Online Shopping

Online shopping

Introduction

Electronic commerce on the Internet will , before the end of the century profoundly redefine many basics of business . A fundamental new rule for business is that the Internet changes everything . Internet-driven electronic commerce is essential for organizations entering a virtual distribution marketplace and wishing to survive in it

Just as "location , location , location " defines value in real estate , in business today it 's connectivity that equals competitiveness . Many Information Superhighway enthusiasts believe that networks of small firms or individuals constitute a new organizational form that will

prove its superiority to both large , hierarchical corporations , on the one hand , and anarchical market relationships , on the other . Millions of consumers and businesses are waiting in line to participate in the expansion of intergalactic and gigantic virtual marketplaces . Most organizations now must compete in two marketplaces : a physical (traditional ) one and the emerging electronic one , mediated by the Internet . The electronic highway is not merely open for business it is relocating , restructuring , and literally redefining business in America

The Internet and electronic commerce have captured our imagination by giving us new dreams of success and power . The Internet as a market can be compared to the Mediterranean Sea . Only if you navigate it with the right ships are you able to reach your new trading partners . The issue is not how much revenue companies are extracting from the Internet but how much efficiency they are gaining from it .Within a virtual market the real world truly is irrelevant , and the invisible hand becomes a blind hand , with no reason to take account of how it affects other people , or future generations

The rapid expansion of the Internet in the late 1990s led to explosive growth in electronic commerce (e-commerce ) - the exchange of goods and services over the World Wide Web . Industry analysts reported that North American business-to-consumer e-commerce transactions grew from 11 .5 billion in 1998 to 44 .5 billion in 2000 . E-commerce follows the same basic principles that traditional commerce follows - that is , buyers and sellers exchange and transport goods from one place to another . But in e-commerce , the exchange is facilitated by networked computers . Buyers goods and services online . They track the status of their s via electronic mail , and in some cases , they receive the goods they purchase directly over the Internet . Computer software , digital music and video , online information , and other products and services can all be distributed in electronic formats . In other cases , products ed online are delivered using traditional shipping methods

At the close of the 20th century , retail transactions made up the largest part of e-commerce . Consumers purchased computers , airline tickets , hotel rooms , automobiles , clothing , electronics , books , event tickets , food , furniture , and countless other commodities over the Internet . Business-to-business commerce represented one of the fastest growing segments of e-commerce . Businesses ed supplies and coordinated complicated projects electronically

Services comprise 65 percent of the GDP . In this sector , financial and business services are the most important , followed by wholesale and retail trade...