Advancements in technology have reshaped the way we behave as consumers. Today’s commerce is turning digital. Consumers are becoming more aware of electronic commerce and the security concerns that come with e-commerce. This study will outline the differences of traditional commerce and electronic commerce, and how and why it is changing the market place. A survey was also completed, a sample of 66 undergraduates. Showed a positive outlook on the future of e-commerce. A little over half “57.8%” responded saying they still find it difficult to spend a vast amount of money while purchasing a good online. This paper will outline the pros and cons of e-commerce, traditional brick and mortar businesses and consumer behavior.
Introduction
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Research in ecommerce and consumer behavior will help me better understand the market and my future customers. To complete this study, I have collect data and information from journal articles, newspapers and other media.
I feel there is room for more successful online businesses and in the future, I personally want to compete in the online marketplace. Building customer relationships and trust is hard for any business. Most of studies that I have look at shows consumers react to security, mainly processing payment and personal data online. I question if a consumer security concerns decreases when shopping at a well known brand such as Walmart.com and if the same applies for any online brand that gives an impression that they are a million dollar company even though they are actually a mom and pop store from a small suburb.
Literature Review
Internet access is practically everywhere in the United States, schools, restaurants, libraries, retail stores, and even in random parts of some towns sometimes providing free Internet access. The emergence of ecommerce resulted to increased competition among businesses and is changing the traditional brick ¬and¬ mortar businesses to an online based operations as a strategy to remain competitive (Hahn, Doh & Bunyaratavej, 2009, p. 12). Online sales only made up 5.7% of retail sales in 2013. In 2005 2.4% of sales came from online
According to MarketLine, the world online retail market expanded by almost 18% in 2010 and is predicted to reach close to $435 billion in sales. The market is expected to reach a 90% growth by 2015 and exceed $827 billion in sales. Listed in an article “Ecommerce Growth Statistics”, the average amount spent by each consumer is expected to rise from $1,207 per year to $1,738 per person by 2016. That is a significant increase. That shows that people prefer to shop online than going to the actual store in today’s society. Shoppers will spend on an average of $327 billion online shopping in 2016, which is about 45% from $226 billion in 2012. It is very evident that consumers will drive ecommerce into the future; especially e-retail. In just a few years, purchases online will be more profitable than ever, with others products and services available to purchase such as mobile and social allowing consumers to shop to their convenience. For retailers and
The definition of E-Commerce or E-Tailing is replacing the traditional relationship of buying and selling in person or the phone with the use of the Internet, Smart Phones and networking. The more people that use the Internet regularly, the more Internet commerce increases. This causes a continual loop of improvements and innovations of which businesses must be aware. Most economists see e-commerce as a market segment that leads to intensive price competition and consumers armed with greater knowledge. E-commerce has changed business models globally, and allows customers to engage in the process of shopping either online or to a destination. Brick and mortar stores do have a conundrum do you want traffic into the store, or do you want the sale based on ease of shopping and/or convenience? (Eisingerich).
The Internet has changed the way we do virtually everything, including the way we shop. However, shopping is not the only thing that has changed. In the last decade we have changed the way, we apply for loans, study, and even plan a vacation. Doing any of these things would have been impossible a few decades ago. At present, online banking, paying bills, ordering new services, and shopping online have become part of our daily lives. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores have been around much longer than online stores, but we cannot deny that online shopping is giving the traditional stores competition. Many consumers still choose to shop at regular brick-and-mortar stores because they like to see and
Online markets and ecommerce growing by the second in every region as consumers enjoy the convenience more than ever.
With the evolution of modern technologies, consumers around the world are adopting those which are more favorable and easier to them. With the advent of internet around the globe there have been many trends which have been set in real world. From little daily routines to high class business routines, internet has its prominent role. Some of them are really productive and favorable and some of them are de-productive and does not play any good for the world. One of the influential changes which have been prominently observed from recent years is the drastic growth of online shopping trends. The word of concern is that online stores are getting main stream over the stores present in shopping malls.
