The emergence and development of e-commerce

E-commerce is the entire business process that uses computer technology, network technology and remote communication technology to realize electronic, digital and networked, and commercialized. The following is the emergence and development of e-commerce that I have compiled for you. You are welcome to read and browse.

1. What is e-commerce?

There are various explanations for e-commerce, a new thing. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Brief definition: E-commerce is a commercial transaction between enterprises or between enterprises and consumers on an open network. According to our understanding, e-commerce refers to a new method and means that uses computer networks (Internet/Intranet/Extranet) to exchange and process business or business information between relevant parties and quickly complete daily business and business activities. New technology. Although electronic devices such as telephones and faxes are also common means of business activities, e-commerce specifically refers to various business activities and related activities based on computer networks, including providers of online goods or services, consumers, advertisers, middlemen The sum of the actions of all relevant parties including business owners.

E-commerce was originally translated from English Electronic Commerce (EC). In recent years, the concept of Electronic Business (EB) has appeared in Europe and the United States. It is also mostly translated as "E-commerce" in Chinese (a few are translated as "Electronic Business"). "). The author believes that the original English meanings of the two are very different: Commerce mostly refers to commercial and trade activities, such as wholesale and retail business, which often involves the purchase and sale of goods and other physical movements, while pure labor and intellectual services such as legal consultation, medical services, etc. , even if it is a paid service, it is generally not called Commerce; while Business, as a business, has a much broader meaning. All business activities for profit, whether it is the sale of goods or service transactions, fall within its scope. In addition, Business also has " "Business" means various non-profit activities, such as government departments collecting taxes and distributing social welfare, school education, etc. Therefore, from Electronic Commerce to Electronic Business, it reflects the broadening of the application fields of the Internet and the expansion and deepening of its impact on the social economy. Since both are translated as e-commerce, the former can be regarded as e-commerce in a narrow sense, and the latter can be regarded as a broad sense. e-commerce. E-commerce in the broad sense is not only online trade, nor limited to commercial applications, but the comprehensive application of computer Internet in various fields of society. The author believes that the understanding of the concept of e-commerce should be broader to facilitate the exploration and research of Internet applications in all aspects of society.

For general business operations, e-commerce includes: business information exchange, pre-sales and after-sales services (providing introductions to products and services, product usage guides), sales, electronic payments (electronic fund transfers) , credit card, electronic check, electronic wallet, electronic cash), transportation (relying on bar code and password technology to implement online tracking of the delivery and transportation of physical goods and the actual delivery of multimedia products that can be transmitted electronically), the establishment of virtual enterprises, Vendors and trading partners share business information, etc.

2. The emergence of e-commerce

E-commerce is based on the development and maturity of the Internet. As early as 1969, the Advanced Research Projects Administration (ARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense established ARPANET for defense research projects to connect computer systems of relevant universities, research institutions, and defense engineering contractors. This was the earliest computer interconnection network; Since 1986, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has taken over the investment and expanded it into NSFNET, which is open to universities and scientific research institutions and used for non-profit teaching and scientific research. It has become an important tool to promote the development of science and technology research and education. ; In 1992, the U.S. government proposed the "Information Highway" plan to further strengthen financial support for the Internet and lift the ban on commercial applications, paving the way for the development of e-commerce; starting in 1995, the Internet backbone network was transferred to enterprise support , realizing commercial operations, and e-commerce has entered a stage of rapid growth.

3. The development of e-commerce

Looking back five years, in the mid-1990s, the information highway, information economy, and e-commerce still seemed to us to be very abstract and distant concepts. Even in developed countries, many people believe that it is just a mirage painted by politicians to gain votes, or a gimmick played by businesses to attract investors and consumers. Nowadays, not only companies and consumers in developed countries in Europe and the United States have actually realized the benefits and conveniences brought by e-commerce, but even in developing countries like China, people also feel that the Internet and e-commerce are becoming more and more realistic for social and economic life. , profound influence.

The United States is the birthplace of the Internet and the country with the most developed e-commerce applications. It still accounts for more than half of global e-commerce transactions. Since the U.S. government lifted the ban on commercial applications of the Internet in 1992, e-commerce promotion and Internet expansion have caused and promoted each other, forming a virtuous cycle. The concept of "E-commerce Year" has promoted the Internet access of small and medium-sized enterprises and government departments), and e-commerce has been rapidly promoted and popularized. According to a study completed by the University of Texas in October 1999, the U.S. Internet industry, with e-commerce as its main content, has developed at an average annual growth rate of 174% in the past four years. Sales revenue in 1998 was US$301.4 billion, accounting for 10% of the U.S. 4% of GDP, reaching US$507 billion in 1999, accounting for 6.5% of GDP. The study also showed that the Internet industry provided the vast majority of new jobs, with the number of employed people increasing by 46% in the past year, from 1.6 million to 2.3 million.

E-commerce promotion and application is a process from elementary to advanced, from simple to complex, and its impact on the social economy also goes from shallow to deep, from point to point. From mutual exchange of demand information online, publishing product advertisements, to online purchasing or accepting orders, settlement and payment of accounts, the application of e-commerce by enterprises is from a small part to a large part, until it covers all business links. From the perspective of specific business fields, they have gradually developed and improved from less to more, such as electronic orders, electronic invoices, electronic contracts, and electronic signatures for electronic trade; online banking, electronic cash, electronic wallets, and electronic funds transfer for electronic finance; and online securities trading. Electronic entrustment, electronic receipt, online inquiry, etc. Just like electricity a century ago, the Internet is completely changing the face of social life, including online schools, electronic libraries, online bookstores, electronic concert halls, online hospitals, electronic communities, online dance halls, electronic chess rooms, online voting, and electronic government. , online kindergartens, virtual shopping malls, the impact of the Internet and e-commerce is omnipresent, and will increasingly become an indispensable part of people's lives. I believe that "e-society" (e-society), "e-life" (e-life), "e-commerce" "City" (e-city) is no longer a concept that is far away from us.

The rapid development of the Internet and e-commerce has created new business miracles or myths. New online companies such as Amazon, AOL, eBay, and Yahoo, which have been established for only five, six, or ten years, rely on the advantages of e-commerce. Sex and investors' love for Internet companies have rapidly grown from initial investments of a few million or tens of millions of dollars to giant companies with a market value of tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars. At the end of 1999, America Online (AOL) acquired Time Warner, a company worth tens of billions of dollars, setting a precedent for Internet companies to swallow up established large enterprises. People exclaimed that an era of corporate mergers and acquisitions in which "the fast eats the slow" had begun. The successful acquisition of Hong Kong Telecom by Hong Kong PCCW Digital Power at the end of February 2000 was another outstanding example of "big snacks" and "fast food, slow food". Only 10 months after the company was listed, the stock price soared from 0.68 Hong Kong dollars to 20 Hong Kong dollars, with a price of 218 billion. The market value of Hong Kong dollars annexed the "century-old company" Hong Kong Telecom with a market value of HK$315 billion, creating another miracle in the Internet era. I believe that the business arena in the 21st century will stage more exciting battles for the e-commerce market. ;