Global E Commerce Portal: Bridging The World Markets

Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 2010 by Singh, Nitish, Alhorr, Hadi S, Bartikowski, Boris P

Global e-commerce is expanding rapidly and several trillion dollars are being exchanged annually over the web. The global online population is also increasing substantially and by 2013, Wigder et al., [2009] of Forrester Research predict that there will be 2.2 billion Internet users worldwide and Asia will be the biggest global growth engine. Another interesting trend in global Internet usage is that almost 72.4 percent of these users are now non-English speaking [Internet World Stats, 2009]. So, besides English other languages like Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and French now have significant online usage. By 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce will be about $182.5 billion [Grau, 2008a]. On the other hand, European B2C e-commerce is expected to reach almost $234 billion by 2010 [Grau, 2006].According to e-marketer estimates by 2010 the British market share will fall to 44.5% as France and Germany ramp up their online sales. Asia will also see significant growth in B2C e-commerce with a 23.3 percent annual growth rate and eventually reaching almost $168.7 billion in 2011 [Grau, 2008b]. Japan and South Korea currently lead the B2C e-commerce sales in Asia but by 2011 they will be overtaken by China and India [Grau, 2008b]. From these numbers it is clear that e-commerce is now a truly global phenomenon. Thus web is increasingly becoming a diverse global marketplace with global business opportunities.

To take advantage of the full potential of global e-commerce, companies need to tap into global markets and consider expanding online not only in developed countries but also in the emerging economies of China, Brazil, India and others. Companies may proactively exploit global e-business opportunities and take advantage of the full potential of e-commerce, or may adopt a defensive approach to new global competition threatening their business. Domestic businesses will increasingly feel pressure of global competition as e-business will offer companies a platform to compete on global basis.