This case study dealt with Shell Canada’s efforts to create a self-service eBusiness solution for their Fuel and Lubricant sector, in order to provide better prices to its polarized customer base.

Shell Canada had found that in recent years its custom base polarized into two groups: Transactors and Progressives.

The Transactors consisted of about 95% of the customer base and were price-sensitive customers who looked at Shell’s offerings as a commodity. They were interested in price per liter and price per transaction and not in value added services

The Progressives were not considered price-sensitive customers and were interested in loyalty and value added services from Shell. They looked at Shell’s offerings on a price per unit of output basis, and thus considered the value added services to add notable value to their business.

As a result in this progression, Shell Canada launched its online store called eStore for its customers, in 2002. The objective was to keep costs low by having a self-service technology so that agricultural customers can buy their products without the need for a sales-representative. The statistics from eStore showed even though the number of customers who signed up for eStore was close to target, the number of customers who actually used eStore remained low. The problem seemed mainly due to the fact of customers experiencing difficulty with the service, and sales-flow.

According to customers’ feedback, many encountered various technical problems when they tried to place orders. Others just preferred traditional methods of buying what they needed, while the remaining group were simply unaware of eStore. It is evident that the low number of purchases completed through eStore is highly related to these issues, and particularly the websites technical issues. If prompt actions are not taken to address these issues, Shell Canada may