2BAIT

Task 1 INVESTIGATION: The changing nature of shopping: a report for Funky Fashions

John Thorpe

Miss Annabel Trendy is the manager of Funky Fashions, a retail clothes shop specializing in teenage fashions. She is very concerned with the increasing number of people shopping online and the declining number of consumers venturing into her shop to purchase her products. She has approached you to investigate this trend, and produce a report (cost/benefit analysis) to help her create her own online shop front.

Due: end of term

(TASK 2 will be to design and create her on-line shop front)

OUTCOME 2 / 4: Preliminary research (Don’t forget bibliography)

What is ecommerce?

List and evaluate some ecommerce sites

List and evaluate some ecommerce sites specifically related to teen fashions

Print and annotate some web pages which show different features of ecommerce

When did people first start buying and selling goods on the Web?

OUTCOME 4: Research the impact that online retail trading is having on society: (The web will be your main resource here)

different groups of people (eg. children, teens, adults and aged)

different organisations (eg. small retail outlets, large retail outlets, overseas outlets)

OUTCOME 1: Create and conduct a questionnaire that collects data relating to online shopping trends for teenagers. Conduct the questionnaire among your friends.

Your questionnaire could include questions relating to:

what methods of shopping do you use most?

what types of products do teenagers purchase online?

how often do teenagers purchase goods online?

collate your results in an appropriate format.

OUTCOME 4: Conduct a Cost/Benefit Analysis (spreadsheet) for setting up online trading for Funky Fashions

Cost/Benefit Analysis is a widely used technique for deciding whether to make a change. To use this technique, add up the value of the benefits of a course of action (eg. increase in sales), and subtract the costs associated with it (eg. the costs of producing an online website)

Predict what future costs may be involved for Funky Fashions (eg. web hosting)

What are the financial benefits that are received from online trading for Funky Fashions?

research similar businesses to see potentially, what the increase in sales may be from online trading

Enter your cost / benefit analysis results in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. To help you, here is an example for Mr Cornetto's ice cream company.

OUTCOME 1: Use your investigation and research to prepare a draft of your cost/benefit analysis report for Funky FashionsIn your draft you should consider:

the audience for your report

the information types that are in your report (eg: images, text, graphs etc)

the language to be used

presentation of your report in a suitable format

OUTCOME 4: Produce your final cost/benefit analysis report

OUTCOME 1: Evaluate your cost/benefit analysis report and production process

how could you improve your final report?

is your report a useful document for making decisions? Is it appropriate to the intended audience and purpose? Explain

did you meet your deadlines? If not why?

did you have to adjust your production process? Why?

identify what resources (hardware, software, other) you needed to use, explaining your selection

identify what hardware and software skills you needed to use to complete your cost/benefit report. Is there any hardware or special software that you needed to use? Explain

are there any skills that you needed to develop?

Outcome 1 (Aspect 3)

Outcome 2 (Aspect 1)

Hand in:

Research on ecommerce, with introduction summarising the task

Annotated ecommerce web sites

Questionnaires

Summary of conclusions from questionaires

Cost benefit analysis spreadsheet

Draft report for Funky Fashions based on cost benefit analysis spreadsheet

Final report for Funky Fashions based on cost benefit analysis spreadsheet

Evaluation

Mark scheme

Title page