For e-commerce, 2014 was a turning point. Global sales hit an all-time high of $1.3 trillion. Alibaba has become the largest IPO in the history of online commerce. The vast majority of US shoppers now prefer to shop online. All in all, it was a good year.
The year of ecommerce 2015 promises to be even more productive, with a projected 6.4% growth in sales turnover. Experts see market players striving to support this growth, and to do this, many companies are focusing on improving the overall customer experience and reducing complexity and inconvenience wherever possible.
This drive has identified five major e-commerce trends that will dominate ecommrece 2015.
- Creating a Responsive Design
66% of all time spent visiting e-commerce sites is spent on mobile devices.
At the same time, 61% of users are ready to immediately leave the site if it is not adapted for a smartphone or tablet. The preference for mobile applications is no longer new, but the rate of increase of this preference is enormous. This speed just explains the demand for site optimization not only for smartphones and tablets, but in general for a variety of screens - adaptive design is now an absolute priority.
Responsive design implies an improved user interface for browsing the site, the main principles of which are easy reading of textual content and simple navigation with at least the ability to scroll screens, pan and resize the window. Today, only 9% of the leading online stores have a responsive design, but this ratio is rapidly changing to meet the growing demands of users.
The benefits of responsive design include increased website traffic, increased user loyalty, and higher conversion rates. This simplifies the work with site traffic, which is optimized for key platforms, both stationary and mobile. In the absence of a single sizing template, multi-platform shopping will become even more popular, which is what many e-commerce brands are now striving for. To be honest, my company's website is in the 91% of ecommerce sites without responsive design. But we have set a goal to create it in 2015.
- Conclusion to the Apple Pay payment site
Tadaaaaam - last year Apple released a payment system for its "bricks". And, despite the fact that Apple Pay is still positioned as an in-store payment system (that is, operating within a single store), in the very near future it may become available to a wide range of online merchants.
Apple has already entered into agreements with network service providers such as Lyft, Uber and Airbnb, and these agreements involve long-term cooperation that is not limited to working with Apple devices.
If Apple Pay really decides to enter the e-commerce space in 2015, then this will provoke a certain change of players in the payment systems sector.
For merchants, this will mean easier payments, reduced costs for credit card transactions, and potential opportunities to participate in Apple's marketing programs - the obvious benefits are more than enough.
- Combined content + commerce
This year, more and more ecommerce sites are merging content and commerce to create lifestyle “spaces” that customers love to return to. In addition, high-quality content doubles the work of brand promotion and SEO tools.
A good example of following this trend is Etsy. The company does a great job of bringing the content and commercial part together, keeping a staff of artists and designers of various profiles to position and promote individual projects using their social media platforms.
This helped Etsy become more than just an online store - a kind of web space for users of various groups, ranging from ordinary people to artists who want to show their work, people interested in art and adherents of the bohemian lifestyle.
Birchbox is another great example of an ecommerce site that successfully creates high quality content and uses it for additional revenue streams.
The company's blog is filled with style advice that is at odds with publications from glossy magazines such as Cosmo and GQ. And there, in the blog posts, there is an opportunity to buy the items mentioned in the text, for example, a dress, a blouse or a watch. Here, content and commerce work together to achieve a single goal - to lead a site visitor to a purchase.
- Video Orientation
According to Cisco forecasts, by 2017, 69% of all user Internet traffic will be video content. And as customers become more responsive to visual presentations and prefer responsive templates, video can become the main and central way to showcase a product and its details - they will no longer be simple demos, but full-fledged showrooms.
The shift of visualization towards video is already showing a high ROI for the advertising industry, especially in the branded retail class. Many companies have already shown good achievements in this field.
Video is a great way to convey high-quality content to the user, which means a significant increase in average order conversion rates. Moreover, based on the trends of 2015 described above, it is necessary to focus on mobile video. Last year alone, 25% of all video views came from mobile devices, which is 19% more than in 2013.
