In recent years, with the rapid development of network, communication and computer technology, it has become a reality to use the Internet to engage in business activities. At present, economic globalization and networking have become a trend, and all countries in the world are paying close attention to this general trend of business development, so the emergence and development of e-commerce came into being. In developed countries, e-commerce has developed very rapidly, and the global e-trade volume is mainly concentrated in Europe, the United States, Japan, Singapore and other countries. Many experts and scholars believe that e-commerce will become a new economic growth point in 2 1 century. E-commerce attracts many manufacturers all over the world with its relatively low cost, simplified trade process, operation mode beyond time and space restrictions and expected huge profits. According to relevant data, hundreds of thousands of companies and 1500 banks have set foot in this field. From 1998, the global e-commerce transaction volume reached 153 billion US dollars, from 1999 to 26.5 billion US dollars, and from 2000 to 43.3 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of about 70%.

First, the concept and characteristics of e-commerce

1. The definition of electronic commerce

So far, there is no unified definition of e-commerce, which has aroused widespread concern; Experts have different opinions. Therefore, people's understanding of e-commerce can be described as varied.

First, some people think that e-commerce refers to the realization of electronization and automation in all aspects from pre-sales service to after-sales service;

Secondly, some people think that e-commerce is a modern business technology, which can reduce costs and meet the needs of organizations, traders and users to improve the quality of products and services and speed up service. It also means using computer networks to search and obtain information to support the decision-making process of individuals and companies.

Third, some people think that e-commerce is the process of completing the whole business and trade activities through electronic means. From the initial telephone, telegram to e-mail, even EDI(ElectronicData Interchange), which started more than 20 years ago, can be said to be a form of e-commerce. Today's development should include the realization from the network. A relatively complete concept of e-commerce, including inquiry and purchase of raw materials, product display, ordering and sales, as well as a series of trade activities such as import and export, storage and transportation, electronic payment and so on.

From the above point of view, we can see that the basic concept of e-commerce is simply to realize the electronization of the whole business activities. Specifically, e-commerce is the latest method to conduct various business activities quickly and effectively by applying network technology. This refers not only to Internet-based transactions, but also to all commercial activities that use the Internet, Intranet and LAN to solve problems, reduce costs, increase value and create new business opportunities, including sales, market operation and information management.

To sum up, combined with the development of e-commerce at home and abroad, we can give a general definition: e-commerce is an open and interactive trading activity based on computer network, including inquiry, ordering, payment and delivery, involving commodity providers, shopping service providers, consumers and other roles. As far as the current level of development is concerned, as long as one or more links are completed online, it can be regarded as the embryonic form of e-commerce.

2. The characteristics of e-commerce

The operation mode of e-commerce is completely different from that of traditional commerce, as shown in figure 1. Therefore, it has the following characteristics:

From the manufacturer's point of view, it has the following characteristics;

(1) has low development cost.

Through Intranet technology and EDI technology, all departments within the enterprise can communicate better and work together to reduce the development cost.

Figure 1 general e-commerce operation mode

(2) Low operating cost By transforming the physical environment into a virtual environment, the operating process is simplified, the operating efficiency is improved and the operating cost is reduced.

(3) Increase in operating income

Publishing manufacturers' web pages through Internet technology can improve corporate image, provide customers with the latest commodity information, open up potential markets and sales channels, and increase business income.

(4) Customer satisfaction is improved.

Through the powerful information exchange function of the Internet, we can create new services and new values for customers, and at the same time, we can get more personal information of customers, which is conducive to improving customer satisfaction.

From the point of view of consumers or customers, it has the following characteristics:

(1) Rich shopping options

Internet-based e-commerce provides consumers with a brand-new market mechanism. In this virtual market, consumers can get much more information than before and have more choices when shopping.

(2) low price

Due to the adoption of e-commerce operation mode based on internet technology, its development cost and operation cost are low, which makes it possible to sell at a lower price. For consumers, this means that the shopping price is relatively low.

(3) Convenient and quick

Shopping through electronic payment simplifies some intermediate links, and consumers can buy goods more conveniently and quickly.

