The External Analysis General Environment Social

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

In today’s generation where technology exist in everyday aspect of life online shopping has obviously part of our today’s life and grown in popularity over the existence, mainly because every people was finding of its own convenient and easiest way to bargain or shop without the hustle and no required to going to mall to shop. One of the greatest attractive factors about online shopping is the holiday season, is it lessens lines to wait for your turn from store to store just only to buy a particular item. In determining the customers of eBay let this paper define to you what is online shopping or online retailing? The Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce that basically customers must have access to a computer (like signing up first to a online auction sites like eBay) and a method of payment (like Paypal, MasterCard or any kinds of Credit cards depend on the required of the online auction site) and also allowing consumers to directly buy goods or services from the one who offered a particular product or services without an transitional service. An online shop or virtual store has a process which is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping also including the business-to-business (B2B) online shopping which a business buys from another business. E-Bay and Amazon.com are the largest online retailing corporations. Which both of this online auction site are based in the United States. In knowing the customer they are very attracted to online shopping or online buying not just because of the assurance or security of availing products/or services with a high level of convenience, but also because its numerous or bigger selections, competitive pricing which they one of the most consider reason, and lastly greater access to all information. Then all customer needs and expectations are obviously not the same for all customers who buy online.it must be consider Age, gender, experience, culture are all important factors just to identify who are your real market. Demographic differences are detected in shopper involvement in online auctions. In the United States, rural shoppers buying from online auctions more often than urban buyers, but spend less on each buying. Woman buyers are more frequent purchasers from online auctions, but spend less on each buying than man buyers. This paper is relevant to the current research as consumers who visit online auction sites may constitute a virtual community linked by shared interest. A consumer’s motive for shopping can be observed as being either utilitarian. Utilitarian is the value resulting from receiving the goods one requires. When a shopper accepts a utilitarian reason for shopping, may be viewed as if it is a task, and the shopper is only contented when they have acquired all the goods on their shopping list. By compare, hedonic value is about gaining exciting and fun from shopping. When consumers accept a hedonic motive for shopping, they are spending because they enjoy it. Before you can do business online, you need to understand a little bit about the people that you'll be marketing to. The online world is a unique marketing environment because of the way users group themselves together. This is called segmentation of segmenting the market. If you've ever purchased a mailing list to use in a direct mail program, you might already know something about segmentation. When you order a list you can request names of people from a specific zip code, people with a specific income, people who work in certain occupations, or people who subscribe to a certain magazine or trade journal. All of these criteria can be used to create a single list of people that have similar interests and lifestyles. When you're marketing products or services, it's always more effective when you focus your marketing efforts on the most qualified group of people you can so the response will be high. One of the great things about the online world is that users tend to group themselves into highly defined groups all by themselves.

You can't go online and request a list of people to send an offer to, but if you know where to look, you might be able to find a place where those people hang out and then get a marketing message in front of them. One of the things that any online business owner needs to do before starting an online business is determine how well his products and services fit the interests and lifestyles of the typical online user. Keep in mind that people do the exact same things online they like to do off-line. If you like NBA Basketball, you would probably visit one of the NBA or general sports sites on the Internet or one of the online services. So targeting your message to a group of qualified prospects is easier in the online world than in any other advertising medium. So that you will better understand the nature of the online user, here's some information to consider. This information was gathered from information provided by online research studies. Since the online world changes rapidly, you may want to get a current look at online demographics by checking one of the sites listed at the bottom of this document.

Age:

The average age of all web users is 36 years old. European users are a bit younger at 30 years old. Unlike past years when the average age of women users is younger than their male counterparts, there is no longer an age discrepancy.

Gender:

The online world is still a predominately male environment. About 61% of the users are male. However more and more women are coming online to balance this out. Just a couple of years ago the percentage of women users was only about 15%. Women now account for nearly 39% of the users in the US. The percentage of women users in the US is nearly double that of Europe. Everywhere you look, the number of women users is on the rise.

Education:

A whopping 86% of online users have attended College with half having earned a degree. People online are smart and sophisticated.

Income:

One thing is for sure, online users have money. You might think this has something to do with the fact that you need a computer to access the online world and note everyone has one or knows how to use one. The average household income for online users is about $53,000.

We're seeing a decline in the income levels as more and more people come online. Just over a year ago, the average household income was almost $60,000. As you would expect, the younger the user, the lower the income. This is due to the high number of students who use high speed Internet. The average income of the higher are groups is actually much higher than the total average. If you are selling something online, it’s nice to know that the people you’re selling to have some money to spend. Wouldn’t you agree?

Location:

The US has the best phone system in the world and more computers per capital than any country in the world. So it's only fitting that 84% of all Internet users are in the US. About 7% are from Europe, and 8% from Canada and Mexico. Most people consider the Internet an International medium, but reality is still primarily a US medium. The Internet reaches every continent. The growth of Internet use is faster outside of the US than inside, but the shear number of new users is significantly higher in the US. Fast growing areas include Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central America.

Marital Status:

The online world is pretty split between married (40%) and unmarried (41%). The rest are either divorced or living with someone. As you would expect, the younger crowd (under 25) is about 75% single, while the older crowd (50+) are 75% married. Those in the middle (26-50) are about evenly split between married and single.

Careers:

About 23% of web users work in education to top the list of career choices. The next highest ranking occupation is Computer and Technical workers at 21%. A few years ago the ranking for these two occupations was just the opposite. Considering the penetration of the Internet into all levels of education, this is not too surprising. Now we know what all those teachers are doing during recess, right? Next in line are professionals and management occupations at 21% and 12% respectively. Overall, women are more likely to be involved in education career, while men are more likely to be in computer careers.

Politics:

Most users consider themselves to be political moderates (30%), with 21% being conservative or very conservative, and 35%being liberal or very liberal. Women are more likely to be liberal and men more likely to be conservative. Democrats lead Republicans online at 25% to 21% respectively. Another 16% said they lean towards the Democrats, while 10% lean toward the Republicans.

Privacy Issues:

As a whole, online users don't like to say much about themselves and resent those that share personal demographic information with others for personal gain. What this really means is that Internet users don't like to have their names and email addresses sold to others for the sole purpose of sending an ad or offer. On the other hand, most realize the need for demographic information for designing an online business and marketing a site to advertisers. About half said they would give personal information in return for some value, like a reminder service, or to get access to private specialized information.

Access:

Over half (55%) of online users get their access at home. The 50+ crowd is more likely to be paying for their access and getting it at home, while the younger crowd is more likely to get free access at work or at school. This explains why the busiest days online are Monday-Thursday and why the weekends are about 20-30% slower traffic days than any other days. Many users only access the online world from work or school and both are out on the weekends.

Frequency:

About 72% of women who use the web, do so every day, while 87% of men are daily users. These numbers are on the rise , which is good news for online business. About 45% use the web 1-4 times per day, while 41% use it more frequently and 15% use it less.

Purpose:

This category illustrates that the online world is an entertainment medium as much as anything. The most common use of the web is to surf (79%), followed by entertainment (65%) and work (51%). I would even consider most surfing as entertainment, so that is really the number one use right now. Shopping is on the increase, going from 11% a year ago to 14% now. Older users do more work online, while younger users are playing online.

Complaints:

The biggest frustration of web users is speed. Online users don't like to wait for things download and even though modem speeds are increasing, the number of users complaining about speed keeps increasing. We're just never satisfied. Another big complaint is not being able to find information that they know is out there. Other problems cited are not being able to find a site after visiting it once and paying too much for access. Basically we're all impatient and cheap.

Connections:

The standard for connection speed continues to rise as new modems keep coming on the market and prices keep falling. The most common connection speed is now 33.6 followed by 28.8 Kbs. This is exact opposite of a year ago. About 40% of users have a connection faster than 28.8. This would be those who are using fast dedicated connections at work or at school. This type of high speed connection might include such things as T1's, DS3's, 56 Kbs lines, Frames relays and ISDN. Another interesting statistic is that about 60% of users also have an account with one of the online services, but only about 8% use it to access the web.

Technological forces:

The growth of broadband internet connections around the globe has undoubtedly boosted online shopping, simply by dramatically speeding up the process of accessing websites and buying goods. Broadband is at least ten times as fast as dial-up. Having access to broadband means that consumers are more likely to use the internet to purchase everyday items such as groceries. Traditionally, individuals and businesses have ordered goods or services online via computers, but the increase in data connection speeds on mobile phones with the introduction of 3G and 4G (3rd and 4th generation) technology has opened up another avenue for e-tailers. Certainly, e-tailers are now targeting the mobile phone. E-commerce is also making increasing inroads into areas where it was thought difficult to sell goods online. Historically, for example, it was thought difficult to sell clothes online because shoppers could not try on the goods. However, sites such as Asos, which targets 16 to 34-year-olds with outfits and accessories styled on those worn by celebrities, have shown that it is possible to successfully sell clothes online.

Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, involves the sale of goods and services via electronic means—principally over the internet, although sales via television (terrestrial, cable, and satellite) are also included. E-commerce can be further divided into the following sectors: business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-citizen (G2C), and business-to-consumer (B2C). Retailers that rely primarily on e-commerce to sell goods or services are often referred to as e-tailers. Retailing over the internet generally takes one of two forms: Cybermalls—the most famous cybermall is eBay, which offers access to products from a variety of independent retailers. Individual websites—most major retailers now have their own websites, which complement their traditional "bricks-and-mortar" outlets. Some retailers operate solely over the internet.

In terms of television sales, programs on dedicated shopping channels generally feature a presenter who demonstrates products on air. Viewers can buy these products by telephoning an order line with their credit card details, or, in the case of interactive television services, by using their remote control. Recent years have seen the development of a variety of selling techniques, including on-air auctions.

E-commerce is most closely associated with the internet, and has developed in tandem with the growth of the medium. Indeed, e-commerce initially became possible with the opening up of the internet to commercial users in the early 1990s. However, it wasn’t until the latter half of the decade that companies really began to exploit the internet’s commercial potential.

A number of the start-up companies from that era, such as Amazon and eBay, have exploited the power of the internet to emerge as retailing behemoths in their own right. However, e-commerce has largely been developed by established large retailers, which regard it as simply another sales channel. The gigantic grocery retailers that have expanded away from food and into a wide variety of other areas, such as clothing and electronic goods, have been particularly quick to appreciate its potential. The medium has also created opportunities for very small businesses. It is now possible to buy over the internet a wide range of specialized products that are not available in shopping malls. Thus, the internet has provided a lifeline for many small producers, and has allowed entrepreneurs to enter the retailing sector without the need to invest heavily in physical retail outlets.

E-commerce has proven so successful because it offers significant advantages to both consumers and retailers. Consumers can compare a vast array of retailers in a few minutes—something that it would be impossible to do physically. Online retailers often sell products and services at a significant discount to those offered by traditional outlets, and buying online is convenient: consumers can make their purchases from the comfort of their own homes, and have them delivered to their doors. Furthermore, online shopping appeals to the environmentally conscious. In March 2009, researchers at Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom revealed that online shopping is 24 times "greener" than taking the car to the shops, and seven times "greener" than taking the bus. The researchers compared the carbon footprint of a typical delivery from a local depot with average carbon footprints for shopping trips by car and bus, and found that home deliveries involved much lower levels of carbon emissions.

For businesses, the advantages of e-commerce lie mainly in the low cost of setting up and maintaining a business. Firms do not need to invest heavily in a physical presence, or in sales staff. However, they do have to organize payment systems, distribution, and returns.

Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at one point in the transaction's life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices social media, and telephones as well.

Electronic mail, sometimes called email, is a computer based method of sending messages from one computer user to another. These messages usually consist of individual pieces of text which you can send to another computer user even if the other user is not logged in (i.e. using the computer) at the time you send your message. The message can then be read at a later time. This procedure is analogous to sending and receiving a letter.  Originally, email messages were restricted to simple text, but now many systems can handle more complicated formats, such as graphics and word processed documents. When mail is received on a computer system, it is usually stored in an electronic mailbox for the recipient to read later. Electronic mailboxes are usually special files on a computer which can be accessed using various commands. Each user normally has their individual mailbox.

A mobile device (also known as a handheld device, handheld computer or simply handheld) is a small, hand-held computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input and/or a miniature keyboard and weighing less than 2 pounds (0.91 kg). Apple, HTC, LG, Research in Motion (RIM) and Motorola are just a few examples of the many manufacturers that produce these types of devices. A handheld computing device has an operating system (OS), and can run various types of application software, known as apps. Most hand held devices can also be equipped with WI-FI, Bluetooth and GPS capabilities that can allow connections to the Internet and other Bluetooth capable devices such as an automobile or a microphone headset. A camera or media player feature for video or music files can also be typically found on these devices along with a stable battery power source such as a lithium battery. Early pocket sized ones were joined in the late 2000s by larger but otherwise similar tablet computers. As in a personal digital assistant (PDA), the input and output are often combined into a touch-screen interface. Smartphones and PDAs are popular amongst those who wish to use some of the powers of a conventional computer in environments where carrying one would not be practical. Enterprise digital assistants can further extend the available functionality for the business user by offering integrated data capture devices like barcode, RFID and smart card readers.

Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. It definition of social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.

Telephone is an instrument that converts voice and other sound signals into a form that can be transmitted to remote locations and that receives and reconverts waves into sound signals. Telephone usage is to; (1.) To speak with (a person) by telephone. (2.) To initiate or make a telephone connection with; place a call to. (3.) To transmit (a message, for example) by telephone. To engage in communication by telephone.

Economic forces:

ROLE OF ECONOMIC INFLATION TO ONLINE SELLING

ROLE OF THE DOLLAR EXCAHNGE RATE

Political, Legal, and governmental forces:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the primary federal agency regulating e-commerce activities, including use of commercial emails, online advertising and consumer privacy. FTC's E-Commerce Guide provides an overview of e-commerce rules and regulations.

The following topics provide further information on how to comply with laws and regulations related to e-commerce.

Protecting Your Customers' Privacy

Most businesses collect and retain sensitive personal information from their customers and employees such as names, addresses, social security numbers, credit card numbers and other account numbers. Protecting personal information not only makes good business sense, it can also help you avoid legal problems. Depending on the type of data you are collecting, and who you are collecting it from, you may be subject to federal and state privacy laws. This guide explains which privacy laws apply to your business and how to comply with them.

Overview of Privacy Laws

Privacy laws federal, state, and local, affect most US companies. In addition, foreign privacy laws that impose restrictions on the transfer of personal data outside of their border, require US companies that do business with foreign entities to agree to other requirements and restrictions. US and foreign privacy laws may provide for stiff penalties in case of infringement. Government investigations and private litigation may result in the assessment of fines, damages or prison terms. Given this complex legal, regulatory, and judicial landscape, companies should not take privacy issues lightly or use a cookie-cutter approach.

What is Personally Identifiable Information?

Companies collect home addresses, unlisted phone numbers, names of spouse, house partners, children or dependents, employment history, salary, race or national origin, hobbies, personal interests or travels of their personnel, clients, and other third parties. This information often designated as "personally identifiable information" ("PII") is commonly stored in paper files or in electronic databases, stored on electronic address books, personal digital assistants, laptops, or servers accessible through LAN, WAN, intranets, extranets, or the Internet. PII may be crucial for many aspects of a company's operation, human resources (e.g., payroll, or company directory), interaction with clients and distributors, marketing, sales, or business development.