Price
The Internet allows a lot of information to be obtained easily by customers. One side effect is that it is much easier to compare prices making price competition fiercer. The use of computer systems to reduce the time and effort involved in producing and delivering products and services means that suppliers can either increase their margins or offer the same services at a lower price. Commoditisation is also occurring where people ‘package’ new products and services together and offer them, via technology, at a lower price (the high volume, low value approach). On-line payment (through credit cards) makes it more convenient to clients/customers and can make cash collection quicker and cheaper for suppliers – again increasing the possibility of price reductions. Yet the Internet can make it more difficult to offer discriminatory pricing (i.e. different prices for different customer groups).