Digital Business: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Emerging Models

This study explores the advantages and disadvantages of digital business, focusing on Sainsbury's use of e-commerce for expansion. It also analyzes emerging digital business models and the impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology. Additionally, it discusses e-commerce principles and the potential for growth in the digital business landscape.

DIGITAL BUSINESS

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
1 Digital businesses with advantages and disadvantages............................................................3
2 New and emerging digital business models ............................................................................5
3. Impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology
......................................................................................................................................................7
4. E-commerce principles............................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

ABSTRACT
Digital business has been competitively shaping business culture globally where
Sainsbury as one of the best retail company in industry has been actively using e commerce for
expansion among target customers. The report has analysed digital business advantages and
disadvantages where digital business opens up platforms for wider customer market, although
there is lack of personal touch. Further research in study has also generated in depth analysis
towards digital business models, for competitive scale connective aspects where Sainsbury has
been using best marketing aspects informatively. The study has also concluded impact if various
new collaborative relationships, strategic alliances through digital technology work domains.
Research has concluded various e-commerce principles by which Sainsbury has further scope to
evolve on dynamic business evolving scenarios and further competitive evolving work goals
imperatively. Study within research also include in depth analysis of digital businesses, for
reaching towards imperative scope aspects which also strengthens vision oriented scope in
competitive business. This also explains digital business brings on varied functional growth of
businesses among competitive scenarios, for functional diversification and enlarged customer
target market.

INTRODUCTION
Digital business is creation of new business designs by collaboration of digital and
physical business, where there is varied promising growth opportunities, to reach on
unprecedented convergence of business services. Sainsbury is the second largest chain of
supermarkets in United Kingdom with 16.0% share in supermarket industry being the largest
retailer of groceries from 1922. (J Sainsbury plc - Annual report 2020, 2021). It serves
customers with wide range of grocery products, Argos with high quality services and digital
technologies having varied effective platforms reach in various parts of world. The digital
business has come as transformation and adoption of digital technology to transform varied
services and businesses scale growth, replacing digital and manual procedures for replacing new
digital technology. The report will be discussing advantages as well as disadvantages of digital
business and various emerging digital business models to identify issues such as cyber security,
ethics violation. Research within study will be further discussing impact of new collaborative
relationships, strategic alliances through digital technology and new e-commerce principles that
enable brand to generate profound growth.
MAIN BODY
1 Digital businesses with advantages and disadvantages
Digital businesses come with varied factors of advantages and disadvantages which have
strong profound role to create yielding synergies on which there is large scope to reach new
customers market reach. The fast pace of digital technology platforms has given quick rise to
wider engaged consumers market, expanded new scale consumers working growth horizons and
deliver quick wider growth factor. Online platforms and digital business not only raises up
goodwill actively and specifically deliver profound efficacy horizons to be competent within
industry, on which Sainsbury aims to focus on diversion metric (Correct: J Sainsbury sales
boosted by e-commerce, 2020). The digital business also comes with factors of analysis for
vision oriented growth domains and generating new edged goals on which profound scope for
best digital marketing is risen actively. Sainsbury's reputation for fast online services and digital
businesses have managed delivery systems to provide the best multi-channel platforms
capabilities to reach large consumers share market. Advantages of digital business can be
discussed as follows:

 Consumer insights through tracking and analytics: Increased usage of digital business
has opened up pathways for Sainsbury to analyse consumers market share insights with
tracking new preferences and analytics as per wider competitive market reach. Sainsbury
has been able to innovatively expand in range of food and grocery products into
consumer’s market scenarios for competence development, higher scale advanced
productivity standards giving boost to online services (Rangaswamy, and et.al, 2020). Fast response to consumer’s market trend and market demand: The brand has been
able to generate wide range of fast responding strategies as per evolving consumers
market trends and new synergies as per fast competitive new market demands. Online
digital strategies such as search engine optimization and social media marketing are the
new tools which generate personalized shopping experience for brand, and also to evolve
on new targets of revenue. This factor explains that new customers market engagement
raises digital business surfacing for vision oriented goals, higher keen innovation into
new work horizons and to raise up competitive goodwill (Fernández-Rovira, Valdés, and
Nicolas-Sans., 2021).
 Personalized messaging and more advanced customer oriented selling opportunities:
Digital business opens up personalize messaging opportunities for Sainsbury and deliver
fast consumers oriented selling opportunities with advanced range of digital services.
This has been identified as largely essential for effective scale marketing strategies
having personalize touch of brand, which raises competency goodwill horizons.
Personalised messaging and new advanced interactive customers market structure scale
goals generate effective marketing aspects on which there is also productive scope for
keen innovative business scenario (Park and Mithas, 2020). Digital business at Sainsbury brings on varied fundamental advantages to enhance new
structural innovation, higher scope for strengthening productive diversity for competent
functional growth goals. Digital business also functionally brings on varied scale growth,
towards yielding competent fundamental diversity among products and services, to
enhance brand name at global parameters.
Revenue strategies
Revenue strategies are also enhanced by digital business expansion, where online platforms
expand to varied segments marketing innovation and enlarged functional scope arenas for