Thus, as mobile devices become the dominant e-commerce platforms, merchants should also look into the use of video content across channels.
- Mastering full remarketing
The proliferation of mobile devices has triggered the emergence of an "always present" client. Sellers can now contact buyers whenever and wherever they are. Take Facebook, the dominant social platform, the average user views their feed up to 14 times a day. So Facebook provides an opportunity to drag a colossal mass of users to your site. As a result, the conditions for off-site resale and remarketing online merchants are now in the best possible condition.
That's why in 2015 merchants will stop looking at Facebook's ROI and start actively using it as a multi-channel marketing tool. Facebook itself fully supports the remarketing trend. Its sales jumped 50% at the end of 2014 and, together with mobile applications, accounted for 70% of the advertising turnover. Two years ago, this figure was only 23%.
Ultimately, the ecommerce trends of 2015 are driven by a steady improvement in the customer experience and streamlining the path to the purchase. This is exactly what will bring the turnover of online stores to a new level and significantly improve the performance of 2014.
- Original: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244085
- Translation: Tatyana Sinenko for
Every day, mankind is increasingly beginning to use information technology. To do this, it uses the Internet. Today, almost all organizations open their websites in this system. Do not stand aside and ordinary citizens. They start their own pages in various social networks.
The Internet is an open system with a wide audience that allows for completely new interactions between users. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that it began to be widely used for conducting electronic business. This is a completely new level of not only market and economic, but also socio-cultural relationships between organizations and people.
History of creation
It is an integration of legal entities and individuals who work in the field of e-commerce. All of them are united in a network of entrepreneurship. To date, such a system is being formed at the level of the entire global Internet.
What is e-commerce? Unlike e-business, this concept has a narrower meaning. It implies the use of the Internet as an information channel for the purpose of organizing business processes. In this case, there is no traditional "money-commodity" scheme. It is replaced by "information-information".
E-commerce is nothing but online shopping. Moreover, this type of activity appeared back in those days when mankind was not familiar with the Internet. It happened in 1979, when the American Michael Aldrich decided to link the computer and cable television into a single whole. To do this, he used fixed telephone lines. This technology allowed users to order a product that was shown on the screen. And only in 1990 Tim Behrens invented the first browser. After that, e-business and e-commerce began their rapid development. Thus, in 1992, Charles Stack opened the world's first online bookstore. Amazon.com launched in 1994 and E-bay in 1995.
The development of e-commerce in Russia can be characterized by the following stages:
1. 1991-1993 During this period, the Internet has been a means of communication only between scientists, technical centers, computer specialists and government organizations.
2. 1994-1997 At this time, the population of the country began to be actively interested in the possibilities of the worldwide network.
3. From 1998 to the present, electronic business and electronic commerce have been actively developing with the help of the Internet.
New opportunities
Enterprises that conduct their business along the traditional path are responsible for each stage of their activities. At the same time, they spend huge amounts of money on the development of the product and its production, further delivery and sale of finished products. The material and technical support of the entire implementation process also requires large financial resources.
But then came e-commerce. She began the gradual transformation of the work of enterprises into a network of virtual organizations. Moreover, each of the members of this community has the opportunity to concentrate their activities in the most appropriate areas. This made it possible to deliver the most complete production solution to consumers.
After the emergence of electronic commerce, business has received new opportunities. With the help of this modern tool it became possible:
Organization of video conferences;
- conducting online training;
- development of new marketing models;
- creation of business information environment systems;
- obtaining a variety of information;
- implementation of financial interaction;
- development of new relationships between companies based on electronic technologies;
- opening of new cheap channels;
- strengthening cooperation;
- support for alternative ideas;
- development of a new economy of production and purchase of goods.
The main tasks of trading on the Internet
The use of e-commerce involves:
- establishing preliminary contacts with potential suppliers, clients and customers via the Internet;
- exchange of documents created in electronic form, which are necessary for the implementation of purchase and sale transactions;
- sale of goods or services;
- pre-sale advertising of products and after-sales support of the buyer in the form of detailed briefings on the purchased product;
- electronic payment for the purchased goods using electronic money, transfers, credit cards and checks;
- delivery of products to the client.
