The use of Internet retailing has absolutely changed the face of shopping as the world knows it. Forty years ago, shopping was done entirely in physical locations. The only other ways to make purchases involved making calls on the telephone or submitting order forms through the postal service. While Amazon has technically been available since 1994, online retail shopping remained a small portion of overall retail, representing less than 10 percent as recently as 2010 in the United States
History of the Internet
While the computing concepts that drive today’s version of the Internet have been around since the 1960s, it wasn’t until the 1990s that commercial Internet providers turned this connectivity into a type of luxury utility available to most middle-class households.
The late 1990s and early 2000s saw web browsers and search engines become dominant operational interfaces, and a rapid period of development between 2005 and 2010 saw immense improvements in mobile access, social media spaces, technology advances and consumer adoption. In addition to mobile devices, developments in security made it possible for individuals to safely access banking, which was a milestone in and key part of the move from in-person commerce to online retail.
Use of Internet Retailing
According to statistics , the first quarter of 2021 showed between 13 and 14 percent of total American retail sales as online commerce. While some of this due to a jump in online program sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of it reflects a nearly constant rise in the percentage of online sales within all possible sales since at least 2010.
This echoes technological growth as well: Most Americans in 2021 have access to either mobile devices or online banking. Many companies have some kind of electronic commerce marketing and sales options in order to compete in the modern marketplace.
Advantages of Internet Retailing
There are a number of benefits a company may receive from offering online commerce options. According to Become, the most basic of these is accessibility. The use of mobile Internet retail allows many to participate in the commercial marketplace without having to physically transport themselves. This is important for busy individuals who work long hours and may not have independent transportation they can depend on. It also opens the commercial market to disabled and impaired individuals who may not enjoy an in-person trip to the store but want to be able to participate in all of the delights of retail shopping.
Removing human interface can be both negative and positive. For companies who had previously branded themselves as possessing great customer service from sales employees and workers, there is a perceived loss in value as customers move to a fully automated Internet retail interface. However, for customers who judge goods on quality and value rather than on related interactions, this may also function as a strength. It’s entirely up to today’s modern company to determine how to present themselves online.
