Page 416 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

404 12 Implementation Issues: From Globalization to Justification, Privacy, and Regulation

Note: According to Ranger (2016) the battle over privacy 5. In-store pickup will save the large retail chains (as in the
technologies could define the future of the Web. case of Target).
6. Competitors will create Amazon Prime-like shopping
portals.
7. Drones will start to deliver.
SECTION 12.7 REVIEW QUESTIONS
8. Marketplaces for selling goods will become very
popular.
1. Define privacy and free speech. Do your definitions depend 9. Mobile shopping will overtake desktop shopping. It may
on technology?
be required for survival.
2. List some of the ways that the Internet can collect infor- 10. Hassle free returns will be mainstreams in EC.
mation about individuals.
3. What are cookies and spyware, and what do they have to
Other factors cited are:
do with online privacy?
4. Describe information pollution and privacy. • The shape of Net Neutrality.
5. List four common ethical principles related to the gather-
• The extent of developing easy-to-shop and smart applica-
ing of personal information. tions (e.g., Google’s DeepMind).
6. Describe privacy issues in social networks. What are the
• The competition between EC giants (e.g., Amazon, Alibaba)
dangers? and large retailers that are going “brick-and-click” (e.g.,
7. Define P3P and describe its objectives and procedures.
Walmart) is intensifying.
• Multichannel shopping is increasing.
• Beacon technology integrates online and off-line systems.
12.8 THE FUTURE OF E-COMMERCE • Huge images and videos deliver stunning homepages.
• Real-time analytics become the norm.
Generally speaking, the consensus is that the future of EC is
positive. EC will become an increasingly important method of For comprehensive reports see Knight (2016) and McCafferty
trading, reaching customers, providing services, and improv- (2016a).
ing organizations’ operations. In addition, EC facilitates col-
laboration, innovation, and people-to-people interactions.
Analysts differ in their predictions for the anticipated growth Integrating the Marketplace
rate of EC and the length of time it will become a substantial with the Marketspace
portion of the economy. There is also disagreement about the
identification of industry segments that will grow the fastest. Throughout this book, we have commented on the relation-
However, there also is a consensus about the overall direction ship between the physical marketplace and the online mar-
of the field: full speed ahead! Companies such as Amazon. ketspace. We have pointed out conflicts in certain areas, as
com, eBay, Alibaba Group, Priceline, and Newegg.com are well as successful applications. The fact is that, from the
growing rapidly. point of view of the consumer, as well as of most of the mer-
EC will grow all over the globe. For challenges and oppor- chants and suppliers, these two entities exist, and will con-
tunities in China, see Clark (2015). tinue to exist, together.
Probably the most noticeable integration of the two con-
cepts is in the click-and-mortar organization. In the near
Some Key Factors for the Future future, the click-and-mortar organization will be the most
of E-Commerce prevalent model (e.g., see Sears.com, Target.com, Costco.
com, and Walmart.com), although the model may take dif-
The future of EC depends on how many factors will have ferent forms. Some organizations will use EC as just another
impacts in the future. TrueShip (2016) made the following sales channel, as most large retailers, airlines, and banks are
ten predictions: doing today. Others will use EC only for some products and
services, and sell other products and services the conven-
1. Amazon will become bigger than Walmart. tional way (e.g., LEGO Group).
2. EC will be 10% of all retail. The consumers prefer to have the choice of where to shop.
3. Facebook will overtake YouTube for branding. As of 2015, consumers love the combination of ordering
4. Emotionally-driven shopping will become a standard. online and picking up the merchandise in the physical store.