Retail: Retail's Final Frontier?

What’s more, the internet lets merchants test new product ideas, pricing, presentation and promotional concepts quickly and easily in real time — and without a lot of risk — against small, but representative, samples of a customer base.

The combination of “just-in-time” inventory management and real-time strategic marketing allows online merchants to quickly respond to current events that may impact their customers — in days, hours or even minutes. Contrast that with the months it takes for a traditional merchant relying on a traditional supply chain to respond.