financial Corp. launched its online ETF Center, which includes snapshot profiles of 158 ETFs, screening tools, and other information.
9 2000 7375 Puma technology marketed a 24 hour search and alert technology for shoppers. This technology now used on Ebay will make shopping even easier for customers.
10 2003 7375 Ebay customers can learn with a few mouse clicks precisely how much the dealer paid for a car. In addition, electronics companies' products can be subjected to scathing reviews on the very sites where they're sold.

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