A comparison of the spanish online supermarkets: analysis of the websites/ estudio comparativo de los supermercados online espanoles. Analisis de contenido de los sitios web.

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A comparison of the spanish online supermarkets: analysis of the websites/ estudio comparativo de los supermercados online espanoles. Analisis de contenido de los sitios web.

1. Introduction

The first initiatives relating to the utilization of the net arose at the end of the decade of the 60s but, it is in the last years, when it has developed strongly, as an alternative channel, for the marketing product and for the accomplishment of many other economic activities, added to the pure commercial transaction.

The interactivity of the Internet makes possible a direct access between manufacturers and consumers allowing that the above mentioned demand information and specific services, as well as personalized attention from the company, with unlimited possibilities for the marketing one to one and for the marketing of relations, as Martin Armario and Quero Gervilla (2004) develop.

In this respect, the Internet transforms the way of trading, but the essence of the marketing remains invariable. Moreover, the Internet provides new tools of marketing to the companies, which facilitate this labor of satisfaction of needs of the consumer, what enphasizes even more the importance of the Information Technologies in the management of the organizations (Gonzalez Sanchez et al., 2006; Roman Nicolas, 2005).

The food Spanish distribution has not remained foreign to the interest arisen by the new possibilities that the Internet offers in the development of the economic activity. The advances registered in the sector of the technologies of information and communications, have affected of special form in this sector, allowing to execute in real time operations increasingly complex, as well as the stock managed more efficiently, which has encouraged the appearance of establishments different from the traditional stores. Meanwhile, new organizational processes that allow reduce costs have emerged, and there have been developed commercial innovative strategies, with the basic purpose of achieving customer loyalty and to extend the services with major value added (Esteban and Matea, 2003).

As a consequence, it is important the incorporation of a significant proportion of the most important distributors to this new digital business, from El Corte Ingles and the hypermarkets (Carrefour, Alcampo, Eroski) up to the supermarkets (Caprabo, Condis, Gadisa and Mercadona). There are no click and mortar supermarkets, so far, because in opinion of Lozano Gimenez and Fuentes Martin (2005) users prefer offline known organizations to deal with in the net, as they feel more secure.

And, though not all these initiatives have reached the initially expected success, it is true that the successes achieved by some distributors have demonstrated the enormous expectations of growth that presents the e-commerce as a distribution channel.

Nevertheless, the development of the distribution companies in the Internet has not reached the sufficient maturity in Spain yet, with a few sales that represent, around 1% of the incomes.

The online grocery is not in the first positions among the products most commonly bought through the Internet. According to the information of the AIMC, this category takes the sixteenth position in the list, representing a percentage of 2,6% on the whole of products bought (AIMC, 2006), the studies of the AECE (2005) place it sixth, representing a percentage of 3,8%, whereas, the Comision del Mercado de Telecomunicaciones (CMT, 2005) place it in eleventh position.

The speed and comfort to carry out the buying, without having to go to the physical store, attacts to those consumers who demand more spare time (Ruiz Mate and Sanz Blas, 2007). Therefore, the profile of the target are young couples with children, both working and having no spare time to realize the grocery shopping or, executives with scanty free time but with the responsibility of buying products of nourishment. In both cases, they are consumers with a medium-high acquisitive level (Mora, 2001).

The inertia of "expecting and seeing", the absence of a plan of business to undertake projects in Internet, the resistance to changes, the perception of which the consumers have not acquired the necessary maturity in the use of the new technologies, or the dread of that produces a phenomenon of canibalization of the virtual activity on the physical one, are some of the factors that, in opinion of Zorrilla Calvo and Lafuente Ruiz de Sabando (2002) are provoking that the incorporation to the net is taking place in a slower way and late opposite to other sectors.

In opinion of Fernandez (2001), in the future will not exist clients online or offline, but clients with a major predisposition to buy across a channel or the other one, for what the above mentioned channels must be complementary.

So, it becomes necessary, not only for the managers of designing and executing the economical strategies, but also for the companies that need to formulate and to adapt its strategies of sale, to analyze and to have information on the development of the electronic co...

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