People buy and use one product or service over another
             because they find it somehow to their advantage to do so (it may cost less, be of better quality, easier to access, and purchase over the Internet). In today's increasingly competitive business environment-more consumers, more products, more distribution channels, more producers-our company, Crazi-D Music Store must thoroughly understand the marketing function if they want to be able to challenge their rivals and maintain a solid customer base.
             Internet retailing or "e-commerce," has grown from zero sales in 1990 to an estimated $100 billion projected for 2005 ($15 billion in consumer sales, the rest in business to business sales). At one level e-commerce is nothing more than catalog retailing using a computer. But in other respects it offers new opportunities for both sellers and buyers. Many major retailers have come to see that it is important to have a presence on the World Wide Web, not only for sales but also for sales support, customer relations management, and brand-name development. Consumers benefit by gaining both increased access to goods and services and better control over when, where, and how they will shop. There are an increasing number of Internet-based firms that specialize in comparison shopping for retail customers; in exchange for information about the consumer, they will locate the best price for goods or the best rate for services.
             Our marketing department has conducted a four-state telephone survey on customer responses to purchasing music and electronic equipment on the Internet. The questions that were asked are:
             § Do you purchase items over the Internet?
             § Do you purchase music/electronic equipment on the Internet?
             § Were you satisfied with the customer service attitude of the company you were buying from?
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