Evaluation of company's competitive position based on internet-statistics data

<p>Last decades electronic commerce developed rapidly and became to be a strong competitor for many traditional spheres. But in decision-making process management faces very limited number of tools, adapted for web projects specificity and this market dynamics.</p><p>The primary aim of this study is to develop express-method of evaluating competitive positions of Russian online-retailers, based on internet statistics data.</p><p>To investigate this goal the research faced the following objectives:</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Relying on the data provided by SimilarWeb the system of internet statistics indicators was developed. It characterizes each market player`s position. Based on the principles of quantitative evaluating possibility, general availability of necessary information and describing cooperation process with the ultimate buyer, 10 indicators have been chosen:</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unique visitors per one week (X1);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Average time on site (X2);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Average page views by 1 visitor (X3);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bounce rate (X4);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Direct traffic (X5);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Referrals traffic (X6);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">7.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Search traffic (X7);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">8.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Social network (X8);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">9.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mail traffic (X9);</p><p style="margin-left:72.0pt;">10. &nbsp; Display ads traffic (X10).</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; II.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Out of almost 2000 players of Russian online-retailers it was chosen 130 players, which operations can be reasonably assured by the developed system of internet statistics indicators.</p><p>&nbsp;III.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For each of 130 companies, 12 segments and the whole market the means of 10 chosen performance indicators have been evaluated. The analyzed period: from July 2013 to March 2014. It helps to develop the database for competitive analysis between all large players and emphasize segment and market features and dynamics:</p><p style="margin-left:70.9pt;">1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Electronics and Home appliances, Apparel &amp; Footwear, Mixed Product Range &ndash; most frequent segments for large players, which, moreover, have the highest weekly traffic;</p><p style="margin-left:70.9pt;">2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Comparing to average market means, people spend 43% more time on the &ldquo;Autoparts&rdquo; websites. Otherwise, on the &ldquo;Books&amp;Stationere&rdquo; websites they spend 37% less time;</p><p style="margin-left:70.9pt;">3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Average page views (X3) are markedly higher in segments, in which consumers choose similar models of different labels;</p><p style="margin-left:70.9pt;">4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The traffic structure (X5-X10) in &ldquo;Household Goods &amp; DIY&rdquo; segment is highly deformed;</p><p style="margin-left:70.9pt;">5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;Apparel &amp; Footwear&rdquo; segment has low search traffic share (X7) but is a market leader by mail traffic means (X9);</p><p style="margin-left:70.9pt;">6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Average visitor of Russian online-store behavior profile: For 1 visit looks through nearly 7 website pages at 5 minutes, in 60% cases leaves the website after the first page. More often he or she comes to the website from search results (47% of all analyzed traffic) or referrals (27%). Mail postings are used by 5% unique visitors.</p><p>IV.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The case of the company &ldquo;Enter&rdquo; was examined. The analysis of its competitive positions showed that markedly exceeding average market means of weekly unique visitors and referrals traffic, Enter has weak positions at other ways of attracting new customers. High percentage of occasional visitors, who came through referrals, has a negative impact on time on site and page views indicators.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; V.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The main areas of improving Enter`s competitive position have been developed: getting rid of structural disbalance in attracting new customers; budget redistribution from buying ads through partner sites to other traffic sources and expansion of offline stores into new territories.</p><p>The developed express-method can be used for all companies included in the research sample. Taking into account some assumptions it can be used for competitive analysis and strategic decision-making process by all players of Russian online-retail market.</p>