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, refers to “buying and selling processes that make use of electronic technology” (Ebert, 274). With the development of technology, e-commerce becomes increasingly popular and affects traditional retail sales negatively. More and more people would like to buy and sell goods and services through internet. The statistic from Adobe Systems Inc., in 2017 “e-commerce sales are up about 17 percent,” conversely, “the number of people visiting U.S. stores on Thanksgiving and Black Friday fell 4 percent from last year” (Nassauer and Stevens). By considering this percentage, e-commerce has more competitive advantages than the traditional retail industry as it provides customers a more efficient and cheaper way to shop, increases businesses profits by reducing total company expenses, and leads to domestic economic stability and growth.
Shopping has become easier to do now that almost everything is electronic. When it’s time to go back to school shopping, all you have to do is hop on the computer and find what you need, and have it delivered to your home. This makes it easier for parents with small children or even parents who live in Weatherford away from major shopping centers. Brick and mortar shopping took place in a storefront only; so, if you were looking for something specific and they didn’t have it, you would have to order it online and ship it to the store anyway. Now that stores have decided to utilize the internet people can do the ordering from the comfort of their own homes. My hypothesis is that online shopping will make brick and mortar shopping obsolete. While there are benefits to shopping online, there are also many downsides which will be discussed later on.
How much did U.S. consumers spend on-line in 2014? According to the website Internet Retailers, consumers spent almost $300 billion in 2014. That was an increase in 15.4% over 2013 sales. 2013 sales totaled close to $265 billion (internetretailer.com). Today technology is business. E-commerce is big business. In the discussion I will state how e-commerce impacts consumers in many areas. First, I will define e-commerce. Then, I will discuss the advantages and disadvantage of e-commerce. Next, I will discuss hosting an e-commerce site for a small on-line business. This paper will focus on capabilities and costs for creating an e-commerce site. In addition to the capabilities and the costs the hosting sites, I will examine their tools and offerings. Lastly, this paper will indicate which choice was made and an explanation of that choice.
Increasing number of online shoppers causes worries to the other competitors that do not provide online service. Online shopping appears to be more attractive as they provide cheaper goods and almost the same quality as those who own the shops. Marketers who do not
Internet customers’ expect to have 24/7 service that is quick and easy with little to no contact with human members of staff. Speed is key. Maintaining a quick and high performing website is integral to ecommerce success, particularly during high demand times. Internet customers will become frustrated quickly if access is slow or not attainable and so will give up and try another rival business due to the ease of being able to visit multiple competitors within minutes. Surveys have shown that customers get frustrated with e commerce sites due to pop up adds, difficulty with finding specific items, service isn’t as good as in the actual store and the service isn’t personalised. For ecommerce businesses, customer expectations have become very high. They want cheaper products, in good condition with a quick delivery time and good customer service if they were to come into contact with an employee.
Online shopping is slowly but surely dismantling the way Americans have shopped for decades. Ease of use, lack of annoying salesmen and a lower price point are all reasons consumers are shifting from the other mediums of shopping. Online shopping, over wise known as E-Commerce is when shoppers search the internet for the best prices or stores that offer the best online shopping experience and have the items they want shipped directly to their front doors. Some strengths and weaknesses include:
The electronic shopping industry is developing with great interest due to technological advances as business develop new ways to attract and retain consumers on their platforms
Popularized by websites like Amazon and eBay. Online shopping and the virtual store may be the future of all business. Online shoppers spent an estimated 126 billion in the U.S. alone in 2013. Seeing exponential growth in coming years, Many major retailers have already made efforts to set up online shops. Retail juggernauts like Walmart and Target have thrown their hats into the online arena with websites of their own. Many more entrepreneurs have begun creating entire businesses online.
The internet has significantly impacted the retail industry: A qualitative & quantitative analysis of Amazon online shopping & Wal-Mart retail stores
Of course consumers’ concern toward e-shopping is not only about time and cost. Some psychological aspects, such as information uncertainty and transaction security, have been playing an important role in dominating consumers’ e-shopping behavior, and have been even more widely discussed in the literature. However, ecommerce continues to advance, in speed and security in particular, it is generally believed that online information will be to a great extent improving both in quantity and quality in the near future. By that time, consumers’ negative perceptions towards e-shopping, such as information uncertainty and transaction security, may fade away. If this is going to be true, then consumers’ psychological concern over e-shopping may gradually be disappearing in the future.