E-Commerce Lab | ZHAW Institute of Marketing Management IMM

The E-Commerce Lab is the leading competence center for digital sales in Switzerland. We conduct interdisciplinary and applied research projects and provide continued education for professionals in the area of e-commerce.

The E-Commerce Lab Framework

Consulting and projects

Recent studies

Contact

Research areas

The E-Commerce Lab conducts research according to academic standards on current topics in digital marketing and sales such as:

E-commerce/digital commerce
Cross- and omnichannel sales in B2C, B2B, and D2C
Services (e.g., virtual tours, configurators, live chat/chat bots, payment solutions)
Social commerce and live shopping
Cross-border e-commerce
Technologies and tools
Customer acquisition and -retention
Sustainability in e-commerce (e.g., re-commerce, sharing commerce, circular economy)
Challenges and success factors in e-commerce

The E-Commerce Lab Framework

The E-Commerce Lab Framework is a descriptive model that categorizes all elements of e-commerce as either “Digital Commerce Management”, “Processes & Instruments”, or “Infrastructure & Systems”. A further differentiation is made between “Digital Marketing” and “Digital Commerce”. We apply the E-Commerce Lab Framework to the complex issues of the fast-moving world of digital commerce, and it has proven an intuitive and powerful tool for our diverse activities in education, research, and consulting.

Detailed E-Commerce Lab Framework(PDF 71,8 KB)

Poster E-Commerce Lab(PDF 63,5 KB)

Consulting and projects

The E-Commerce Lab supports you in different aspects to strengthen and expand your business:

Contract research: outsource your company-specific research question.
Innovation projects: we provide insights and guidance for your product-, process-, or service innovation.
Academic studies: in collaboration with companies and associations we draft and conduct quantitative and qualitative studies on e-commerce and digital marketing.
Next-level e-commerce: together we take your e-commerce business to the next level.
Audit & consulting: we analyze the usability of your online shop as well as the market segments in your industry.
Second opinion: we develop independent expert opinions on critical business questions (e.g., marketplace integration, expansion, positioning)
Bachelor’s & master's theses: let our students tackle your e-commerce business challenges in a thesis.
Inhouse training: we provide well-founded know-how for your employees.