[Photo with caption: "WIRED FOR SHOPPING: Andrew Currie, right, and Bryan Griffin have six companies in their 'information mall' at the Internet address 'marketplace.com,' recently mentioned in Fortune magazine. 'We're actually doing business on the Internet. Very few companies are doing that - it's mostly marketing and promotion,' Currie said.]
Virtual Malls allow shoppers to browse in digital marketplace
The new mall crawl is online.
by Jim Sheeler, Camera Business Writer
There are no parking hassles. There are no lines at the cashier. No Muzak. In fact, no human interaction at all.
"Virtual malls" are being constructed throughout the various communities of cyberspace. They are malls where the shopper - without leaving the computer terminal - can visit the bookstore and download an upcoming novel, or check out the latest role-playing game.
Two Boulder companies are renting space in their virtual malls, where the tenants don't have to worry about square footage or shelf space, and the customers don't have to worry about pushy salespeople.
Boulder's Cyberspace Development Inc. has leased space on its address at "marketplace.com" to companies like Boulder-based Harmony Games and the Online Bookstore. XOR Engineering has leased space on its 'storefront.xor.com' mall to companies like SoftPro Books and the Colorado Internet Co-operative Association.
Thankfully, the storefronts on the virtual malls are not just the Home Shopping Network online (no cubic zirconium to speak of). Nor are they typical formula malls (no sign of Benetton or The Gap).
Right now it's more of a browsing mall, a window shopping mall," said Herb Morreale, president of XOR Engineering Inc. "The high-tech industry will do best in this mall."
The malls might best be described as interactive catalogs where customers can find out everything they need to know about an item by pointing and clicking different areas of the screen (everything, that is, except actually trying it on). The user can access graphics, audio and video displays about the store and its products.
The benefit to the mall tenants is that the landlords get around touchy Internet advertising etiquette by promoting the malls, - and more importantly on the complicated system - by showing people directions how to get there.
Will the malls be more convenient than shopping by phone or than simply visiting a real world mall? The key lies in their ability to distinguish themselves.
"I've seen products offered online, but they're not sold any cheaper than you could buy at a local store," said Suzanne Lainson, who moderates an online marketing conference on the OneNet Boulder bulletin board.
"Online products need to be cheaper, faster, or add something you can't get anywhere else," Lainson said.
Marketplace's Online Bookstore is the only place you can find the new Stephen King book - and you can download it directly into your computer. Whether reading computerized books will catch on remains to be seen - many folks spend enough time in front of the screen as it is.
Instead of sending their credit card numbers over the Internet's unprotected lines, Cyberspace will set up an account on the mall that would be encrypted. Anyone wishing to purchase something from the mall could charge it to their account and would be billed later.
While the high-tech companies are the ones on today's infomalls, Cyberspace President Andrew Currie says there's room for everyone to get on board early.
"If a company's management must have hard, historical data that this is right for them, then they are not right for this, and they'll be left behind."
Could the virtual malls take over from the true malls? Before you shrug off the possibility of viewing cyberspace puppies from the pet shop window or sitting on the lap of a virtual Santa Claus, remember this: The jolly fat guy already has an email address.