When was commerce allowed on the internet

It is estimated that there are now around 1. The web browser started life as a simple document viewer for documents in the HTML format.

The user would enter a www address and the browser would get the page and display it. Pages were static but did have the ability to digitally link to each other using hyperlinks - creating a worldwide web of pages. Very soon HTML progressed to supporting web-based forms — the first interactivity feature.

Using its forms capability, a web page allowed the user to submit data to the web server from which it received the page which in turn had to process the data and provide a tailored response to the request.

The foundations were now all in place to build the first e-commerce website. Book Stacks Unlimited is widely recognised as one of the first e-commerce pioneers in the online world. It was established in by a software developer called Charles Stack who initially ran an online bookstore that began life as a bulletin board service BBS.

Although it never reached that target it was still able to offer half a million titles and attracted the same number of visitors each month. As well as shopping, it featured a daily literary journal and news about new books as well as interviews with authors and online forums for discussion on new novels.

The company was eventually outsmarted by Amazon who arrived a couple of years after Book Stacks Unlimited. The company and its www. Amazon was founded in by Jeff Bezos.

After reading a report about the future of the Internet, Bezos created a list of the most promising products which could be sold online; these included: CDs and video, computer equipment and books.

Bezos decided that his new business would sell books online and started Amazon from his garage in Seattle. The unique thing about Amazon was, unlike the traditional mail-order catalogues that it was set to replace, it never had to hold any stock.

It could vary its product selection daily, even hourly based on the availability from suppliers. This way it was able to create a endless choice. An Amazon employee was quoted as saying "We sold more books today that didn't sell at all yesterday than we sold today of all the books that did sell yesterday. A lot of early e-commerce sites were new online only retailers. Large brands were quite slow off the mark.

Of the already big brands Pizza Hut led the way in online shopping in , by being the first national chain to offer online ordering with thee option of home delivery. The test restaurant was in Santa Cruz, California. However, it was not until that online ordering was available for all Pizza Hut locations so they kind of stalled for a few years and let competition catch them up. Tickets to the fashion show, held annually in New York had historically been extremely hard to obtain which translated into incredible interest in the web cast.

The site was still able to sustain 1. Net business posed many peculiar technological and legal problems making it difficult to impose tax and formulate a sound taxation policy. Cyber Laws: Another important problem is lack of comprehensive cyber laws so as to ensure safety and protection. There should not be any legal regulations, or barriers to faster and increased development of e-commerce.

The crying need of the hour is urgent action to be taken by the Government to enact cyber laws including electronic fund transfer, and amendments of official Secrets Act.

Stock Dilemma: Many people are not too happy with e-commerce trends. Though online shopping may be growing but so is frustration with it.

A key source of dissatisfaction is the out of stock dilemma. In most cases, advertised products or services are not available. The options of feedback and not receiving suggestions are also reasons for annoyance.

Many online consumers want more detailed information on their purchases but are not available. The Net is becoming more mainstream and the expectations are also becoming more mainstream.

Lack of Skills and Expertise: Lack of skilled and trained personnel impedes the growth of implementation of IT related e-commerce. The use of the Net for trade requires a complex introduction of servers, browser software and knowledge of web design, hosting, promotion and many more skills. It requires understanding many new things. Many Bangladeshi businesses are not prepared to approach electronic commerce. For many business houses for which commerce over internet may not work, would take a lot of efforts for every little return.

Internet Outrage: Failures in networks and the Net itself can play havoc. We read of frequent press reports of internet outrages. The IT industry is notyet attempting to improve network reliability to prevent these outrages.

Reliability is a major issue in net business that needs to be attended. Absence of Cyber Brand Image: Another problem is that advertising and the Net tends to focus on e-commerce rather than on brands found in the real world.

This would prove to be a deterrent in ensuring consumer loyalty. The biggest thing going for it is a brand image and power. Though the already existing name is known and trusted, the issue is how to extend it into the new cyber reality.

A concern should be to preserve the old values of trust and dependability of the brand, and at the same time, keep it upon on the Net. At the same time, the whole business structure will have to undergo a change re-engineered. Inadequate Government Role: The government is not taking a serious view of e- commerce related information technology in terms of its promotion. Spreading awareness, imparting education, of the benefits of e-commerce, enacting new cyber laws, amendments to existing commercial laws, developing strong, communication infrastructure are the key domestic roles for the government to play.

No Encouragement from Business Community: The business community is extremely an important sector to be targeted for the introduction of any technological innovations in business. It means it is the business community that sustains e-commerce and greatly influences the thinking and adoption process of various segments of the society to move forward in the field of information technology. It motivates the people who share the courage and conviction to move the new business paradigm.

