ABSTRACT
Electronic shopping has existed in a primitive way for some time in the form of radio and TV advertising of merchandise coupled with telephone ordering. It is part of a segment of the market called non-store retailing (NSR) which also includes the long-established mail-ordering systems, home inspection systems and door-to-door sales. Increasing diversity of goods and services requires increasing quantities of information for adequate comparison. However, electronic information systems appear to provide the means for achieving this comparison while the number S of stores actually visited is reduced. This approach is very useful in providing insight into the general nature of expected locational adjustments to various technological and other changes. The features which such models are attempting to cover include: external factors such as the utilisation of public infrastructure, and income distribution; uncertainty due to lack of information on future market growth and competition; inertia in customer, competitor and developer response.
