Now or Never

Established retailers and manufacturers are fighting hard to hold their ground, while a growing number of dot.com newcomers press in from every side and threaten to reshape nearly every part of commerce. Mary Modahl argues that this contest is not yet decided. In her view, the next five years will settle who prospers, so businesses that intend to survive must act now or accept the consequences.

Modahl draws on Technographics, a model of consumer behavior developed by Forrester Research, a technology research firm with a strong reputation. The model rests on interviews with more than 250,000 Americans and sorts consumers into ten distinct segments according to their attitudes toward the Internet. Each group, the book explains, will adopt online shopping in its own way and at its own speed. The book presents the model to general business readers for the first time, not only to Forrester's paying clients, and shows how companies of any size, age, or background can use it to build a sound Internet strategy.

The book also examines the surprising business models that compete on the web. It introduces Dynamic Trade, a phrase Forrester created to describe the new way that buying and selling happen online. Modahl explains how this model shifts the balance between supply and demand, pushes firms to grow to scale far more quickly than before, and drives marginal cost toward zero. Her explanations are supported by many real-world examples.

Written by a practitioner who speaks plainly and knows the Internet economy well, the book addresses the central business question of the period for managers, executives, and anyone following how the web is changing commerce.