E-commerce

Have you ever wanted to go shopping, but you didn’t have anyone to watch the kids? What about wanting to go shopping, but the store isn’t in your hometown? E-commerce can help in these situations. More and more people are turning to the internet to do their shopping. It is convenient because you never have to leave the house, and you have a larger selection of things to choose from. Example, here in Little Rock we don't have a Macy's or Nordstrom’s. You can shop both these stores online and order whatever you find. While most shopping is still traditional, "e-commerce revenue represents about 5 percent of all retail sales in the U.S. and there is tremendous upside potential for growth." (pg. 313, MIS textbook)
E-commerce has many aspects that makes if different and better that traditional shopping. The textbook describes e-commerce as ubiquitous. This basically means that the t is available everywhere! You can reach the internet from your home, work, or even car! This creates a huge marketspace. Another great things about e-commerce is that it has universal standards. The standards for the internet are basically the same world wide. This aspect of e-commerce lowers the market entry cost. With e-commerce you have an unbelievable about of product differentiation, and it is easy to comparison shop! E-commerce opens a consumer up to the world! A person in the United States could easily shop in Paris from their living room, in their pajamas! How cool is that?
E-commerce has entered into our daily lives in one way or another. There are three different types of e-commerce; business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and consumer-to-consumer. Can you tell which one the group members have experienced?
Group member Lori said, “I like to shop on e-bay. I can find everything I need right there, and the prices are unbeatable!” If you guessed consumer-to-consumer, you got it!
When group member Renita was asked about e-commerce she replied, “ I love shopping online. It is very convenient, I have small children and getting to the mall or other stores is not always an option. So being able to get online and buy what I want or need is perfect. I shop at a lot of stores that we don't have here. So many people are looking for convenience these days and the stores have made it easy for us. Also with the Black Friday (Day after Thanksgiving) sales coming up a lot of people will be shopping online rather than going to stand in long lines at the store.” Did you guess business-to-consumer? This is what group member Justin had to say, “Not only people shopping online, but businesses as well. My civilian job is with Best Buy. I know first hand that all of the ordering is done by computers now. When something gets low on stock the computer system recognizes that it needs to order more. The funny thing about this way of doing business is that it doesn't take people anymore, it is done by the "all powerful computers." Doing business this way can be very useful, but it can hurt the company as well if it is not carefully monitored by employees. What I mean is that, you need someone dedicated to inventory. Having someone dedicated to inventory gives you the peace of mind that the computer system is correct and it also helps with loss prevention.” That’s it, business-to-business! Group member Brittney said, “ I get to experience all three types! I love shopping online at Buckle and Victoria Secret! I live over an hour away from either of these stores, so online shopping is the key. I also find good deals on textbooks through e-bay’s half.com. I have also bought parts for my job through other online companies. E-commerce is great!”
These are just a few examples of how e-commerce can affect your life. Have you thought about how it affects yours? It provides more options, saves time, and sometimes even money. Take a minute to think about where you would be without e-commerce. Don’t worry though, e-commerce is not going anywhere, only growing!