keeping up keen arenas active.
 Creating SEO strategy and using multichannel marketing
 Improving sales with current customers by using digital platforms
 Upgrading e commerce software
 Affiliate marketing strategies
Digital business for Sainsbury also comes with potential disadvantages which are as follows: Lack of personal touch: Digital business have lack of personal touch within consumer’s
market on which Sainsbury faces hindrance to interact actively as there is no physical
interaction, on which varied scope for new varied marketing is not explored. Lack of
personal touch is also common factor within which digital business lacks scope for
raising competencies in untapped customers market. Increased competition: Digital businesses have also given quick rise to increased
competition scenarios where there are new brands coming on with varied range of
personalized marketing strategies, raising up competitive benchmarks of brand. This has
been analysed to be keenly bringing on new scale of competition factor, where Sainsbury
strategically has scope to yield on varied domains imperatively. The retail industry at
global level is expanding on huge digital platforms for wider scale competitive
functional scale targets, on which there is also dynamic push analysed among work
domains (Bonnet. and Westerman., 2021).
 Security issues: Digital business has also given quick rise to security issues and data theft
where the new advanced digital businesses have also brought challenges for company to
operate effectively. Security issues comes with increased business platforms where many
times case of larger scale functional working growth synergies raise up keen performative
scenarios, where there needs to be generation of new security check aspects
(Broekhuizen, Broekhuis,and Wieringa, 2020). High range of diverse security issues also
gives functional push for the functional demand to grow in competitive business world
and explore the best technology investments which may keep security of data
functionally.
 Disadvantages of digital business also brings on larger varied risks towards Sainsbury
strategic large investments, higher scale growth synergy among finances and to yield on

technical scale for imperative lack among security horizons. Also time taking
investments often impact business standards long term decisions, pertaining towards
wider scope segments to generate profitable goals.
2 New and emerging digital business models
The various new business issues such as cyber security and digital business ethics
violation has given varied functional change demanded into corporate functional parameters
effectively. The business models of digital technical innovation enable wider scale connective
business goals formulations imperatively on which Sainsbury aims to imperatively give rise to
new digital business models for varied competitive business strategies and larger scale potential
goals for imperative new defined marketing goals emerging within. Digital business models
when mixed up with products, distribution and value proposition scenarios generate profound
growth on which Sainsbury aims to evolve on new targets actively. Implementation of business
model also covers projected costs and financing sources for target customer base on which there
is larger projected revenue expenses. The plan may also define opportunities for which
business can partner up with other established companies, keenly raise up diverse scope goals
for strategic changes. (10 Trends in Digital Marketing in 2020, 2020). Open-source digital model: The open source model makes software free to access and it
also generally gives ability to community to programmers for contributing to larger
consumer market effectively. The open source model determines success parameters for
wider keen programmers to contribution, where essential scenarios quickly gives
potential rise to new domains eventually for success measures to be actively explored.
The open source generates profound strong market paradigms effectively into new digital
industry horizons, where there is fundamental shift towards varied target revenue. Open
source model also significantly generate varied dynamic growth into larger scale
developed informative parameters and also to raise up keen new changes into wider
domains for rising revenue targets. Free digital business model: The free digital business model has become quite pervasive
on web in widely competitive business avenues where Sainsbury aims to have great
products range with new essential innovation. The free model brings potential work
growth outcomes in varied scaled investments and larger customer market base where
Sainsbury aims to also expand in untapped market horizons functionally (Dornberger and

