Fruugo cross-border online shopping service - Business model analysis

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School of Science | Master's thesis
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Date
2011
Major/Subject
Tietokoneverkot
Mcode
T-110
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
(8) + 84
Series
Abstract
Fruugo is a Finnish e-commerce company offering a multi-merchant marketplace as an additional sales channel for online retailers and as a one-stop online shopping destination for the consumers. The business model and technology designed by the company are new concepts scarcely available on the European market. The service acts as a solution to the difficulties of online shopping across borders within the European Union by overcoming language barriers, introducing local payments in each target market, following local consumer protection in each market and handling VAT configurations. The Fruugo web-shop is designed specifically for multi-merchant shopping and with international trade pecularities in mind and allows customers to seamlessly shop for products sold by many different retailers physically located in various parts of the EU. Fruugo contains over 200,000 products from around 200 retailers across Europe spanning 7 product departments. The service is currently open for consumers in 18 countries. The goal of this research is to identify critical issues for financial success of the enterprise through holistic analysis of the Fruugo business model. The research is guided by a theoretical framework STOF method (Service, Technology. Organization, Finance). The business model is analysed against critical success factors outlined in the framework and following the steps outlined in the STOF methodology. This thesis consists of literature review, description of the STOF methodology and the analysis of the Fruugo business model. Conclusions are presented in the final chapter of the thesis and include a comparative list of the advantages and shortcomings of the current business model of the company. Additionally a list of suggestions for improvement is presented based on the findings of the analysis.
Description
Supervisor
Aura, Tuomas
Thesis advisor
Luukkainen, Sakari
Keywords
e-commerce, online shopping, business model, Fruugo
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