In addition, enterprises can easily obtain business information from the Internet. By adopting EDI technology, the transmission speed of business documents between enterprises can be greatly accelerated, the business losses caused by document errors and omissions can be reduced, the document processing cost can be reduced, and the competitiveness of enterprises can be improved. In the e-commerce environment, the functions of traditional middlemen will change, such as providing security verification, electronic cash service, collecting and analyzing market information for customers, etc.

Second, some problems in the development of e-commerce

Relevant information shows that the concept of e-commerce was introduced to China in 1993. Later, government departments, research institutions and many enterprises joined in the exploration and research of e-commerce. At present, reports and academic papers calling for the development of e-commerce can be seen everywhere in major radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines. Nevertheless, the development of e-commerce in China is still in the initial stage, a few years behind the United States, and there is still a long way to go. E-commerce in the United States began to take off at Christmas in t998. In that year, the total sales of online goods was $654.38+04.9 billion, accounting for 0.5% of the total retail sales. From 65438 to 0999, the total sales of online goods reached $36 billion, accounting for 2% of the total retail sales. However, in China, the total online sales of 1998 only account for less than five ten thousandths of the total retail sales. E-commerce in China has not taken shape in system, organization, law, mode, technology and management. In order to take off, we must carefully analyze some problems existing in the development of e-commerce at this stage. Personally, e-commerce will encounter the following problems in the development process.

1. Weak infrastructure

The development of e-commerce can be said to depend on the scale of information infrastructure to some extent. E-commerce is a business activity based on information network communication, so it is necessary to build the necessary information infrastructure. After several years of hard exploration and active efforts, China's infrastructure construction has advanced by leaps and bounds, and the expansion of the nine backbone Internet networks in China has accelerated. In addition to computer networks, the national telephone network and television network have also developed rapidly, basically realizing multi-network interconnection. At present, China's communication network has formed a "five-network pattern", including telephone network, data network, mobile network, image network and multimedia network. Multimedia network can support all forms of information carriers (sound, image, picture and text), plus optical fiber, microwave and satellite communication, which provides material means for the further development of e-commerce.

However, at present, the development of information infrastructure in countries around the world is extremely uneven. The infrastructure in developed countries has reached a relatively perfect level, while the infrastructure construction in developing countries has just started. China's informatization construction started late and its network foundation is weak. The slow network speed, insufficient internet export bandwidth and slow network speed have seriously restricted the process of information construction in China. With the rapid increase of netizens in China, but the transmission speed has not kept up, the speed of dial-up Internet access is unimaginable, and online shopping has become a long wait, which instantly obliterates the rapid characteristics of e-commerce. On the other hand, there are relatively few Internet users and the network utilization rate is low, which leads to a large number of idle and wasted network resources. The low investment benefit seriously restricts the further development of the network. China's network transmission speed is not only too slow, but also too expensive, and the Internet access fee is too high, which offsets the preferential treatment given by electronic stores. The first is unbearable for enterprises and individuals. Because the price is too high and the transaction is deserted, many network service providers quit due to losses. According to the investigation report of China Internet Information Center (CNNIC) in recent years, slow Internet speed and high Internet fee have always been the two primary reasons why netizens are dissatisfied with the Internet. According to the data released by CNNIC on May 38+0, 2006, users think that the most dissatisfied aspects of the current Internet are too slow (46.4 1%) and too expensive (20.83%). Due to the backward facilities, the reliability of network transmission is greatly reduced, including the unreliability of software, lines and systems. E-commerce and e-finance are also poor. At present, the national financial network has not been formed, the electronization of the financial industry itself has not been realized, and e-commerce lags behind e-finance, which restricts the survival and development space of e-commerce. At present, the e-commerce business that has been carried out is a combination of foreign and domestic methods-credit card. Debit card, savings card, post office payment and cash on delivery are mixed, and some even use online inquiry and offline transaction.

The author believes that the weak network infrastructure and capacity, the low per capita computer ownership, and the serious restrictions on the direct introduction of key information products and cutting-edge network technologies needed for e-commerce from abroad are the bottlenecks restricting the development of e-commerce in China.

2. Network security cannot completely eliminate people's doubts.

Internet is an open network, and people are most concerned about its security. Although there are many technical precautions, it is inevitable that people will be worried when sending their bank accounts and passwords online when hackers frequently visit corporate websites and destroy them.