Business-to-Business Scheme
There are different types of e-commerce. Moreover, their classification assumes the target group of consumers. One type of e-commerce is business-to-business, or B2B. Such interaction is carried out according to a fairly simple principle. It consists in the fact that one company trades with another.
Despite the fact that today there are other types of e-commerce, B2B is the most actively developing area with the best prospects. Thanks to Internet platforms, the entire trading process becomes more efficient and transparent. At the same time, a representative of the customer enterprise has the opportunity to carry out interactive control of the entire process of performing work, providing services or supplying goods. To do this, he uses the databases of the seller organization.
A feature of the business-to-business model is that in this case, e-commerce is impossible without a fully automated interaction of organizations to carry out entrepreneurial activities. And it has a very profitable prospect. While doing business in the B2B sector, the company simultaneously solves the problem of its internal management.
Trading platforms for the business-to-business scheme
In e-commerce, there are special places where transactions are concluded and related financial transactions are carried out. These are the trading platforms, which in this case are virtual. They can be created:
Buyers;
- sellers;
- by a third party.
Today, there are three types of trading platforms for the B2B model. This is an exchange, an auction and a catalog. Let's consider them in more detail.
The creation of a catalog contributes to the use of the search capabilities that modern information systems have. At the same time, the buyer has the right to compare and choose goods by price, delivery date, guarantee, etc. Catalogs are used in those industries where transactions for the sale of inexpensive goods are most frequent, as well as where demand is predictable and prices change very rarely.
As for the auction, this model of the trading platform is characterized by non-fixed prices. The final cost of the goods is established during the auction process. Auctions are used when the goods or services being sold are unique in their kind. These can be rare items or capital equipment, stockpiles, etc.
The third type of virtual trading platform - the stock exchange - differs in that the prices it offers are regulated by supply and demand, and therefore are subject to strong changes. This model is best suited for the implementation of common items that have a few easily standardized characteristics. The exchange is most attractive for those markets where prices and demand are unstable. In some cases, this model allows you to trade anonymously, which is sometimes important for maintaining competitiveness and price stability.
Experts predict good prospects for e-commerce using this model. First of all, such sales are beneficial to buyers. After all, trading takes place on a corporate commercial portal without the participation of intermediaries. In addition, such a trading platform is characterized by the work of one seller with a large number of buyers.
Recently, new varieties of sales models in the B2B sector have emerged. These are catalog systems that bring together several sellers. Electronic platforms are also starting to work, combining the features of an exchange and an auction. Such e-commerce reduces the time and financial costs of selecting and searching for the best products, as well as closing the deal between the buyer and the seller.
Business-to-consumer schema
E-commerce, built on the principle of B2C, finds its application in the case when the customers of the enterprise are not legal entities, but individuals. Usually this is a retail sale of goods. This way of making a commercial transaction is beneficial for the client. It makes it possible to significantly speed up and simplify the purchase of the thing he needs. A person does not need to go shopping. It is enough for him to study the characteristics of the goods on the seller's website, select the desired model and order the product, which will be delivered to the stated address.
Electronic commerce on the Internet according to the "business-to-consumer" scheme is also beneficial for the supplier. He has the opportunity to quickly track demand, while spending minimal resources on staffing.
Traditional online stores operate according to the B2C scheme. Their activities are aimed at one or another target group of consumers. Since 2010, the so-called social commerce has appeared and began to develop. It covers the scope of sales of services and goods in social networks.
One of the largest B2C enterprises is the American company Amazon.com. It carries out books and has more than a million customers in all countries of the world. Using the business-to-consumer scheme, the company equalized access to goods between customers from different countries. And it does not matter where the customer lives, in a large city or in a remote region.
