eCommerce is generally referred to as the selling and buying of products or services online with the transfer of cash transactions. Founded in 1994, eCommerce seemed like the future had finally arrived. People could purchase anything from the comfort of their homes and get the promised product. It is generally divided into four parts, namely, from consumer to consumer, business to consumer, consumer to trade, and business to business.
How E-Commerce Failed Initially?
eCommerce naturally posed a threat to other tangible businesses and their profits as it subtracted the middleman from the equation. Such a threat had to be dealt with immediately by other businesses to protect their businesses. These tangible businesses held on to large sums of money and hence began aggressively marketing themselves. eCommerce platforms however, do not spend much on online advertisements, let alone television advertisements. Therefore, the platform could not compete in the market. It has always been buried deep under the massive advertisement campaigns ran by other physical businesses. However, that was not the only reason for the failure of eCommerce. In the beginning, people who opted for the digital platform had almost no strategy. They would sell the wrong products, their pricing would be off, the shipping costs would be too high, the website would not be aesthetically pleasing, the product photography would be displeasing or that the products or services would lack in quality
The Rise of E-Commerce:
- Change of Guard
In the late 2000’s, as one would say, the old guard was replaced by the new one. Times as we know, changed dramatically. The target audience of middle-aged people, who preferred buying anything in person, was replaced by the millennials. Millennials have grownup loving technology. Most of their interactions happen over the internet. Most of the businesses failed to acknowledge them as serious audiences, while some of them capitalized on it, an example of a company that realized it was Amazon. In a survey held in 2019 by cuponfollow.com, over 60% of millennials their purchase online, whereas the number for retail store purchases has seen a sharp decline from 53% to 40%.
- Pandemic Attack
Sadly, this year has been marked with struggles already. The Corona Virus Disease 2019 or COVID19 has taken over the globe. Now, there is no cure for the disease as of yet, but there is prevention. Prevention methods include social distancing, washing your hands for 20 seconds or more, using hand sanitizers and facemasks. Living under the guidelines of social distancing, there has been an influx of online shopping. The United States of America alone has seen a 40% increase in eCommerce revenue in just these months. Now the pandemic has caused most of the businesses to close their doors, but since eCommerce platforms are online, it has been given significant room to grow. Online stores are focusing on increasing products visibility more diverse, such as groceries, medical supplies, general necessities are only a click away to cater to the needs of those stuck in their homes. Where once the sector lacked in getting demands, now the demand is so overwhelming that the businesses using eCommerce are focusing on increasing their supply chains. This is an example of how beneficial eCommerce has been to all of us trapped due to this pandemic.
- The Shift to the Digital Realm
As we have become technologically advanced, the new generation has focused all its attention on digital platforms. Where once it was a problem to market digitally, now there are so many options to market products and services easily. One such method is called social media marketing. Social media connects all human beings through the internet, and it would be a mistake not to utilize the target audience of billions. Social media marketers use various tools to find out what product or service a market under investigation needs and how to provide it to them with ease. Many old school businesses are now looking to hire a web development company. These companies are breathing in new life for old enterprises by developing aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly websites that target 3/4th of the planet. The problems face before by the eCommerce platform no longer exist; hence the platform no longer has anchors to weigh it down.
Final Thoughts
It is undoubtedly true, the eCommerce’s comeback is not a fluke, and it will only keep on growing. But the question is, have we learned from the mistakes of our past? Or are we going to create a new monopolistic behemoth that would inevitably cause a job crisis or, worse, eliminate creative innovators?
