ABSTRACT
As with any significant technology, the Net has an impact upon working practices. This has been seen in companies that have integrated the Internet and their own intranet into all aspects of corporate culture, for example Dell Computers, Cisco and Microsoft. As we saw earlier, e-commerce operations are developing new customer models and new working practices to accommodate the demands and the possibilities afforded by the new technologies. This has a knock-on effect for traditional retail outlets. In fact, the most interesting development of e-commerce may not be the rise of new online companies, but the changes it affects in existing companies. In order to compete with online operations which have increased richness and reach, traditional retail outlets have increased the profile of benefits they can offer, such as making shopping a more social experience, increased customer support, provision of other entertainment facilities in the same shopping area, and so forth.