Because of the virtual nature of the network, the two parties do not meet each other, and their transactions are carried out entirely through the network, so the authenticity and reliability of information are paid special attention to. At present, the authenticity of information, the legitimacy of customer identity, the integrity of payment information and the undeniable nature of payment information; The legality of the whole online transaction has no rules to follow, especially the safety of security authentication and online payment can not completely eliminate people's doubts, which will seriously restrict the normal development of e-commerce. According to the survey, the domestic stolen goods are most concerned about the safety and reliability of online transactions. The data of 65438+February 3 1 published by CNNIC is 3 1. 20% users think that the biggest problem in online transactions at present is that security cannot be guaranteed. So, solve online shopping and trading; The security problem in settlement is the key to establish trust among e-commerce subjects. Only the Tunzi business system with high enough security and reliability can win the trust and welcome of customers.

As a secure e-commerce system, we must first have a secure and reliable communication network to ensure the safe and rapid transmission of transaction information; The second is to ensure the absolute security of the database server and prevent hackers from breaking into the network to steal information. For China, network products are almost all "imported products", and there are hidden dangers. In addition, with the influence of technology and human factors, unsafe factors become more prominent. Therefore, online transactions need to be confirmed by an authoritative third party as a credit certification body. This is the security certificate certification center (CA center) of e-commerce, which is an important measure to ensure the security, confidentiality and reliability of the network. The role of CA center is to ensure the validity of online trading contracts, prevent system failures, computer viruses and hacker attacks, ensure that the trading contents, account numbers and passwords of both parties are not recognized and stolen by others, ensure the integrity of trading contracts, and prevent unilateral generation and modification of trading information. This third party can be a government department, an industry department, or other institutions trusted by both parties to the transaction. Because CA is the authority of qualification authentication in electronic transactions, it has a special position and important role, and many units are vying for the role of CA. China's safety certification system has just started. At present, domestic certification is chaotic, with too many participants and inconsistent technical standards, which brings inconvenience to future cross-certification. Because China's market economy system is not perfect, competition may be out of order. Therefore, the government should strengthen management, coordinate the compatibility of different systems, make China Center on the right track as soon as possible, and enhance users' confidence in e-commerce transactions.

3. The credit problem will seriously affect the development of e-commerce.

Due to e-commerce based on the Internet, buyers and sellers can't meet each other, so the credit problem is particularly important. Social security system and social credit system are the two pillars of the development of market economy. At present, neither enterprises nor individuals in China have generally established a sound credit system, and cash transactions still dominate. Buyers are worried about whether they can receive the goods or satisfactory goods after payment, and sellers are worried about whether they can receive the payment in full and on time after delivery. According to the survey results released by CNNIC on 20065438+0, the situation that users have not received the goods after placing an order and paying accounts for15.68%; The payment methods commonly used by users are: cash on delivery (cash settlement): 42.02%, post office remittance: 23.66%, online payment: 13. 14%, credit card (or savings card):12.73%; For high-value "products exceeding 1000 yuan", the payment method users want to adopt is cash on delivery (cash settlement): 55. 45%, postal remittance: 5. 14%, online payment: 8.03%, credit card (or savings card):17.31%; 32.03% of users think that the biggest problem of online trading at present is that product quality, after-sales service and manufacturer's credit are not guaranteed, ranking first in this project. This shows how important the credit problem is to the healthy development of e-commerce.

4. Means of payment is the key to the final realization of e-commerce transactions.

The core content of e-commerce is the mutual communication and exchange of information. The two parties to the transaction can communicate, negotiate and confirm through the Internet, and finally the transaction can take place. The key link to realize the transaction by using e-commerce is the payment link. At this time, it is necessary for both parties to complete the transaction through e-commerce, and the intervention of financial institutions such as banks is necessary. The role of banks is mainly to support and serve, which belongs to commercial behavior. Online payment is an important part of the development and innovation of e-commerce and financial services. The purpose of online payment is to reduce the cost of banks, speed up processing, facilitate customers and expand business. It will change the way of handling, so that consumers can get banking support services through the Internet at any place and at any time without going to the traditional banking counters. However, online payment by banks is still a "pediatrician" in China. According to reports, China Commercial Bank has not provided online payment through the Internet for a long time, and its business volume is also small. 1In April, 1998, China Merchants Bank launched online payment service, which mainly provided business-to-business fund settlement. In May of the same year, China Merchants Bank cooperated with merchants such as Capital Electronic Mall to open online payment service for enterprises, and China Bank also opened this service in the same period; By1August, 1999, China Construction Bank also launched the online banking payment system to the society, and other commercial banks are also developing the system, but the real online payment service has not yet been launched.