Marketplaces for the business-to-consumer scheme
In the B2C sector, goods are sold through:
Electronic stores and malls;
- Web showcases;
- specialized Internet systems;
- auctions.
Let's take a closer look at these trading platforms. E-commerce by medium and small businesses, as a rule, is conducted through online stores. These virtual platforms are nothing more than company websites. A more complex structure is Internet series. They host several virtual stores at the same time.
E-commerce in Russia is often conducted through small Web storefronts. These malls are usually owned by small businesses. The main elements of such sites are catalogs or price lists, which describe the product or service itself, as well as a system for collecting orders received from buyers.
Online trading systems (TIS) are used by large holdings, companies and corporations. Such virtual platforms allow enterprises to improve the efficiency of the supply and sales service, as well as build the most rational supply chains to provide the production process with raw materials, materials, equipment, etc.
Many organizations use dedicated Web sites to conduct e-commerce. On them, any seller can put up their goods at the original price. Such Web sites are electronic auctions. Buyers who are interested in purchasing a product can specify a higher price for it. As a result, the seller makes a deal with the organization that is willing to pay more.
Scheme "consumer-consumer"
The development of e-commerce has led to the emergence of C2C transactions. They are made between consumers who are not entrepreneurs. In this e-commerce scheme, sellers place their offers on special Internet sites, which are a cross between a regular marketplace and newspaper ads. For example, in the US, this provider is ebay.com. This is a third party that allows consumers to conclude any transactions in real time. Moreover, they take place directly on the Internet and have the format of an electronic auction. The C2C model has become very popular today. At the same time, buyers are pleased with the prices for goods, which are lower than in stores.
Other schemes
What else can be electronic commerce? In addition to the most common schemes described above, there are several others. They are not very popular, but they find their application in a number of specific cases. Thus, the use of e-commerce became possible through the interaction of both legal entities and individuals with government agencies. This applies to filling out questionnaires and collecting taxes, working with customs structures, etc. Such forms of interaction became possible only with the development of Internet technologies.
A significant advantage of such an e-commerce scheme is to facilitate the work of civil servants and free payers from part of the paperwork.
Basic rules for entrepreneurs
Everyone who wants to have their own business based on information technology should know commerce. There are certain simple rules that should be a kind of multiplication table for any seller. Anyone who wants to become a winner in the competition must:
Create a user-friendly website optimized for search engines;
- turn your visitors into buyers;
- carry out marketing activities that will popularize the site on the Internet;
- analyze sales statistics.
Prospects for the development of e-commerce
Today in Russia there are certain factors that have a significant impact on the development of EC. Among them:
The large extent of the country's territory, which requires reducing the impact of currently existing restrictions on the sale of goods, which are associated with the remoteness of market entities;
- the importance of the increase for the merger of Russian business with the world's information and economic processes;
- the problem of reducing trade costs, which would allow our products to become competitive in the world market;
- the need for more thorough control over the sale of goods by enterprises themselves and fiscal authorities;
- the importance of the dynamic development of the technological base of organizations with the introduction of the most modern informatics tools.
The traditionally high level of higher education contributes to the development of EC in Russia. In addition, the country's financial authorities have already developed the latest banking technologies, the use of which makes it possible to carry out customer transactions. The security of e-commerce in Russia is ensured by the available technical solutions. They involve the use of tools that provide cryptographic protection of information provided by participants in virtual trading.
But in our country there are some problems of e-commerce. Thus, the process of development of virtual trade is significantly slowed down due to:
Low new for us market relations;
- imperfections of the legislative base;
- high degree of monopolization of the economy;
- insufficient development of commodity markets infrastructure;
- imperfections in the system of credit and financial relations.
E-commerce is a rapidly growing activity. What opportunities does it provide for entrepreneurs? What are its features and benefits? Find answers in this article.
What it is?
E-commerce is a new way of doing business that brings more profit, benefits and opportunities. There are no or few intermediaries between the manufacturer and the end user. The visitor enters the site, selects the product he likes and orders it. Then he receives it with home delivery. This is convenient for both the client and the entrepreneur.
