What’s all the buzz about Ecommerce? Internet shopping, online buying, e-commerce – it’s all the same. What’s remarkable is how many other languages/countries use the same term. I expected some romantic “commercia electronica” from Italy or Spain, but for most of the Roman alphabet world, it’s some variation on the pronunciation and hyphenation of “Ecommerce”. Even Sweden refrains from unpronounceable IKEA terms and calls it e-handel. We can handle that….
Estonia wins the prize for originality though. There, Ecommerce is called “Pood,” which would be a convenient global word.
No matter it’s pronunciation, E-commerce is all about selling/buying things over the internet without a personal mediator. Walker Sands produced a white paper and this infographic to display the current trends. Considering 95% of consumers have purchased something from Amazon.com in the past year, ecommerce is quite normalized. Shopping and buying online is fast becoming the main means of transactions, not only in convenience-obsessed North America, but around the world. Newer to the scene is China’s version of eBay, called Taobao. It became so popular in its first two years that eBay China shut down in 2006. Like Amazon in North America, ‘everyone’ in China shops Taobao. The concept seems a little impersonal to me, much like the self-checkout at the grocery store or the library. Sure, it saves everyone ‘time equals money’, but whatever happened to ‘people buy from people’ with its emphasis on relationships in transactions? Are we losing the art of friendly conversation? Scrolling through various bloggers’ insights on the emerging trends in e-commerce reveals that the screen can indeed be personal – or at least personalized. While there is no one standing at the counter to chat about the weather, there are a lot of people behind the scenes making sure that everything goes like clockwork. Ecommerce sites “remember” clients and bring out the latest offerings according to recent purchases. They respond quickly to questions and other issues. They accommodate flexibility such as shopping from a tablet or phone. They inform clients about purchase-related issues to teach the how or why this product is best.
Master Power Transmission is proud to have entered the world of e-commerce last year with the opening of our store on PT Place. This is where the personal comes back into play. People still buy from people and they choose strong brands. At Master PT, our mission is Power. Promise. Performance. As we strive to raise the bar on these standards, our brand will continue to stand out. We have the experience to build the most reliable product. We have personable Product Specialists to research product numbers and help customers place orders over the phone. We are here, and here to stay. With 24/7 availability, e-commerce is convenient for buyers and sellers.
Ecommerce will continue its global popularity – except in Estonia, where they call it Pood.
