You are aware by this point that no matter how much property you have acquired, you will eventually need something. Human nature dictates that we must obtain things we don't already have in addition to necessities like food, water, clothing, and shelter.
So how can you use what you already have to gain what you lack? The obvious answer is trade (buying and selling). We spend what we have, or the equivalent in money, to get what we need.
Consumer goods (something you can use immediately) were the foundation upon which commerce was created. The barter system was used by early men to trade necessities like food and clothing. We still use money to purchase the same kind of goods now.
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Wherever it was available, humans have always wanted convenience. Because of the internet's growth, there are now new ways to do things that have previously been difficult.
E-commerce is, in essence, any commercial activity carried out online.
We can easily satisfy one of our fundamental wants thanks to e-commerce. E-commerce has become a more advantageous choice than traditional commerce due to factors including the desire to purchase products conveniently and the need to know the pricing of items when budgeting.
On the other side, there has been a significant change in how customers' purchases are delivered in the retail sector. Large retailers like Walmart and Macy's employed department stores in the early 1900s to provide customers with the finest possible shopping experience.
In order to provide clients with the 21st-century shopping experience — ease — industry titan Amazon is currently driving the tsunami of e-commerce.
Although the Internet retail market is a fun place to buy, many customers lament the inconvenience of lengthy delivery times. Amazon's 2-hour delivery for Prime members is a strong attempt to solve the issue.
The problem of protracted product delivery is being addressed by Gorillas, an on-demand grocery delivery service in Europe that guarantees to deliver groceries within 10 minutes of ordering.
After its beta launch in December 2021, a firm like Phlenyx in Nigeria will solve the same problem and offer up to 90 minutes of goods delivery.
So Why Is E-Commerce Generating So Much Buzz?
E-commerce is the future of retail trading, and we are already living in that future, therefore the answer is straightforward. Supermarkets and "mom-and-pop" shops won't be going out of business anytime soon; after all, over 95% of all retail trade worldwide still takes place offline. However, the shift to retail e-commerce is happening fairly quickly, with a global annual growth rate of 27.6% in 2020 as opposed to 20.2% in 2019.
E-commerce will not go away. Retailers must develop cutting-edge solutions to fulfill the demand as customer expectations rise. In light of this, we anticipate more advancements in e-commerce in the upcoming few years.
Other shops, large and small, have imitated Amazon since it became the standard online shopping marketplace. It is now incredibly simple for businesses to communicate directly with their clients because of the internet's easy-to-access audience feed.
Small and medium-sized shops are benefiting from the e-commerce boom thanks to Shopify, a subscription-based program that enables anyone to create an online store and sell their goods. Shopify powers the online storefronts of more than 1.75 million businesses today.
It is challenging for manufacturers to receive direct input from customers because of the present consumer goods supply chain. The standard supply chain operates as follows:
- The distributor's purchase from the producer.
- The wholesalers purchase from the distributors.
- Retailers purchase from wholesalers.
- The consumers are sold by the merchants.
The aforementioned procedure is time-consuming and difficult to follow. Businesses and retailers can sell directly to customers through e-commerce, eliminating the need for middlemen.
Contrary to popular belief, direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales are not just confined to clothing and cosmetics. Tesla, an electric vehicle and clean energy startup, sells its automobiles directly to customers rather than through dealers. A Tesla EV car may be readily ordered on their website and delivered right to your home.
D2C sales provide some benefits, such as easier access to client feedback and larger profit margins. The expense of setting up a logistical network to meet client needs is a major drawback of this strategy. Businesses that employ the strategy must generate a substantial profit margin on each item sold to offset the increased operational costs associated with providing low-cost deliveries to customers.
In conclusion, D2C sales exclude wholesalers and distributors from the equation, leaving just two important participants in the retail industry: manufacturers and customers.