These electronic malls offer a variety of attractive services, but putting a store into a mall on the Internet is not the same as putting one into a mall in the suburbs. Merchants need to consider the differences in deciding whether an Internet mall offers value to them. Most electronic malls have attempted to carve out a market space either as a comprehensive mall or as a specialty mall serving a specific geography or product segment. The common denominator has been that the mall operator puts your company on the Internet and takes care of everything for you. The operator provides the domain name, creates a Web site, lists your site in search engines, and markets your site throughout the Web.
Some operators even offer transaction services.
The argument for becoming part of an electronic mall is that the mall provides services similar to those that found at suburban malls. The belief is that online shoppers would frequent these malls, creating significant demand for each merchant. Merchants would have a constant source of prospects. Their startup would be quick and inexpensive. They would not need to invest in equipment or lines, nor would they need to learn the technical complexities of operating an electronic storefront.