You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet… - Brief Article

Bobbin, Feb, 2000

A white paper prepared by merchant banking firm Thomas Weisel Partners maintains that on-line retailing will forever alter the $2.6 trillion U.S. retail market, and concludes that the Internet will create the most dramatic change in retailing in 50 years, with on-line shopping taking more than 20 percent of all retail sales and climbing as high as $500 billion.

The report states that economic consequences of ignoring this trend will be devastating. Citing the Web's greatest strengths, the paper points out that by supplying good pricing, selection and in-depth product information in an "anytime-anywhere" purchasing environment, e-tailers will grab major market share. It predicts that while share gains will impress, economic returns will dazzle.