Why e-commerce is a significant cost reduction?
With this type of entrepreneurial activity, existing costs can be significantly reduced. In particular, the number of intermediaries is decreasing, each of which wants to get its share. As a result, the final cost of goods is significantly reduced. So, the entrepreneur can use it for profit. One option is to significantly reduce the price of your product, thereby attracting more customers. Another option is to lower the price a little and use the rest of the difference for business development. For example, to carry out developments or to introduce new technologies into production.
Why is e-commerce profitable?
It is much easier for the buyer to go to the site and view all the information of interest to him in a relaxed atmosphere. It saves time, because he doesn't have to go to the store. It saves money because the price in the online store can be significantly less. No one rushes him, the buyer can safely make a choice. It is also beneficial for the entrepreneur. After all, he does not need to rent premises, equip a store, pay utility bills. Also, it is usually not required to hire salespeople. In some cases, you can use the services of an online consultant. But neither security nor payment for warehouses and other costs is required. Products are delivered directly from the manufacturer to the buyer, bypassing many intermediaries.
Where can e-commerce be used?
In various types of business. For example, if you are not the manufacturer of any product, you can act as an intermediary. You enter into an agreement with a company that manufactures any goods necessary for consumers. Next, you create an online store in which you provide comprehensive information about products and organize the acceptance of orders. You also need to think about the methods of payment and delivery of goods. The billing system (Master Card and Visa Classic) is considered the most reliable way to receive payments. However, to use such a calculation, a number of conditions must be met, which is not always possible. A method that many customers like is settlement upon receipt of the goods. You can also use electronic payment systems (WebMoney, Ya.Dengi, etc.). Much depends on what product you are selling. After all, the product does not have to be physical. Now information is highly valued. E-commerce is an opportunity to sell various courses, trainings and other materials.
We have released a new book, "Social Media Content Marketing: How to get into the head of subscribers and make them fall in love with your brand."
Electronic commerce is one of the components of electronic business, it includes trade and financial transactions carried out through electronic networks.
More videos on our channel - learn internet marketing with SEMANTICA
The English term E-Commerce refers to transactions for the purchase or sale using electronic means, doing business over the Internet.
Let's take a simple example of what e-commerce is on the Internet.
This phrase refers to everything related to business automation, organization and support of commercial transactions in the Internet space. Of the specific examples familiar to everyone, we can name sites for online booking of hotels, tickets, online stores.
However, it should be understood that E-Commerce is not limited to online trading. Income can be earned from commissions from transactions, data exchange and other options.
Categories
E-commerce on the Internet can be represented in the form of three directions. In some sources, two more are additionally distinguished.
- B2B "". Transactions are made between companies. The role of the Internet is to organize and speed up the processing of transactions. Players are not limited by resources, they can afford to use new developments in the banking and auditing sectors. We can say that the service sector is a strategic direction for the development of E-Commerce B2B.
- B2C Business Client. The main activity in this category is retail sales. B2C includes the following tools: online stores, servicing individuals and online education, online auctions, paid boards for posting ads online, trading on online exchanges.
- С2С "Client-client". The key reference points of this category are communication for the purpose of selling/purchasing goods or services. Tools: Internet auctions, consulting services, flea markets, exchange sites, tutoring services, freelance exchanges, .
- B2G Business State. There are common features with the first category, with the difference that the buyer here is government agencies. We are talking about tenders, public procurement, research on sociological topics. An example of a transaction is the production of social advertising. Various ministries, such as the Ministry of Emergency Situations, orders an advertising agency to develop an advertising campaign on a specialized topic.
- G2B "State-Business". This niche has room to grow. First, it has the weakest technical base. Secondly, technologies are designed to optimize the work, number and costs, which is important for the state apparatus. Thirdly, this is the weakest area in terms of built communications. To date, among the useful and promising projects can be called the introduction of electronic digital signatures, reporting in electronic form.