At present, many payment methods have been used in e-commerce, including credit card, savings card, post office remittance and cash on delivery, but cash on delivery accounts for a considerable proportion in many methods. The first online shopping test in China shows that 85% of online stores and more than 90% of netizens choose cash on delivery, and less than 6% of netizens choose online payment. Why is cash on delivery, which costs more, favored, while online payment by credit card, which is the most representative of e-commerce payment, is ignored? This is in stark contrast to the situation in western developed countries. The formation of this situation is mainly caused by the imperfect credit system in China. It is imperative to solve the credit problem. Electronic money means that customers can pay for goods by bank credit card no matter where they are. As the name implies, credit card holders must keep their promises, but China has not yet established a credit mechanism. Because there are too many people who maliciously overdraw, banks have to take strict precautions, which restricts the real-time settlement of computer networks and makes it difficult to achieve the purpose of payment through the Internet. Besides, most people in China believe what they see when shopping. What if they spend money to buy online photos, and the things they buy are not like this or there is no news? For BtoB e-commerce companies that spend tens of millions of yuan, they are most afraid of encountering fraud traps set by trading partners with unknown identities and no credit. There are indications that China's current credit rating is far from a market economy and a commercial society with developed credit. Only by perfecting the relevant legal system can we enjoy the benefits brought by e-commerce as soon as possible. Secondly, the security of online payment is also an important reason that puzzles netizens. China people trust and are used to the "cash on delivery" trading mode, which is not fully adapted to the online shopping lifestyle. Some far-sighted e-commerce companies have begun to solve this problem. In addition, handling online payment cards requires a lot of trouble, such as filling out forms, downloading designated software, and performing corresponding operations. If it is not necessary for netizens, I am afraid that not many people have such patience. In addition to the complicated card processing procedures and low efficiency, the online settlement speed is also slow, and the online transfer takes as few as a few days and as many as ten days. Backward payment means that consumers can only get the purchased goods one month after payment, so that people can participate in electronics.

Shopping online is neither convenient nor cheap.

Convenient, fast and cheap should be the characteristics and advantages of e-commerce and the most effective weapon to win customers. But at present, people feel that online shopping is neither convenient nor cheap. Take buying books online as an example. If you want to buy books in the online bookstore of Beijing Book Building, you must first become a member of the Capital Electronic Mall. In the membership application registration form, in addition to general personal information, you need to fill in your own credit card number; In addition, members must personally go to the book building to sign a document similar to the power of attorney before they can formally join the club. Such complicated and cumbersome procedures are often daunting. In addition to complicated procedures, the backwardness of payment means also makes it difficult to promote e-commerce. At present, most online stores still use the ancient way of delivery after the post office receives the remittance. There is no essential difference between this and the mail order in the past, and it is only suitable for sellers' preferences.

According to the practice of online shopping, the goods sold online should be cheaper than those sold through normal channels, because it reduces the cost of renting stores in the general retail industry and the salary expenses of sales staff. If businesses are not profitable, why do customers take so many things online? However, apart from some discounts on software and books, online stores in China maintain retail prices. Statistics show that in the United States, online stores attract customers at a fixed discount rate; For example, the discount rate of Arnazon.com, a famous online bookstore, is usually 40%. If China wants to promote e-commerce, it will be difficult to promote it unless it is inexpensive.

6. The distribution system and after-sales service are not perfect

In e-commerce activities with physical objects as the content, besides the processing of information flow and capital flow, the final transaction must depend on the logistics system. China has a vast territory and unbalanced economic development, which determines the great difficulty of commodity distribution. Up to now, there are no professional distribution enterprises in many cities, and online shopping is fast and convenient. However, most of the current distribution processes are redundant, which leads to untimely delivery and difficult return. It is true that it is extremely unrealistic and unnecessary to require every e-commerce enterprise to establish its own distribution organization, but if it maintains smooth online contact with the existing social system, it should become a problem that e-commerce enterprises attach importance to and solve.

