Today, the eCommerce industry seems to have smitten the entire world. It has actually turned the colossal globe into a small urban village, efficiently bridging the gaps between any two geographically different locations. However, as they say that Rome was not built in a day, it took eCommerce industry years of hard work, to get to a position where it is today. Surviving through user distrust, to online frauds, to aggressive marketing and awareness programs, the eCommerce industry today has reached a stage where today, more 80% of the users who are active online, have at least shopped online at least once and more that 50% of them have shopped online more than once.
A source which was once considered obscure and fraudulent has now become an integral part of each our lives. Here's acknowledging and appreciating the different facets involved in the expansion of the eCommerce industry.
The milestones in the field of eCommerce:
Let us begin with acknowledging the different milestones in the field of eCommerce industry.
The year 1979 - the year in which online shopping is invented by Michael Aldrich.
The year 1990, in which Tim Berners-Lee gave reality to the very first World Wide Web service and internet browser.
1994 - The very first commercial browser is launched by Netscape. Also, this was the year when Pizza Hut released its online ordering system. Just imagine the plight of pizza lovers, who could not order pizza online before 1994.
1995 - If Pizza Hut's online ordering system was a delight for the food lovers, 1995 saw book lovers taking a plunge in the wells of joy as Amazon started selling Books online in the year 1995. Also, another eComerce giant eBay was founded by Mr. Pierre Omidyar as the AuctionWeb.
The growth in eCommerce sales:
Ecommerce definitely is a booming industry. Statistical data has revealed that the eCommerce sales have increased more than a whooping 19% with each succeeding year and will reach the mind boggling magnitude of $1.4 trillion by the year 2015.
In the United States alone, the eCommerce sales have increased by a remarkable 10%, with the number of online consumers increasing from 163.1 million in 2009 to an amazing 189 million in 2013. Experts believe that by 2015, more than 200 million people in the states alone would become online shoppers.
Online shoppers - the demographics:
One may think that it is the youngsters who would splurge the most on eCommerce portals, but you would be surprised to see what the statistics have to say. Below is the classification of online shoppers by their age group.
Age Group (in years) Online Shopping (in %)
18 - 30 54%
31 - 44 68%
45 - 54 64%
55 - 65 68%
66+ 48%
Nation wise, India has marked the maximum growth rate in the eCommerce industry, followed by Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Australia and Philippines rounds off the list of top 5 highest growing countries in the field of eCommerce, respectively.
The least growth in the eCommerce industry has been registered in Portugal, Hungary and Greece.
Even the mobile commerce is on a roll:
It is not just the eCommerce development, but even mobile commerce is registering an upscale trend. With the advent of amazing smart phones etc, users now shop online through the very comfort of their mobile phones, while being on the go. Where there were 1.2 billion people, accessing mobile commerce in the year 2009, presently a wondrous 11.7 billion users make use of the services provided by mobile commerce. The number is expected to increase to 23.8 billion users in the year 2015.
Factors that have contributed to the growth of eCommerce:
There are a lot of factors which have led to the growth of the eCommerce industry. It's time saving attribute is on top of the list of factors catalyzing the popularity of eCommerce shopping, followed by its feature of enabling users to compare different prices of the products.
More variety, less prices and lesser taxes are other factors which are making increasingly making eCommerce a cup of tea for everyone. Another amusing factor is that eCommerce shopping helps people save the money spent on gas, and also, eCommerce is scarcely crowded.
So there you have the list of famous reasons which has resulted in the growth of eCommerce shopping.
Typical payment ways used by online shoppers:
Another factor leading to popularity of eCommerce shopping is its versatility. The beauty about online shopping is that it is completely flexible. You have the option of numerous ways to pay for the products that you buy online. Shoppers have used an assortment of the following options to pay for their online shopping expense:
1. Credit cards - roughly, 40% of shoppers use their credit cards to pay for the required product or service.
2. Bank transfer is another safe and popular means and 40% of shoppers use it to clear the check.
3. The figure is followed by debit cards which are used by 35% of the entire population.
4. E-wallets are at part with debit cards, as 35% of shoppers prefer to pay their way through E-wallets.
5. Cash on delivery and prepaid cards sum up the entire modes of transaction, and 35% of the online population uses them each.
Top 7 most popular online stores:
Lastly, we would like to leave you with the list of top 7 most popular online stores. If you have not yet woken up to the magic of eCommerce, it's about time you do; and what better place to start from, other than very best of the industry? Check out the list of to 7 most popular eCommerce stores:
1. Amazon
2. Staples
3. Apple
4. Dell
5. Office Depot
6. Walmart
7. Sears
Do not deny yourself from the benefits of eCommerce shopping. Take a plunge in the deep luxurious and convenient world of online shopping and feel the difference.