Preferring Foreign Sites: Online shoppers in Bangladesh do not prefer Bangladeshi websites to a large extent and prefer US and other foreign websites. There are many reasons for this as they provide better selection, prices, stock, quality products, shipping, payment process security, customer service and wide variety of sites among other things.

Difficulty of Reengineering: The web business structure will have to undergo a drastic change and be reengineered. It is not just about having a website or about sticking a web address on conventional advertising or transferring a few people to a new division and designation. It is about breaking free and creating new web services to satisfy the existing customers.

Internet for Small Business: Another problem is that for major project, a large consumer product company needs profiling of customers who undertake transaction through e-commerce. E-commerce is still being dominated by large corporations. Small and medium sized business houses have to take advantage of everything on the Net.

Online shopping is clearly catching on with consumers and retailers need to keep pace with growing demands. Infant Stages: Electronic commerce is still in its infant stage. Bangladeshi commerce is establishing itself in the area of internet business. The concept of e-commerce is still in evolutionary stage, it is a job that still needs to be defined. The IT function has not grown beyond the marketing department and credit cards, merchant accounts, digital signatures and prompt payment and one has to realize that the e-commerce role is more about harnessing technological resources to deliver profits to the Net users.

Only a few Bangladeshi big houses have gone online to explore the potentials of e-commerce. E-commerce has yet to take off in Bangladesh, because Bangladeshi consumers are wary of leaving their re credit card numbers on the Net. They eye the neighborhood shopkeeper with suspicion and drive a hard bargain.

So, e-commerce websites are losing thousands of customers. Electronic payments are either debit or credit payments that are processed entirely electronically, with the value passing from one bank account to another bank account.

Debit payments, known as direct debits, are where a customer instructs their bank to allow the payment to be charged to their bank account. Electronic payment systems are software systems that enable online credit card processing. Via an electronic payment system, users can browse an online catalog and purchase items online through automated online transactions. Launching an e- commerce website ultimately improves the way of doing business, increases level of sales, expands business to local and foreign markets and improves relationships with existing customers.

Your online presence creates a stronger company profile and yields access to new local and foreign markets. The increased availability of your products to a larger customer base via an electronic payment system extends your current mail-order services, and reaches other potential customers and local businesses through increased exposure. An online catalog, with online ordering and payment functions, to sell your products provides the added benefit that you can display information about each item for sale and indicate whether it is available from stock.

Displaying related products on the pages viewed is also a subtle sales promotion that might induce the customer to purchase more products. Electronic payment systems enable faster order processing and delivery, which caters for higher efficiency in both business to business B2B and business to consumer B2C models.

Improved customer support services, shorter lead times, and a twenty- four-hour service around the globe ensure a satisfactory shopping experience for your customers. Via the electronic payment system it is easy to implement a personalized service for your customers by enabling subscription services and provide timely information about special offers and promotions.

Newsletters are an effective marketing strategy that entices your customers to return to your website and purchase more products. An e-commerce website will assist your business in gaining competitive advantage and heightening public interest. An online presence will not only improve and facilitate your current marketing strategy but it will also yield new opportunities in the business to business environment through increased exposure and increased efficiency. An electronic payment system introduces potential cost savings through an improved business model and effective supply chain management, since much of the transaction process will be automated.

Whereas, in a manual system your clients need to first contact your company to obtain a quote and check for product availability, through an electronic payment system, they can check your price offers, delivery times and place their orders in a couple of minutes.

Lower running costs and shorter lead times enable the company to cater for bulk orders received from local businesses. When we check out at a merchant and use our credit cards we must present photo ID. However when making online payments there is no real authentication process to verify that the person entering the information online is not a criminal. Can you imagine being in business since , each time you needed to replenish inventory you contacted your supplier with whom you have a personal relationship to place your order.

The supplier delivers your goods in a timely fashion. Upon delivery an invoice is provided and you either pay COD cash on delivery or mail in your payment. Now 21st Century technology is presented; you submit your order online which requires payment before delivery. Once the goods arrive you realize you mistakenly order the wrong material. Now you have you merchandise that cannot be used and you are out your money.

For many people the old way was more efficient. Management courses have taught us that there is an opportunity cost for every choice we make. Surprisingly, OPS are no different. Since the core business of many organizations is not IT based and more specifically not specialized in Online Payment Systems an outside vendor is required to provide the online payment services.

An Online Payment Systems vendor like PayPal requires the merchant to pay a convenience fee ranging between 2. Would it be beneficial to use their services as opposed to alternative payment methods? For corporate organizations this fee may prove to be inconsequential.

However, for the small business owner these fees could equate to astronomical figures eating away at the bottom line. The modes of payment have surely changed in so many different ways. But it is important to take note that this change is on a positive note and not a negative one.

