The History and Evolution of E-Commerce

E-Commerce is defined as the buying and selling of goods over the internet particularly the World Wide Web. So how actually did e-commerce come about?

It all started in the late 1970s, when technologies such as the Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer allowed users to exchange business information and make electronic transactions. This allowed organizations to send commercial documentation electronically.

In 1991 when the internet was opened for commercial use, many companies started their own company websites where they started selling over the internet.

Internet popularity increased among the public in 1994. However, rapid access and persistent connection only developed after approximately four years through the development of security protocols (HTTP) and DSL. In year 2000, a large number of companies started providing services through the World Wide Web. Although the dot-com collapse in 2000 led to the disappearance of many e-commerce companies, people and organizations started to recognize the many advantages of e-commerce. By the end of 2001, the B2B model has became the largest form of e-commerce.

E-Commerce then continued growing and by year 2007, it has accounted for 3.4 percent of total sales. At present,there are 5 leading and most well-known world wide internet retailers: Amazon, Dell, Staples, Office Depot and Hewlett Packard.

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.dell.com.my/

http://www.staples.com/

Now that we know the history of E-Commerce, let us move on and take a glance at the past, present and future of E-Commerce.

In the past..

E-Commerce began as an activity solely for business. With the introduction of the Electronic Data Interchange, companies can now trade without having any face-to-face contact. However, the cost of EDI is high and thus, it fails to support the need of organizations. In 1984 the ASC X12 was adopted where it enables full communication between any EDI supported companies. The introduction of the internet to mass markets marks the beginning of e-commerce in mass markets. This changed the role of e-commerce from wholesales to retail. With the growing popularity of the internet, business have to admit the importance of online shopping. From a humble start, e-commerce has revolutionized the world of wholesale and retail and is continuing to develop with businesses ever searching for new ways to meet the needs of the online market.

Now..

The number of internet users are ever increasing. Technology plays an important role in how people shop online. The introduction of Netscape in 1994 and Internet Explorer has revolutionized e-commerce. With more and more browsers having systems that show videos, graphics and audio, internet shopping is now much more convenient.

In the future..

There would be no long lines at the cashier, invisible shopping carts and less traveling to malls. All thanks to the evolution of e-commerce. Shoppers would be able to find their desired items through a new advertising technology called narrowcasting. Narrowcasting allows the user to enter their desired items with additional information and then produces a list of results found based on the inputs. Other improvements such as quantum processors which enables the computer to move twice as fast and the HDTV which enables users to purchase their TV sets online also shapes e-Commerce.

Thus, e-commerce will continue to develop from time to time with the advancement in technology and the increase in the number of internet users. Who knows maybe one day all transactions would be made online and there would not be anymore shops and malls? Everything is possible!