Technology and its impacts on e-commerce
Introduction
- General background on e-commerce
- Which parts of e-commerce this paper will be covering
- What interested us in choosing this topic
Background
- Revolution of e-commerce(significant event in history that sparked the e-commerce trend)
- Why the world is moving towards e-commerce
- how it affects our lifestyles
Issues
Pros
For consumers:
- Convenience
o Consumers no longer need to step out of their homes to purchase goods
o Transactions can be completed in the comfort of their homes
o Buying and selling 24/7
o Easily compare goods
- Increases variability of goods available for sale
o Boundaries of sale no longer defined
o Consumers are allowed to choose from a variety of sources
o Not limited to only their own country
o Global shipping, freight
o Consumers benefit from increased choices
o Goods can also become cheaper due to competition from a variety of sources
o Make more informed choices with feedbacks given by other buyers
For retailers
· Niche product retailers may find themselves having reasonable sales volumes than before
o Niche products usually in low demand in most retail stores due to exclusivity and price
o But with e-commerce, better exposure and opportunity to connect with more groups of people who wish to purchase such goods
· Logistical and administrative problems due to human errors are removed
o Transactions and business are done virtually
o Little or no human contact i.e salesperson
o Lesser chances of human error when doing invoices, etc…
o Accounts more easily managed as transactions occur using technology and not manually
o No need for receipts
· Establishing new business relationships and opportunities
o Ease of commercial transactions and communication
o Online advertising to boost sales
o Reach out to a wider consumer base
§ Sales volumes benefit
§ Profit margins rise
o Reach out to new business partners
§ Find new product manufacturers
§ Costs can be reduced in the short run due to wider pool of suppliers on hand
§ Find new business partnerships
§ Benefit the corporation in the long run
· Ease of starting up/maintaining
o No or low start up cost
o Can be started up immediately
o Low barriers to entry
o Low maintenance cost
Cons
Security
· Possibility of important information being stolen
o (Personal details and credit card information when making online payment)
· The site might not be the actual Company that users are actually looking for (Hoax)
Reliability and credibility
· Product scams (online frauds and misrepresentation of products and services)
· Biased reviews
· Advertisement placed on the web pages might be seen as in collaboration with the company
o Deemed as trustworthy but its actually virus
Competition (High-level)
· Other competitors are also venturing into e-commerce (low barriers of entry and minimal start-up costs)
· Physical shops are losing attractiveness in the market
The lack of human touch
· Valued Added Services might be compromised
Discussion and analysis
o Legal
- Copyrighting
o Economic
- Impacts to the company by bringing more profits or less
o Social
- Human touch
Future consideration (where we might go)
o Virtual fitting room
- Online fashion consultant
- Solutions for people who wants fashion advice
o Solve security issues of e-commerce and m- commerce
o TV innovation
- Combine Kinect software with iPad functions
Conclusion
Hey Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteVery good outline! This topic is very relevant, especially to SMU students who like to do online shopping :) One suggestion from me is the possible combination of this e-commerce with the newly invented Web 3.0 and how further convenience can be brought about.