Schwaferts,2021). It enables large consumer market for availing new services of brand
and also rise up wider scale scenarios for dynamic scale marketing. Free digital business
model has been identified to be functionally essential for new informative dynamic
scope to effectively raise up keen parameters which also technically brings customers
interaction potentially. Subscription model: The subscription model relies on customers' subscription that
requires essential investments in infrastructures which makes the services offered
through the model, an ability to those platforms for precise watching and listening. The
subscription model has advantages such as loyal user base creation, continuous stream of
predictable revenues and more predictable sales pipeline which also develops keen
domains to generate stronger innovation further. Subscription model is the fundamental
model in which strategies pace into which competitive industry is variably growing into
new scaled domains actively. Subscription model also potentially raises up new
customers base into attractive digital business standards, larger horizons market domains
and also to potentially interact into dynamic new evolving goals (Curti and Mont, 2020).
 Ad supported model: This model proves that web has opened up digital store that has
changed performance structure aspect informatively and functional varied growth
actively. Sainsbury's model aims to reach varied structural goals by vivid range of
marketing and advertisements among new scale marketing yielding synergies, which
raises up potential market factors actively into business industries. Add supported model
also attracts more customers potentially among new approached market scenarios, where
there is wide scale of competition evolving wider profit targets into future scale
operations. This model has ben also identified to be optimistically expanding into varied
scope goals actively, generate new varied economy for keen business marketing
innovatively (Ritter and Pedersen, 2020). Add supported model also effectively generates
specific varied new imperative market scenarios for larger scale technical growth into
business infrastructure with high stability, functional varied evolving shift towards
vision oriented growth.
The above discussed digital business models will enable Sainsbury to raise up productive
business performance into wider scale targets, goodwill parameters and also to evolve towards
dynamic competitive markets (DIGITAL BUSINESS TRENDS FOR 2020, 2020 ).

3. Impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology
The collaborative relationships and strategic alliances that are formed by the use of
digital technology and platforms proves to be very useful for the companies leading to the
fulfilment of its objectives. These collaborative partnerships and the strategic alliances helps the
company in sharing of resources, assume benefit of synergy, gain economies of scale and
generates the overall profitability and growth prospects for the business. These relationships
being established by using the digital technology is yet better as these channels are more faster
and efficient for the company in terms of cost, errors and reach (Erdiaw-Kwasie and Alam,
2016).
Sainsbury's can also be positively impacted by using the digital channels as a means to
establish partnerships with other businesses. They can merge with companies having useful
resources, wider customer base, better brand positioning, high end technology and competitive
advantage in the industry (Battisti, 2019). These factors shall prove to be beneficial for
Sainsbury's and shall make the collaboration a successful deal.
Example:- Sainsbury's earlier fostered a collaborative partnership with Comic Relief which is a
charity NGO. This was undertaken to fulfil its CSR responsibilities and positively position its
brand in the society.
In the digital era the companies are forming digital partnerships in order to generate
innovation and increase the capacities and capabilities in the organization. Apart from digital
partnerships with the tech companies there can also be strategic alliances through the digital
platforms. Some major impacts of creating strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships with
the help of digital technology are:- Digital partnerships used for trend-setting- The digital partnerships can be used for the
purpose of trend-setting and creating an impact in the market. Such partnerships shall
foster creating digital value for the company as well as facilitate innovative developments
fulfilling the organizational objectives of the company (Hingle and et.al., 2019). Such
digital partnerships can also be beneficial for Sainsbury's which can effectively market its
products with the use of e-commerce techniques and also positively position the brands in
the market.

 Driving growth and success for the business- Tectonic shifts that take place in the
market are essential elements which are leveraged out to impact the business performance
and the level of customer satisfaction. In order to balance the situation the Sainsbury's has
to accomplish partnerships with other companies having stronger presence and offerings.
This shall drive growth and block the competition for the company making it successful
to survive in the market. Development of the economy- This is another impact that is caused with the help of
collaborations as facilitated by digital technology. A strategically right alliance that is
formed by the company leads to maximizing operational efficiency and increased
standards of living. This in turn contributes to the growth and development of the
economy. A developed economy shall further create lots of opportunities for the
Sainsbury's company. Helps in meeting the requirements of the changing business environment- The change
in the external environment also provides opportunities to the company that can be
capitalized upon through such strategic alliances. When a change takes place the first
mover advantage matters and that is sorted with the fast and efficient digital means
helping in building awareness for the same. Sainsbury's highly competitive market can be
tackled by forming such partnerships where the resources of other companies can be used
to develop competitive advantages (Smith, 2019). Avoid resistance to change- Many times the resistance to change is faced due to the fear
to meet with its after-effects that might be there or how to publicize such change. This
fear is overcome through the use of digital technology as it can be used to create general
awareness among the existing and the potential customers and since digital platforms are
faster and efficient.
 Generate competitive advantage- With the creation of such alliances it is possible for
Sainsbury's to create competitive edge over the competitors in the retail supermarket
chain. This can be done by taking cost advantage through economies of scale,
technological benefit, meeting up customer expectations and building customer
satisfaction etc.