In relation on how we get to make payments, the introduction of payment systems into the market has clearly made things a lot better. These systems are designed to make money transfer from one account to the other quick and easy as it can be done in a matter of seconds. The systems will come in two distinct features but for now we want to take a quick look at some of the different types of electronic payment systems.

These are the kind of systems that will accept payments through electronic means. Electronic cards are designed to reflect your bank account. By having one, it means that you definitely do not need to visit your bank physically in order to access your account. Mostly cut out of hard plastic material to make them durable, the cards will have a magnet trip that allows the machines to be able to gain access to your bank account electronically.

They will come in three major types. The debit card, the credit card and the prepaid card. All that the vender has to do is to swap your card across the payment system where a message will be sent to your bank and immediately reply with a confirmation message. All this is done in a matter of seconds.

This is a unique payment system that allows transactions to occur online. There are normally different sites through which you can be able to do this but the two most commonly practiced methods of online payments are direct transfers from one bank account to another or the use of cards.

Mobile phones are turning out to be more than just a communication gadget. They are even referred to as smart phones due to the many additional features that they have. Although it will give you limited transactions to carry out, the best kinds of payment system available for mobile phones are mobile banks. There are a number of mobile subscriber firms that have developed the app that allows the mobile users to have an account that they can gain access to through their mobile phone number.

This kind of payment system is slowly on the rise. We can attribute this to the increase of online shopping. Having an online account with either PayPal money bookers and or any provider allows you to be able to transfer funds more quickly as there are no restrictions and limitations on what you can do with your electronic money.

One can be able to access their online accounts through their phones and or computers. These accounts are so simple to use. It serves as a basis for identifying how existing goods and services can be extended and redesigned to take advantage of the Internet, as well as suggesting the characteristics of new goods and services made possible through this new medium.

This space is where a firm displays information about their organization about their products or services.

This space is the easiest space for the business to enter and it is a typically first step taken towards the virtual market space. The information that it displays is accurate and current. The information that it displays is only viewed by authorized users. Customers can easily find the site and negotiate through it once they have reached the site. The site accessible without long unit times.

This space is used to deliver the product or services required or purchased by the consumer. For virtual delivery to occur, the products being delivered must be digital software or the service performed digitally ex - online broker. Online news services and software companies have been quick to market and deliver their products electronically. Delivery of products and services to legitimate customers only. Reliable delivery of product and services. This space is used to initiate and execute the sales order which are nothing but transactions.

Apart from those companies engage in virtual distribution space, most companies have been reluctant to enter this space. The major concern contributing to this reluctant is data security. Security over data. Accuracy and integrity of processing data methods. Privacy concerns by customers. The history of ecommerce started over 40 years ago, when the introduction of early technology like Electronic Data Interchange EDI and teleshopping in the s paved the way for the modern-day ecommerce store as we know it today.

The history of ecommerce is closely intertwined with the history of the internet. Online shopping became possible when the internet was opened to the public in Amazon was one of the first ecommerce sites in the US to start selling products online and thousands of businesses have followed since. The convenience, safety, and enjoyable user experience of ecommerce have improved exponentially since the inception of online shopping.

In his article, we will discuss some of the key players and milestones of ecommerce. Ecommerce, or electronic commerce, is the buying and selling of products or services via the internet. For many Americans, ecommerce is something we participate in on a daily basis, like making an online bill payment or purchasing from an online seller.

Ecommerce can take many forms and involve different transactions. For an in-depth look at the impact of ecommerce and the different types of online shopping, check out our article on the definition of ecommerce. Online shopping was invented in pioneered in by entrepreneur Michael Aldrich in the United Kingdom.

Aldrich was able to connect a modified domestic television to a real-time multi-user transaction processing computer via a telephone line. The system was marketed in and offered as business-to-business systems that were then sold in the UK, Ireland, and Spain. Book Stacks Unlimited, an online bookstore created by Charles M.

Stack in , was one of the earliest consumer shopping experiences. EDI replaced traditional mailing and faxing of documents by allowing a digital transfer of data from one computer to another. Trading partners could transfer orders, invoices, and other business transactions using a data format that met the ANSI ASC X12 , the predominant set of standards in North America for inter-industry electronic exchange.

EDI allowed the transfer of data seamlessly without any human intervention. It was apparent from the beginning that these early advancements would make B2B online shopping commercially lucrative. In , France launched Minitel , an online service that used a Videotex terminal machine accessed through telephone lines. The Minitel was free to telephone subscribers and connected millions of users to a computing network. By , over 7 million homes had Minitel terminals.

The Minitel system was popular before falling out of favor after the success of the internet three years later. That same year, Berners-Lee created the first web server and wrote the first web browser.