August 11, 1994. A man sold a CD of the band Sting, to his colleague through the website NetMarket, an American retail platform. It was the first ever online sale—the birth of the e-commerce industry. Today, the e-commerce industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the market.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the e-commerce industry in Australia is worth $23 billion and is increasing at a higher rate rather than the traditional retail industry, with $1 in every $20 now paid online.
In the future, e-commerce is expected to see its development in the global e-business market and various changes in its functions. Online retail giants like eBay and Amazon will be continuously fighting for getting market domination in Australia. Therefore, consumers are expected to get various benefits like new innovations, world-class service, lesser prices and offers, and greater deals. Third-party delivered inventory and logistics in Amazon will help in creating a more loyal customer base and ensuring good quality services.
Alexa, the voice commerce product of Amazon will definitely witness more attraction in the coming years. New buying styles like voice commerce will get more popularity, and at the same time, the automated inventory and supply chain will create an effective sales channel in the market where customers can get delivery services quickly. In between these e-commerce organizations, competition factor will result in a healthy and efficient sales process around the market.
2019 is expected to see an e-commerce market that is completely driven by technologies like AI, AR, and chatbots. These technologies are going to build more customized and efficient sales mechanism by giving more importance to customer satisfaction. E-commerce organizations will be more focused on the value addition and customer satisfaction, and to attain this, they will use short-term strategies such as product diversification and provision of discounts which will help them to build a unique brand experience.
A higher level of competition will always force organizations to upgrade and update their services. Integration of AI with machine learning will add more competitive advantages to the online retailers or e-commerce organizations to create a technology-driven future to the world of online business. The ultimate aim of the e-business will be to attain the highest market share with a happier customer base.
