Selection and delay risks threaten to waste customers time and incur opportunity costs. Customers usually confront selection risk when they go to a store seeking to purchase a specific product. Limited shelf space or delayed restocking may mean they will not have a satisfying range of options from which to choose. But electronic commerce can also reduce customers selection risk for physical stores, by allowing them to review the selection they will encounter on the shelves prior to making the trip to the store. Revealing information about the inventory status also helps customers manage their delay risk the risk that a product or service will not arrive or be available in a timely manner.
Many electronic storefronts reveal whether the product is instantly available or back-ordered.
This electronic inventory access, and the tracking information provided by today s delivery services, helps customers manage delay risks. The multimedia capabilities of the Internet and other eCommerce technologies also provide a rich medium for providing information and instructions on the safe use or assembly of a product. This serves to reduce the risks of physical injury. For example, pharmaceutical firms are now using the Internet to provide detailed information on potentially dangerous drug interactions, appropriate dosages, side effects to watch for, and other guidelines for the safe use of their products. Finally, companies can reduce their customers financial risks in the electronic environment.