Trying to define E-Commerce: is it online shop and logistics directly from warehouse to customer?

Submitted by dirk_s on Wed, 2012-06-20 09:10

I hope its not the complete definition ;)

Innovative brick and mortar stores are reinventing themselves. They add e-commerce strategies to their business, but still fulfill locally through their stores - even the payment can still be traditional.

Startups develop crowdlogistic concepts, that can deliver quicker from a brick and mortare shop to your home, than an online shop from a warehouse...

Especially when we talk about "Can E-Commerce create new jobs?" I'm not sure. It really depends on the definition of "E-Commerce".

Is the Digital Agenda focusing enough on traditional small businesses?

Submitted by dirk_s on Wed, 2012-05-16 11:33

I understand that a main focus of the digital agenda is to enable every European citizen to make use of digital services.

I feel that one group is not enough in focus: Small traditional businesses ("offline" - local business). They still often struggle to make make use of digital services to reach their customers online and bring them back in their stores and locations.

Internet services need more available non-discriminatory API

Submitted by dirk_s on Wed, 2012-05-16 11:04

Compared to traditional businesses, Internet businesses are more "closed". They provide none, proprietary or APIs that do not serve both potentially involved parties with the same benefit.

Thats often due to the network effect - if you have enough users locked into your service, its getting hard to impossible for small innovative competitors to enter the market.