The Rise of E-commerce Services

The executive chairman and founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma once said and still believes, "If trade stops, war starts. If trade stops, peace stops". E-commerce is, no doubt, the future of retail business. This is because trade is what links nations together. Without the constant supply and demand for material goods and services, there is no reason to communicate with the rest of the globe. As a businessman, he must continue to prove to customers that there is a benefit to buying a coat from Europe rather than a local store in China, for instance. Consequently, more businesses develop every day because there is an exponential increase in demand, which means that there is a need for a faster and more efficient way to distribute services. This is where e-commerce plays an important role in retail business.

From the very first time it was established in 1991 all the way to current statistics, e-commerce has only grown exponentially. This is because consumers constantly demand convenient access to better the quality of their life through services and material goods. In 1983, the Internet was first introduced in the form of TCP/IP. Although, the first time it grew popularity was in 1990 when the World Wide Web was invented. Nearly in a year of its success, businesses began to flock to the online world. It made consuming and selling more efficient on a global scale. It has only been less than 30 years, and today people are able to purchase clothes (which are only available in Australia) to be shipped to their doorstep in Canada. Even groceries are available to locals through the internet where they are ready for instant pick up or delivery to homes. E-commerce will never fade, at least for the next 10 years. It is constantly upgrading as it is a place of competition.

Online businesses want traffic in their websites because the more traffic they have, the more sales they can make. In the future, it can be predicted that personal experiences and customer engagement will gravitate consumers to even more online purchases. Customers enjoy an in-store experience as it psychologically makes them feel important to sellers. More and more stores (online and in-store) send emails for personal suggestions and membership discounts already. This is a big leap towards allowing customers to have in-store and personal experiences. In order for e-commerce to remain a success over time in an unpredictable climate, each business must know the consumers. Customers want easy access. Ads are a great way to drive customers deeper into the online retail world. For instance, they can be browsing through a popular website such as Amazon and find an ad for Fashion Nova jeans. They are only a click away from another retailer. It is fast, efficient and easy. Growing and new businesses need to take advantage of ads in larger companies. There are also online influencers such as Youtubers, Instagram models and traditional celebrities who are willing to promote the latest product that will "better the quality of someone's life".

The future of e-commerce lies in constant promotion through larger platforms and influencers. Major e-commerce businesses such as Amazon are already in the process of developing the future for their business, in terms of convenience for the customers. One of the biggest investments towards this leap is the development of Delivery Drones. According to Business Insider, it is a concept that many consumers are uncomfortable with. It is also an initially expensive and complex plan. Although, in 2017 alone, over five billion deliveries were sent to Prime consumers with a total of around $20 billion in shipping costs. With the use of drones, the need for shipping transportation costs can be brought down to a single dollar per delivery. Even with a small delivery cost, their revenue will not falter. Logically, the faster the delivery, the more revenue can be made. Additionally, drones will reduce the expensive loss of abandoned orders as well. With the use of Delivery Drones, the consumers and sellers only benefit. Therefore, this is no doubt going to be part of the future of e-commerce.

As previously mentioned, e-commerce will continue to flourish with time. In fact, e-commerce is still a new concept that has made dramatic changes in the last 27 years since it was first introduced to the public. At the exponential rate it is evolving, e-commerce may very well dominate in-store businesses. This is not necessarily a bad thing as e-commerce allows people to browse any retail service in simple clicks. This benefits a number of different people. For instance, those who cannot do simple purchases (due to physical limitations) have the ability to go online to buy groceries. For those who do not have time to go out to buy the necessary ingredients or supplies, they can also go online to make a purchase. The world is a busy and fast-paced place to live in. E-commerce allows people to build a good quality of life where convenience and efficiency are necessary. Jack Ma (founder of Alibaba) mentioned that he believes his business will continue to grow globally, even though the success of his company will flourish in China alone. He believes it is not only about benefitting the economy of China, he wants everyone to benefit as well. Mr. Ma's philosophy is that globalization only brings the world together because "trade is about [the] trade of values. Trade of culture", he states. Without the growth of e-commerce sales, the world suffers. There will always be a demand for anything. If companies slow down and choose to stop developing, the desire to purchase a service online becomes stagnant and may even decrease. With the absence of e-commerce for retail businesses, people lose communication from the rest of the globe. Jack Ma believes that he must continue to "actively prove that trade helps people communicate". Due to the fact that e-commerce is still fairly new (27 years old), it is almost unpredictable to suggest its success or fall in the next 10 years. Although at the rate it is racing at, e-commerce is a large industry that will benefit consumers and sellers worldwide. As Jack Ma put it, "If trade stops, war starts". Without a reason to communicate with the rest of the world, the link that brings nations together diminishes.