E-commerce markets are growing at noticeable rates. The online market is expected to grow by 56% in 2015–2020. In 2017, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to 2.3 trillion US dollars and e-retail revenues are projected to grow to 4.891 trillion US dollars in 2021. Traditional markets are only expected to 2% growth during the same time.
E-commerce allows customers to overcome geographical barriers and allows them to purchase products anytime and from anywhere. Online and traditional markets have different strategies for conducting business. Traditional retailers offer fewer assortment of products because of shelf space where online retailers often hold no inventory but send customer orders directly to the manufacture.
Impact on employment
E-commerce helps create new job opportunities due to information-related services, software app, and digital products. It also causes job losses. The areas with the greatest predicted job loss are retail, postal, and travel agencies. The development of e-commerce will create jobs that require highly skilled workers to manage large amounts of information, customer demands, and production processes. In contrast, people with poor technical skills cannot enjoy the wages welfare. On the other hand, because e-commerce requires sufficient stocks that could be delivered to customers in time, the warehouse becomes an important element.
Impact on customers
E-commerce brings convenience for customers as they do not have to leave home and only need to browse e-commerce WordPress website online, especially for buying the products which are not sold in nearby shops. It could help customers buy a wider range of products and save customers’ time. Consumers also gain power through online shopping. They are able to research products and compare prices among retailers. Also, online shopping often provides sales promotions or discounts code, thus it is more price effective for customers. Moreover, e-commerce provides products’ detailed information; even the in-store staff cannot offer such detailed explanations. Customers can also review and track the order history online.
Impact on traditional retail
E-commerce has been cited as a major force for the failure of major U.S. retailers in a trend frequently referred to as a retail apocalypse. The rise of e-commerce outlets like Amazon has made it harder for traditional retailers to attract customers to their stores and forced companies to change their sales strategies.
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