We have seen the story of WebVan, which did not result in success due to the high inventory cost and the nature of products it was marketing. Food is consdiered challenging to sell online, partly due to its perishable character and partly due to consumers' preference for confirming the quality in store, However, there are some food stores that can be more active online. They will take advantages of online marketing such as bulk price, mass marketing, and consumer firnedly information.
Koa mart is an online Korean food store, delivering products to consumers in North America. Another Korean food store is H-mart, the largest offline Asian food store in North America.
They both have a rather narrower market, mostly Korean immigrants and international studnets. However, they have two strong competitive advantages: bulk price and market availability. As Korean food has still a narrower scale of consumers, they are not as accessible as Chinese food, for example. However, as more Koreans move to North America and more people grow their appetite for Korean food, the industry is getting more globalized. Therefore, people seek for authentic and cheaper Korean ingredients which are usually priced doubled in offline. In addition, Koreans living far from the Korean stores can now easily order their favorite cravings online.
What so neat about Koa Mart is the website that organizes the wide range of Korean products in different categories to allow easier search for consumers. Also, the products are cheaper than offline stores. The products range from processed food and health supplements to Korean DVD and restaurant table buzzer. It is also using social media like Facebook to promote Korean events. This viral markeitng can increase the web traffic and improve SEO.
H-mart is also availbale online to target consumers in wider range of geography by delivery. In addition, it has various events, targeting first generation housewives in a foreign country. The events include weekly special flyers, Cooking class, and Korean New Year Gift delivery.
As a more recognized and popular Korean supermarket, H-mart has a more polished website. Koa Mart may want to garnish their website to attract more online appetites. The appearance is often perceived to reflect what it can offer.
Koa Mart (LA): http://www.koamart.com
Facebook example: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=189415759520
H-mart (BC): hmart.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment