Impacts of Internet Technologies on Online Retailing - Essay Example

Online retailing or e-retailing began over twenty years ago around 1997, after the discovery, many companies adopted the concept of online retailing. Over the years, the advancements on the internet have led to many companies adapting to the use of online. Online retailing or e-retailing resulted in the development of e-tail ware (software tools that help in creating the online catalog and at the same managing those businesses connected with e-tailing). The introduction of internet technologies has been and is still changing retailing; companies have adapted the system of online retailing, as it is fast and cheaper than "physical" retailing (Doherty & Ellis-Chadwick, F, 2010).
Its emergence brought about some benefits that included the ability to offer unusual, unique products and services, improve economic gains, and made the distribution of these products more efficient. The e-retailing also results in an assortment of complementary products. Examples of these businesses that adapt to the concept of online retailing include Netflix and Amazon. These companies usually dispense with the staffing and the requirements of the cost and exist only on the internet. The introduction of the e-retailing (internet technologies) concept greatly influences the way businesses handle their customers; however, even with the many benefits resulting from the concept they also have several disadvantages. These disadvantages include security issues, in that the sharing of data may not be secure and may face threats suck as ‘hacking.' Another disadvantage is that the use of the concept includes the lack of a proper payment system, slow internet connections at times, and there may be limited access to the customer/consumers.
The impact has impacts on retailing (the impacts of e-retailing), for the positive impact of using online retailing is the cost. The use of online retailing reduces the costs of marketing, for example, the cost of referencing and storing a product on the e-retail website is less that the cost of referencing and storing a product in a "physical" store. With the current changes in the generation, then more people shop online than visit the "physical" stores. Through e-retailing, the management can provide best -seller products then the less-known products follow (Doherty & Ellis-Chadwick, F, 2010). Another change resulting from the use of internet technologies includes the reduction of price levels, in that the e-retail website seems to sell its products at a discounted price. In most cases, the e-retailers exert some pressure on the selling prices offered to the customers, the use of the internet in marketing always offers better and lower prices than the prices in the actual stores.

Conclusion
Internet technologies influenced many businesses, as they are advantageous over physical marketing. Some of the advantages influenced by the use of e-retailing include; ‘side effects still underestimated' in that e-retailing acts as a great tool that links supply and demand. Other competitive advantage brought about by the introduction of internet technologies includes the ‘the announced end of retail, as we know it' in that times, keep changing, and the current generation prefers online retailing over physical retailing (Doherty & Ellis-Chadwick, F, 2010).