Wal-Mart and the Current E-commerce Industry

Essay by Dreamer01A, February 2009

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The Current E-commerce Industry: A brief overviewIn our very contemporary society we live in a world that's prone to change and uncertainty. This society is where many businesses, from small entrepreneurs to medium sized firms to giant corporations have found various ways to run their business in a more efficient manner to enhance profitability. By today's standards the most preferable alternative is by implementing an electronic business function as part of their existing business activities. E-business or electronic commerce is defined as "the process of buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, or information via computer networks." (Turban, 2008) With the Internet, it's evidently one of the main factors to modernize business. It has taken the world we knew that contained different geographic segments and transformed it into one global market. Approximately a decade ago the digital market was valued at $195 billion and grew to 3.6 trillion in 2004 (Department of Justice).

Evidently approximately 80% of profits generated via the digital market are generated by business-to-business electronic commerce. (Turban, 2008) On the Internet, organizations and retailers can create websites that supplies information for current potential stakeholders: customers, investors, suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, members, etc…The Current Online Retailing Industry: An OverviewMany businesses chose to sell their products online whether physical or digital. By doing this they are expanding their geographical reach, expanding the customer base, reduction in fixed and overhead costs, and being available 24/7/365. However some businesses both adopted a physical retail store and an online retail presence. Like Walmart, these businesses are known as "bricks and clicks". "The bricks and clicks model has typically been used by traditional retailers who have extensive logistics and supply chains. Part of the reason for its success is that it is far easier for a traditional retailer to establish an online presence than it...