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Hello

The study reported here raises some questions about the conventional wisdom that the Internet creates a “level playing field” for large and small retailers and for retailers with and without an established reputation. In our study, consumers recognized differences in size and reputation among Internet stores, and those differences influenced their assessments of store trustworthiness and their perception of risk, as well as their willingness to patronize the store. After describing our research methods and results, we draw some implications for Internet merchants.

Thanks

Reported here?

As a web designer myself i sell based on the internet levelling the playing field. sure big brand traffic will always get higher direct traffic and can probably sell at a higher price but absolutely nothing beats being #1 in google for furniture or some other term. The problem with SME businesses is they have unrealisting expectations of their websites which are often created on a shoe-string budget. you will still need to spend to get the return on investment however this spend will always be a fraction of that required of a bricks and mortar business.