It will be difficult to establish a national distribution system, and the large amount of capital required constitutes an obstacle to entry. Although many courier companies claim to have solved this problem, they are actually far from it. Emerging express delivery companies are mostly regional and small in scale, and employ migrant workers to reduce costs. Nowadays, cash on delivery accounts for a large proportion, and consumers' recognition is low, which also brings difficulties to the management of express delivery companies. The postal system has a nationwide network, which is its advantage. However, the postal network is mainly established by ordinary mail delivery, rather than specialized logistics services. Therefore, it is difficult to improve its operational efficiency without transformation. At present, the tariff of EMS is too high, the time limit can not be fully guaranteed, and it also idles its greater role in the e-commerce system. Logistics is a multifunctional system with seven functions: transportation, storage, distribution, packaging, loading and unloading, distribution processing and information processing. And distribution is just one of the links. A truly efficient e-commerce activity needs a more perfect logistics system to reflect its characteristics of high efficiency and low cost.

In the process of e-commerce transaction, the goods displayed on the display screen are actually different from the actual goods. Due to the lack of actual contact with the goods before purchase, customers may be dissatisfied with the goods they buy. If there is no unconditional return system, it is difficult to establish customers' trust in online stores. If the online shop lacks the arrangement of technical support and cannot solve the technical problems in product installation and use, it is hard to imagine that customers will buy with confidence.

7. Conceptual problems and lack of e-commerce talents

The development of e-commerce needs strong software and hardware environment and profound social environment as support. But at present, people's awareness of e-commerce in China is still very weak, and enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are not fully aware of e-commerce; The low reputation of merchants has aroused people's concern about the use of e-commerce. The development of e-commerce not only means opportunities and challenges, but more importantly, the radical innovation of ideas. We should not only overcome the fear of network economy and e-commerce, but also overcome the negative or contradictory feelings that it doesn't matter whether we engage in e-commerce, and at the same time, we should prevent the tendency of not having a deep understanding of e-commerce.

Training e-commerce talents can be considered from two aspects. First of all, China is a developing country. Most people's cultural quality is not high, and modern communication and network technology are changing with each passing day, so it is difficult for most people to keep up with the pace of knowledge and technology development. Only by popularizing online skills and e-commerce knowledge at all levels can the application of e-commerce be widely promoted in China. Therefore, it is necessary to publicize and popularize the relevant knowledge of e-commerce as soon as possible, enhance business reputation and strengthen the training of relevant talents. Secondly, e-commerce is a new thing for any country, and it is a marginal subject in theory. The development of e-commerce needs compound talents, not only to understand computer technology, but also to master financial and commercial knowledge. At present, such talents are quite scarce in China. At present, more than a dozen colleges and universities have opened e-commerce undergraduate majors (professional codes are listed outside the catalogue) and started enrolling students, but the discipline construction and teaching research are still relatively backward.

8. The relevant laws and regulations are not perfect, which hinders the healthy development of e-commerce.

E-commerce is a brand-new field and a business activity in the virtual community. It is different from the traditional commercial activities and inevitably conflicts with the traditional legal system and social rules. China is now in the period of social transformation, the legal system is not perfect, fake and shoddy goods often interfere with the market order, the service level is relatively low, and consumers' rights and interests are often not fully protected. All the above factors will hinder the extensive development of e-commerce. In particular, there is a lack of corresponding game rules and system reference coordinates to solve the problems of electronic payment security, privacy protection, electronic signature, commercial contract authentication, dispute mediation and online counterfeiting. The imperfection of the legal system has also hindered the development of e-commerce.

Third, the conclusion

The foregoing detailed analysis of several problems existing in the process of developing e-commerce in China does not mean that the prospect of developing e-commerce in China is bleak. The author's intention is only to explain that with the extensive use of computers, the improvement of Internet usage and the development of telecommunications infrastructure, e-commerce will become more and more realistic, and at the same time, we should pay attention to studying the problems existing or appearing in the development of e-commerce in order to keep up with the trend of world science and technology and economic development.