E-Commerce: The Ways of the
Future
In the twenty-first century, a wave of
events has occurred in term of our technological advancements. From our phones
allow us to see each other while being many miles apart to our watches can
calculate our heartbeats, we are grasping more and more ways to benefit from
technology. As more and more things become easily accessible due to technology,
more people are beginning to find a certain niche that appeals them to use one
of these many advantages. An aspect that is certainly gaining popularity for
tech savvy people would be using the Internet for shopping, or better known as
E-commerce.
E-commerce, short for electronic commerce,
is the act of diffusing goods, services, or funds via the Internet. Relayed by
Mark van Ketel and Tim Nelson (2005), “These
business transactions occur either business-to-business, business-to-consumer,
consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-business.” In layman’s terms, it is any act
that involves receiving or giving some type of good through the Internet. It is
something that many people utilize, but find so common, they don’t think of it
outside of online shopping.
Considering
that the goods being promoted are typically available twenty-four seven, many
find ecommerce a very beneficial business. it allows for customers to always
have a way to find your product, verses having to actually leave and view
something else. This is a possible point that many may notice as sales are
shifting from actual retail to e-tail, at rates faster than predicted said
Smith (2014). Viewing graphs relating to the future of retail, it brought to
our attention that retail sales are increasingly fluctuating between 15 and 40
percent compared to the decline seen in stores. This shows that e-commerce is a
growing business, something that could possibly have a great affect on our
workforce in the future.
With
everything that comes from the web as a catch twenty-two, there are a few
things that may give many red flags. Unless it is from a company that has both
an online and physical vendor, e-commerce is pretty much instinct game. A
person is giving a website, or electronic retailer, information as important as
home address and credit card information.
These are both two valuable aspect that could put said buyer at risk for
danger.
Also,
when utilizing e-commerce, a person is losing slightly more for the comfort of
ordering something from the luxury of their home. They can no longer actually
view or examine the product in person, a delayed time of arrival is given, and
again, instinct must come into play as an e-commerce site can be brought forth
by almost anyone and its determining the good verses the bad (Khurana).
I
believe that because the Internet is such a huge part of life right now, we
utilize it in every way possible. What I believe to be one of its biggest
factors is its ability to get us any and everything. Think for second, we have
the ability to order things from groceries to cars, and that’s a wide spectrum.
A lot of people don’t go online attempting to understand the business they are
helping grow through their purchases and it is pretty amazing to see the
positive outcomes of that. And although there are a few scattered
disadvantages, I believe shopping with trusted sites and e-tailers will benefit
any and everyone in the long run.
E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC). (n.d.). Retrieved
November 8, 2014.
Khurana, A. (n.d.). When Ecommerce Isn't So Great. Retrieved
November 8, 2014.
Smith, C. (2014, October 20). E-commerce and the Future of
Retail: 2014 [Slide Deck]. Retrieved November 10, 2014.