Page 48 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

1.7 The Limitations, Impacts, and the Future of E-Commerce 25

Implementing EC may raise ethical issues ranging from Even some teenagers practice successful EC. An example is
monitoring employee’s e-mail to invasion of privacy of mil- Diane Keng, an entrepreneur from Cupertino Monte Vista
lions of customers whose data are stored in private and public High School in California, who initiated three Web 2.0 suc-
databases. In implementing EC, it is necessary to pay atten- cessful start-up companies, making substantial money.
tion to these issues and recognize that some of them may In 2016, a 9-year-old sold thousands of boxes of Girl
limit, or even prohibit, the use of EC. An example of this can Scout cookies on the Internet instead of going door-to-door.
be seen in the attempted implementation of RFID tags There are many other opportunities for young people to
(Online Tutorial T2) in retail stores due to the potential inva- make money from EC in addition to the examples in this
sion of buyers’ privacy. book and selling on eBay. Experts suggest the following
ways to earn extra cash online: (1) sell your craft; (2) make
Overcoming the Barriers money from your talent; (3) be a nurse on call; (4) write, edit,
or proofread; (5) design graphics and websites; (6) tutor kids
Despite these barriers, EC is expanding rapidly. As experi- or adults; (7) give advice; (8) provide customer service; (9)
ence accumulates and technology improves, the cost–benefit launch a blog; (10) give your opinion (for a fee); (11) search
ratio of EC will increase, resulting in even greater rates of the Internet; and (12) do online tasks. For 55 ways to make
EC adoption. money online, see Pantic (2013). See also shop.com. Finally,
for how to make money on the Internet using EC, see Bates
and Money Online (2014).
Why Study E-Commerce? Many opportunities are available in the areas of social
media and commerce.
The major reason to study e-commerce is that it is rapidly
growing and impacting many business and marketing opera-
tions. The percentage of EC of total commerce is increasing The Future of EC
rapidly and some predict that most future commerce will be
online. Thus, any businessperson or a business student Several economic, technological, and societal trends impact
should learn about this field. EC and shape its direction. For example, most experts agree
This is why the academic area of e-commerce that started that the shift from EC to mobile commerce is inevitable. In
around 1995 with only a few courses and textbooks is grow- addition, many believe in the future of social commerce, as a
ing rapidly. Today, many universities offer EC courses and major component of e-commerce (e.g., see Turban et al.
complete programs in e-commerce or e-business (e.g., 2016). There will be a surge in the use of e-commerce in
majors in e-commerce, minors in e-commerce and certificate developing countries (mostly thanks to smartphones and tab-
programs; see University of Virginia, University of Maine, lets as well as e-payment systems). E-commerce will win its
University of Arkansas). Recently, e-commerce topics have battle against conventional retailing (see the Amazon vs.
been integrated into all functional fields (e.g., Internet Best Buy discussion in Chapter 3). Finally, e-commerce will
marketing, electronic financial markets). The reason for this increase its global reach.
proliferation is that e-commerce is penetrating more and EC will impact some industries more than others. This
more into business areas, services, and governments. Finally, impact is changing with time. For example, major impacts in the
it is fascinating field with its innovative business models. past 8 years were felt in travel, retail, stock brokering, and bank-
However, there are also some very tangible benefits to ing. Next, are movies, healthcare, book publishing, and elec-
increased knowledge of EC. First, your chances of getting a tronic payments. For an interesting review, see Solis (2012).
good (or better) job are higher. The demand for both technical Today’s predictions about the future size of EC, provided
and managerial EC skills is growing rapidly, and so are the by respected analysts such as ComScore, eMarketer.com,
salaries (e.g., see salary comparison sites such as salary.com and Forrester, vary. For a list of sites that provide such pre-
and coach.careerbuilder.com). Hundreds of well- paying dictions and other statistics on EC, see Table 3.1.
open positions are available in areas related to social media, The number of Internet users worldwide was estimated to
social networking, and social commerce. Second, your be around 2.6 billion in winter 2014, up from 2.4 billion in
chances for a promotion could be higher if you understand 2012 (see internetworldstats.com). With more people on
EC and know how to seize its opportunities. Finally, it gives the Internet, EC will increase.
you a chance to become a billionaire, like the founders of EMarketer forecasted that almost 85% of all Internet users in
Google, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon.com, and Alibaba, or the USA would shop online in 2016. The repercussions of the
to make a great deal of money on eBay. You can make money 2008–2014 financial meltdown has motivated people to shop
simply by selling on eBay or your own website. And you online and look for bargains where price comparison is easy and
can do it even while you are a student. (See jetpens.com.) fast (e.g., try to find the price of an item on Amazon.com).