Types of e-commerce
Views are understood as the tools by which the players of the E-Commerce market interact.
The list of the most common and used looks like this.
- Sites-catalogs, aggregators of goods and services. Provide sellers with the opportunity to place for money, buyers open up many convenient functions for choosing, comparing, booking, etc.
- Internet auctions. The main function is to bring the service provider (seller) and the buyer together. They offer the tools necessary to conclude a transparent transaction, the mechanics themselves contain insurance against the risks of non-payment, delay, etc.
- Sites-distributors of films, literature on a paid basis. This view lies in the plane of digital and intellectual property.
- discount sites. Accumulate offers of suppliers of goods and services with a prerequisite - the provision of a discount.
- Online systems that accept payments for utilities, medical care and others.
- Electronic store. This trend direction includes a set of actions for the acquisition, payment, delivery of goods, implemented by systems with minimal human participation. You look at the range of goods on the site, then send purchases to a virtual basket, pay with a card.
Taking into account that the concept of E-Commerce includes not only the Internet, you can add a few more options.
- Sale of information. It includes subscriptions to online services and databases.
- Electronic banks. Appear along with traditional banking institutions, use all the necessary degrees of protection. By reducing rental costs, staff can offer better financial terms, such as lower interest rates on loans.
E-Commerce Issues
Any innovations require the preparation and development of a legal framework. Today there is a whole area of e-commerce risk management.
The main risks are determined by the problems that exist in the field of e-Commerce.
- Globalization. The very essence of e-commerce contributes to the reduction of distances, as it erases borders and helps to establish connections between any point on the globe. At the same time, the issues of intercultural communications, the culture of information consumption, the principles of doing business in different countries remain open and will always be relevant. What are the solutions? Increasing engagement and investment in business not only at the level of numbers, but also partnerships, learning languages, traditions.
- Issues of information security. Building a business through an online network requires well-designed and effective solutions to guarantee confidentiality. One of the ways is the use of system certification, access authorization.
- Copyright. With the electronic method of product distribution, it is necessary to study all aspects related to the protection of property rights. This is also a rather acute problem.
- Legal and tax field. Different legislation can serve as an obstacle. It is not always clear how to interpret transactions, in what jurisdiction to conclude. Features of taxation increase the list of items that need to be agreed and unified before the transaction takes place. A separate legal framework for e-commerce and the introduction of its standards into the laws of different countries can serve as a solution. Obviously, this takes time and resources.
- Features of the legislation of individual countries. In addition to the issues of processing transactions, there are also global legal acts of international and domestic trade with many restrictions, agreements, conditions. It is necessary to develop a program on how to transfer all this to online transactions and what this or that measure means in e-Commerce.
E-commerce is one of the most powerful engines for the development of technology and international business. It is in the interests of each country and company to contribute to the integration processes and simplification of procedures as much as possible.
History of the development of e-commerce
The first systems and methods of e-commerce owe their birth to the emergence of sales automation technologies and the introduction of automated corporate resource management systems. In 1960, the American companies American Airlines and IBM begin to create a system for automating the procedure for reserving seats on flights. Thus, the SABER (Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment) system makes air travel more accessible to ordinary passengers, helping them navigate the ever-growing fares and flights. By automating the process of calculating tariffs when reserving seats, the cost of services is reduced. This is the very first experience of creating an e-commerce system.
The e-commerce market has been developing most dynamically over the past 20 years, which is due to the rapid growth in the number of Internet users, the increasing influence of social networks and other interactive online platforms, the dynamic development of electronic payment systems, and the transition of leading web services from the Web 1.0 technology platform to the Web. 2.0.
Types of e-commerce
There are several generally recognized categories into which e-commerce is divided. As a rule, such a delimitation is carried out according to the target group of consumers.
