Disadvantages of e-commerce
e-Commerce also has its disadvantages. It is difficult to conduct a few businesses electronically. For example, perishable foods and high-cost items such as jewellery or antiques may be impossible to adequately inspect from a remote location, regardless of the technologies that are devised in the future. However, most of the disadvantages of e-commerce today are due to the newness and rapidly developing pace of the underlying technologies.
Return on investment numbers is difficult to compute for investments in e-commerce, because the costs and benefits are hard to quantify. Costs, which are a function of technology, can change dramatically during even short-lived e-commerce implementation projects, because the underlying technologies change rapidly.
In addition to technology issues, many businesses face cultural and legal impediments to e-commerce. Some consumers are still somewhat fearful of sending their credit card numbers over the Internet. The legal environment in which e-commerce is conducted is full of unclear and conflicting laws. In many cases, government regulators have not kept up with technologies. As more businesses and individuals find the benefits of e-commerce compelling, many of these technology- and culture-related disadvantages will disappear.
Another important issue is security. Transactions between buyers and sellers in e-commerce include requests for information, quotation of prices, placement of orders and payment, and after sales services. The high degree of confidence needed in the authenticity, confidentiality, and timely delivery of such transactions can be difficult to maintain where they are exchanged over the Internet. The interception of transactions, and in particular credit card details, during transmission over the Internet is often a major obstacle to public confidence in e-commerce.
0 Comments