E-Commerce
The Small Business Opportunity
Today,
small businesses (defined as those businesses with less than 100 employees
and/or those with sales less than million) account for more than 23
million businesses in the United States, but less than 10% have their
own web site and less than 5% have ecommerce sites. Large corporations,
however, have a greater involvement/interest in the Internet and Ecommerce.
Why? Large companies have more resources and easier access to the latest
technology.
Now,
the playing fields are levelled for small businesses through access
to a global marketplace at a substantially reduced cost.
What
Sells Online?
In
the past, computer hardware and software sales comprised the largest
piece of the online marketplace. Other markets, however, are now making
great strides in this arena. In general, the more difficult and/or time-consuming
it is to purchase a product, the more likely consumers will prefer to
use the Internet over the traditional shopping experience.
The
following statistics from Forrester Research show the projected shopping
revenue by category:
Online
Shopping Revenue by Category, 1996 - 2000 (millions) |
| |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
| Computer
Products |
140 |
323 |
701 |
1,228 |
2,105 |
| Travel |
126 |
276 |
572 |
961 |
1579 |
| Entertainment |
85 |
194 |
420 |
733 |
1250 |
| Apparel |
46 |
89 |
163 |
234 |
322 |
| Gifts/Flowers |
45 |
78 |
149 |
227 |
336 |
| Food/Drink |
39 |
78 |
149 |
227 |
336 |
| Other |
37 |
75 |
144 |
221 |
329 |
| TOTAL |
518 |
1,138 |
2,371 |
3,990 |
6,579 |
| Change
per year |
- |
120% |
108% |
68% |
65% |
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