The Chicken And Egg Of Global E-Commerce

Which came first…? We have never been able to answer the chicken and egg controversy to everyone’s satisfaction. Yet, every generation poses the question and the answers are free for the asking. There is simply no profit in the answer; at least, no one yet has discovered the formula to profit from the answer to such a question.

So, let’s pose a slightly different question: which came first, the shopper or e-commerce? One would have to reach a conclusion that shoppers have far more experience in existence than e-commerce, unless one draws the conclusion that global e-commerce is simply an extension of the system employed from pre-history. I have fire; you have meat. We will barter our respective commodities for the benefit of both stomachs. Now, which came first?

As we absorb the news that global e-commerce is growing in strength and influence, we should be aware that the data show that rise to be as much as 13 percent every year in the past five years; an astounding statistic as we stager to realize that online usage is commonplace for roughly one-third of the world’s population; over two billion people. No other measure of economic growth, even in a global recession, has experienced such a rate of expansion.

There is an over-achieving reason for this increase. The Internet revolution has taught an entire set of at least three generations – baby boomers, gen-X and millennials – that virtually instant gratification is the result of the exploding technology of online usage. It was inevitable that pioneers like Amazon.com would not just enter a new frontier, but create that frontier from the groundwork of painstaking, centuries-old brick-and-mortar merchandising.

The psychology of shopping has become a new discipline as merchants draw conclusion that consumers no longer need to “kick the tires” of almost any product. Visual and auditory senses take over, replacing tactile discovery of product quality, efficiency and durability.

Not just merchants, but product designers and manufacturers benefit from the e-commerce revolution. Because marketing products via online website exposure, manufacturers can partner with merchants by providing online multi-media presentations of product appearance, function, features and benefits. The generations noted above have become adept at translating a well-conceived website presentation into a positive experience that will encourage them to buy the products untouched, but significantly seen.

This is actually advantageous to the consumer because they can observe the product’s use in virtual situations almost as aggressively – and sometimes in excess of its presentation on a store shelf – as with an in-store demonstration.

This online facility has also encouraged product designers and manufacturers to design better quality into their products, knowing that consumers have much greater power than ever before to offer real-time commentary on the performance of the product they just purchased simply by use of online social media. It is the virtual extension with expanded coverage of the oldest and still most effective form of product advertising: word of mouth.

It is difficult in this age of online, global e-commerce with reference to the chicken and egg dilemma of origin. Which came first, e-commerce, or the online shopper? Answer: it does not matter; both are thriving.