Good Ecommerce

Accounting Principles

Ecommerce was seen as a passing fad or gimmick when the pioneers
of the process began.
Certainly, being tied to a computer screen to make a purchase you would
need to wait for wouldn’t hold the interest of consumers. Yet inroads were
made and sales were conducted.
One of the prevailing difficulties associated with early online transactions
was the safety of personal financial information. As hackers gained access to
non-encrypted data it was a rallying point for many ecommerce businesses.
There had to be a better way to do online business.

The Debut of Encryption

Webopedia describes encryption this way, “The translation of data into a
secret code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security.
To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password
that enables you to decrypt it.”
The keys to ecommerce were given back to online business when
transactions became encrypted. The privacy of customer data allowed
ecommerce to become a viable option for consumers once more.
Suddenly the world of cottage industry and extensions of brick and mortar
stores began to flourish and entrepreneurs began to willingly dip their toe
into the cyber frontier.
This was a new way of doing business in the cutting edge of intangibles. No
longer did business owners absolutely need a sales staff, no longer was an
outgoing personality required for business startup, no longer did business
mean a storefront.

Business Without Borders

The possibilities expanded as more and more businesses began to recognize
their business could be presented in a global fashion.
Business had been so associated with a town, region or district, but online
business could be conducted without barriers or distinctions.
Ecommerce allowed the ‘every man’ an opportunity to explore the world of
business. What had been seen as elite and unattainable was suddenly an
archaic notion. Ecommerce thrived on a ‘no discrimination’ policy.
Entrepreneurs of all ages, racial distinctions and economic levels began to
find value in marketing to a worldwide clientele who cared more for the
product than the arena of personal definition that often-made brick and
mortar business more difficult.

An Interesting Paradigm

A phenomenon that has taken place in many ecommerce stores is the
advent of a growing percentage of online sales while brick and mortar store
sales are either static or in a slight decline. This seems to indicate a change
in the purchasing decisions and shopping patterns of consumers.
Perhaps in the future we will see more product fulfillment centers and fewer
brick and mortar storefronts as ecommerce continues to gain steam as a
premier shopping alternative.

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