What's the web ever done for us? (Part II)

4. Get people to shop when you want them to
Online shoppers don't stop going to the real thing and understanding more about them means you can push them into the store when it suits you. For example, by offering a customer you know works part-time the opportunity to save 10 per cent on their shopping between 2pm and 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon you can cross promote your services and populate the store during a quiet period.

5. Product Adjacency
Supermarkets didn't need the internet to work out that certain items belong on the shelves together. Some things are obvious - like salad and salad dressing. Others - like nappies and beer - are more incongruous.

What the internet allows retailers to do is refine this process. Virtual stores - unlike the aisles of a real store - don't dictate in which order you buy your goods. Learn online buying patterns and apply them offline.

6. Seasons in the sun
Conventional wisdom in the publishing world tell us July and August are dead months. We have a name for it. In the 'silly season', there's no news and very few readers (they're all on holiday, didn't you know). Print publishers drop pages, some drop issues.

Meanwhile, online publishers thrive. For the last three summers July and August have been two of silicon.com's busiest months of the year. Same demographics, more traffic. And if more people are reading online, are we sure they're not reading in the same numbers offline too?

To return to lessons one to three, click here http://www.silicon.com/a48676

Sources: Jack Aaronson, former director of personalisation, barnesandnoble.com; Clive Humby, chairman of consultancy, dunnhumby