Recession helped in the expansion of Internet global supermarket
A new report by OECD says that the Internet global supermarket is booming since people are looking for other alternatives to do business in the time of recession.
“The financial and economic crisis appears to be giving the e-commerce a boost as consumers search for ways to reduce expenditures by purchasing items online. The savings can be substantial,” the OECD said.
The financial crisis brought a new life into electronic commerce since it reported a sharp rise in sales in Europe,US and China. The report cited a study in which they found that the shoppers in Britain, Germany and France can save 17 percent by buying electronics goods, DVDs and clothing on online trading platforms rather than in physical stores.
To cite a few examples, Craigslist forecast to report sales of 100 million dollars this year, a 23 percent increase from 2008. Amazon, had net sales of 177 million dollars in the first quarter alone, up 24 percent from the first quarter 2008. Forrester research group predicts that western European consumers will buy 123.1 billion euros’ worth of goods online by 2014, for an average annual growth rate of 9.6 percent.
Even China has experienced a jump in online retail activity. The online auction and retail website of the country’s leading e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, reported a 131 percent rise in transaction volume in February compared with a year earlier.
Future of e-commerce is not entirely secure since most of the consumers have less confidence in going for online shopping.Most of them are concerned over privacy of personal information while others have language problems. Delivery costs ,taxation and regulation barriers are other factors which troubles people more.
The use of behavioral techniques that track a consumer’s purchasing habits is one way in ensuring the security.If users get a secure feeling, the numbers might go even more higher.
