Communication Technology Update, 10/e, 10th Edition

14

E-COMMERCE

Tim Brown, Ph.D.*

Although the Internet offers us many avenues to learn more about our world as well as to express and entertain ourselves, the transaction of business is among the primary uses of Internet communication today. Recent government figures show that electronic commerce and business accounted for about 10% of all business conducted in the United States in 2003 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005). Unadjusted figures also show that about 2% of all retail transactions in 2005 were e-commerce sales (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2006). In addition, the growth of such services as e-banking shows that business on the Internet is more than just about selling things to other people (Fox, 2005b).

But what exactly is e-commerce? ...