August 11th, 1994 will go down in the annals of history as a day when the first secure retail purchase transaction was made successfully as reported by The New York Times by the purchase of a CD of Sting\u2019s \u00a0\u201cTen Summoner\u2019s Tales\u201d. It not only followed by jubilant celebrations but it also unveiled a whole new way of shopping for consumers.<\/p>\n
There were initial hiccups consumers had to face because of the na\u00efve security systems back then. There was speculation on how secure was it to give the credit card information over the internet, hence internet shopping network was largely dependent on a program called \u201cSecure Mosaic\u201d- a system that secures electronic transactions. These programs required higher technology proficiencies to operate and also worked on the UNIX Operating system.<\/p>\n
This was followed by Security Socket Layer (SSL) security protocol introduced by Netscape. This was incorporated by all web browsers as an encryption standard and thus there was no looking back. E-commerce has passed the litmus test of security and began to grow.<\/p>\n
Price Wars:<\/strong> With more and more E shoppers growing every day, a consumer is not only the king but the judge too. The online store with the lowest price would become the winner. Thus there is a level playing with cutthroat competition in which price wars are commonly noticed.<\/p>\n Global Consumers:<\/strong> Trends exhibit that consumers these days not online compare the top websites but also look outside the domestic markets and are reaching out to foreign country websites, for better prices, quality, and variety.<\/p>\n Personalization:<\/strong> Personalization started with online shopping sites automatically showing products \u201cpeople shopping for this also viewed\u201d, \u201cyou may like these\u201d, \u201cRecommendations\u201d etc. The latest of AMAZON DASH- a concept which auto refills and restocks everyday essentials. Worth a try!!!<\/p>\n App World:<\/strong> Consumers no longer need to sit in front of the computer to shop online, Apps have become the new destination. E-commerce is slowly shifting gears to Mobile-friendly shopping sites, replacing traditional websites. Thus penetrating deeper into the consumers.<\/p>\n Video-Based Selling:<\/strong> Online sellers these days are concentrating more on product videos. For example, all consumer electronics, home appliances, and other gadgets are sold with a video showing the actual product, specifications, demos, and features. Thus getting the product closer to consumers and winning the purchaser\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n