The effects of electronic technology

Blockbuster 's lead (Hoult , 1969

Electronic shipping is only a small part of the revolutionary changes taking place in retailing . Electronic shopping is also quickly penetrating the retail market , threatening the jobs of tens of thousands of sales clerks , managers , stock personnel , maintenance crews , security guards , and others who make up the retail employment complex . Many industry analysts are convinced that electronic home shopping will take over more and more of the nation 's 1-trillion-per-year retail market . A Forbes article called the new revolution in retailing a serious threat to the

country 's traditional retail industry to the nineteen million people it employs (Hoult , 1969

The corporate dream of turning the whole world into a global shopping paradise is also near at hand . Not only have Coca-Cola and Marlboro become universally recognized brand names through massive corporate advertising , but global retailers such as Procter and Gamble , Philip Morris , RJR Nabisco , Kellogg , General Motors , Sears , Unilever , Pepsico Nestle , and McDonalds have been spending billions of advertising and promotion dollars each year to create a steadily expanding global market based on mass consumption . The strategy is to sell the same things in the same way everywhere with little or no regard for local customs tastes , or cultural or religious differences . Giant retailers such as Wal-Mart have led the way with development of a chain of superstores designed to sell the largest range of retail consumer goods (food clothing , hardware , furniture , pharmaceuticals , and so on ) in cities and towns throughout North America . Using a variety of tactics ranging from law-wage part-time employment , misleading advertising , predatory pricing , competition law violations , and coercive sourcing from suppliers , Wal-Mart has managed to force local merchants out of business and , in some cases , create ghost towns . Now the most aggressive giant retailer in the world , Wal-Mart has plans...