Procter & Gamble’s foray into an online retailing website is a play for the evolution of retailing and consumer products, and a battle over the hearts, minds and wallets of consumers, explains KSA’s Bruce Cohen. Armed with their own information about consumer behavior, manufacturers are in a stronger position to negotiate with retailers for shelf space and to raise profit margins on products that they know consumers prefer, Cohen says. The Web can also serve as a laboratory where manufacturers test out new products, he says. “Rather than having to send out 50 truckloads to stores to test a new product, they can introduce and test new products online before launching them broadly in stores.”
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