Social Implications of E-commerce

Impact on Business & Society

By trading online businesses open up themselves up to a global marketplace. E commerce has allowed instant penetration into all marketplaces. Traditional stores must change their methods of business to stay competitive. People / business must also now have computing equipment and internet access to engage in e-commerce. As e-commerce takes over, store closures may lead to a loss of jobs in the retail industries. Small traditional shops that are hybrid businesses are threatened out of business by large hybrid companies that are based in shops and online.

Changing Customer Perspective

Some people do not trust this form of trading because of potential identity theft, items not being delivered and credit card fraud stories. To attract more customers, e-commerce sites try to change the customer's perspective by: *Offering goods that are not available in the high street at lower prices *Offering services such as 24 hour delivery *Being accessible 24/7 for the customers home *Assuring security of transactions by the use of technology. The company should use a digital certificate, for the customers to view to reassure them that they are browsing a secure website.

Bricks & Clicks

The division of traditional high street trading and online businesses has lead to this terminology in order to distinguish between the two. Some businesses are only based in shops (Bricks), whereas some businesses are based in shops and online, example, computer stores.

Economic & Social Impact

Trading by e-commerce allows businesses to react more quickly than traditional businesses. It attracts customer's attention from around the globe. People who stay at home all the time to buy things off E-commerce sites are less likely to physically buy things from the high street, and therefore are less likely to interact with other human beings. This also reduces social skills, but makes the user more computer literate.