These are some impacts that the business shall experience when they plan to form strategic
alliance with the digital technology. The collaborative partnerships shall assume several benefits
and develop the path of success for the business.
4. E-commerce principles
There can be certain e-commerce principles that can be applied by Sainsbury's business
to make it more innovative and capable. It can be used by the business to fulfil its dual motives
one can be attaining the customer satisfaction and the other is to maximize its profitability . In
today's digital era it is important for the business to utilize the various opportunities that are
provided by the technology like cost-effectiveness, wider coverage, uniqueness, faster and more
efficient marketing etc. These benefits can be assumed by the business if they follow the
generally accepted principles of e-commerce.
Some stated principles of e-commerce are:- User Friendliness- This is the most basic principle that must be followed by Sainsbury's
which is to optimize the website such that it is friendly for the use of its customers. The
website of the company must be easy to navigate, provide all relevant details of the
products and services offered and must specify fairness (Ribadu and Rahman, 2019).
Since online shopping has become the current trend posing more flexibility and
affordability for the customers, so the business should focus on capitalizing on it. Responsive- It has to be ensured by the business that the website is created in a way that
it is highly responsive to its customers and should be capable enough to address all the
consumer grievances. Apart from that Sainsbury's should focus on designing a website
with limited coding which does not take much time to load and is not difficult to operate. Unique design with minimalistic layout- In order to stand out in the competitive
environment the business should adopt unique styles of user interface which attracts the
buyers to Sainsbury's website. Eye-catching and unique patterns shall separate the
business from the rivals. But most importantly the layout must be minimalistic which
means that focus on the colour composition , redundancy of elements and space to not
make it clumsy. Knowing the target audience- Sainsbury's should plot its marketing on the website while
knowing its target audience and focusing on them (Chaffey, Edmundson-Bird and
Hemphill, 2019). The browsing must be made easy for the potential customers of the

company if they belong to less educated class of the society. Such efforts are appreciated
by the customers which facilitate their understanding. Feedback- A separate section welcoming the feedback, reviews, likes-dislikes should be
ensured by Sainsbury's. With the help of these feedbacks the business will become more
capable of meeting the customers expectations of the business. Many times such
suggestions becomes opportunity which can be utilized to take first mover advantage
related to the trend in the market (Sanchez-Segur, Dugarte-Peñ and Medina-Dominguez,
2021). Real time information- The website of the company must be such that is efficient enough
to provide real time information to the customers. The information can be regarding the
products and services that are offered, payment, additional requirements etc. Since in the
online mode direct contact is not established so the information provided must be
efficient that it gives equivalent benefit of the touch to the customers (Kwilinski and
et.al., 2019). All the doubts musty be cleared and proper understanding must be
facilitated.
 Digital payment and express delivery- Such online transactions are only worthy if they
save time and efforts of the customer. Sainsbury's grocery products are of daily utility
and such that the utilization cannot be delayed, so the website of the company must be
effectively optimized to provide proper payment options and also express delivery must
be ensured at the doorstep of the consumer in real time.
All these principles of e-commerce transactions should be followed by the Sainsbury's business.
Since Sainsbury's operate as a retail supermarket chain and sells the products which are of daily
use, so it can generate an optimized website such that flexibility could be provided to its
customers, and they do not need to move to their outlets to buy the products. Also since the
utility cannot be postponed by the buyer of the goods offered so its delivery should be fast and
efficient. Apart from that a factor that needs to be considered is that competition in the
supermarket chain is high so uniqueness and innovation can only generate traffic on the
company's website (Montealegre and Iyengar, 2021).

CONCLUSION
It can be summarized from the above project that digital business plays an efficient role
in today's era where it provides business with success, profitability, growth prospects and
competitive edge in the industry. It is essential for the businesses to technologically updated to
capitalize on the opportunities that are created in the changing business environment. It has been
observed that digital partnerships has positive impact on the business and builds path of success
for the business. It also shows that the various e-commerce principles if applied shall be
successful in generating traffic over the website of the company.

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