B2B scheme or business-to-business
The principle of such interaction is very simple: an enterprise trades with another enterprise. B2B is one of the most promising and actively developing areas of e-commerce today. Internet platforms make it possible to significantly simplify operations at all stages, make trading more efficient and transparent. Often, in such cases, a representative of the customer's side has the ability to interactively control the order fulfillment process by working with the seller's databases. An example of a B2B transaction is the sale of website templates to companies for subsequent use as the basis for the design of the company's own web resource. Of course, this includes any interactions involving wholesale deliveries of goods or similar order fulfillment.
B2C scheme or business consumer
In this case, the company trades directly with the client (not a legal entity, but an individual). As a rule, here we are talking about the retail sale of goods. For the client, this way of making a commercial transaction makes it possible to simplify and speed up the purchase procedure. He does not have to go to the store to choose the right product: just look at the characteristics on the supplier's website, select the desired configuration and order the product with delivery. For a merchant, the possibilities of the Internet make it possible to track demand more quickly (in addition to saving on premises and staff). Examples of this type of trade are traditional online stores aimed at the target group of direct consumers of goods. In the late 2000s, the so-called social commerce began to develop, or the sphere of selling goods and services in social networks.
C2C scheme or consumer-consumer
This way of carrying out e-commerce involves transactions between two consumers, neither of which is an entrepreneur in the legal sense of the word. Internet platforms for such trading are something between a market-trade and a column of ads in a newspaper. As a rule, C2C commerce is carried out on Internet auction sites, which are becoming increasingly popular in our time. For customers of such systems, the main convenience lies in the slightly lower price of the goods, compared with its cost in stores.
In addition to the most common e-commerce schemes described above, there are several others. They are not so popular, but, nevertheless, they are used in some specific cases. We are talking about the interaction of both entrepreneurs and consumers with government agencies. Recently, many operations for collecting taxes, filling out questionnaires, forms for ordering supplies, working with customs began to be carried out using Internet technologies. This makes it possible to significantly facilitate the work of civil servants, on the one hand, and enable payers to get rid of a certain amount of paperwork, on the other.
Benefits of e-commerce
For organizations
- global scope
- Cost reduction
- Supply Chain Improvement
- Business is always open (24/7/365)
- Personalization
- Fast time to market
- Low cost distribution of digital products
For consumers
- Ubiquity
- Anonymity
- Large selection of goods and services
- Personalization
- Cheaper products and services
- Prompt delivery
- Electronic socialization
For society
- Wide range of services provided (e.g. education, healthcare, utilities)
- Raising the standard of living
- Boosting national security
- Closing the Digital Divide
- Online sale/ordering of goods/services reduces car traffic and reduces environmental pollution
Disadvantages of e-commerce
For organizations
- Possible doubts of the parties about the ownership of a particular project by the company (negative anonymity)
- Some difficulty in maintaining and legitimizing the activities of the enterprise on the Internet
For consumers
For society
- Attractive scam platform (lowering network security)
- Displacement from the market of commercial offline enterprises
For the state
- Shortfall in tax payments to the state budget when maintaining "gray" accounting schemes
E-commerce in the world
According to the agency Invesp.com, in 2011 the volume of sales in the field of e-commerce in the world is 680.6 billion US dollars. According to the forecasts of this agency, this amount will only grow, and by 2015 will reach 1.5 trillion. US dollars.
E-commerce in Russia
According to the research agency Data Insight, in 2010 the volume of the Russian e-commerce market will reach 240 billion rubles. Thus, online sales will account for 1.6% of the total sales of all Russian retail (on average in the EU this figure is 5.7%, and in the US - 6.4%). For individual product groups, the picture is somewhat different. In particular, about 12-14% of household appliances, electronics and books are sold via the Internet.
For 2011 in Russia there are about 30,000 online stores, most of which are located in the country's regions. According to statistics, about 10% of online stores are closed in Russia every year, but 20-30% of new ones are opened instead. The e-commerce market itself in the Russian Federation predicts its growth by 2 times over the next four years.
see also
Notes
| Internet | |
|---|---|
| Broadcasting | |
| Communication | |
| Information | |
| Business | |
