Definition: Pure Player

Pure Player : Definition

The expression Pure Player designates a company that concentrates all its commercial activity on the Internet. Unlike Brick and Mortar and Click and Mortar, a Pure Player does not have a physical point of sale.

The best known of all is Amazon. Rakuten (ex-PriceMinister), La Fourchette, Vente-privée or Digitick are also Pure Players. Social networks and media that do not have a paper version can also be considered as such.

Pure Player : Origin

The expression Pure Player is a false anglicism coming from “Pure Play”. Originally, a business was considered a Pure Player when it operated in a single industry.

Today, its definition has become more specific since a company is considered as Pure Player when its business is exclusively based on the web. This transition is notably due to the major development that the Internet has experienced in recent years. In French, we can also talk about “everything online”.

Pure Player: A real turning point for retail

The emergence of Pure Player has caused a real revolution, both among consumers and among Brick and Mortar. The development of e-commerce has brought about a change in consumption patterns: customers now have new expectations and have become more demanding.

For Brick and Mortar, the emergence of Pure Player is above all synonymous with rivalry. Faced with the growth of e-commerce platforms with advantageous services (delivery within 24 hours, speed of purchase, large stocks, attractive prices…), Brick and Mortar -and in particular the big brands- have no other choice than to launch their online activity. And for good reason: in 2017, 67% of French people made purchases on the internet.