Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

168 e-commerceRemington Rand. Working as a division within that company,the Eckert-Mauchly team completed Univac I in timefor the computer to make a remarkably accurate forecast ofthe 1952 presidential election results.Eckert continued with the Sperry-Rand Corporation(later called Univac and then Unisys Corporation) andbecame a vice president and senior technical adviser. Heretired in 1989. He received an honorary doctorate fromthe University of Pennsylvania in 1964. In 1969, he wasawarded the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highestaward for achievement in science and engineering.Further ReadingEckstein, P. “Presper Eckert.” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing18, vol. 1, Spring 1996, 25–44.McCartney, Scott. Eniac: the Triumphs and Tragedies of the World’sFirst Computer. New York: Berkley Books, 1999.Smithsonian Institution. National Museum of American History.“Presper Eckert Interview.” Available online. URL: http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/comphist/eckert.htm.Accessed August 14, 2007.e-commerceSince the introduction of credit cards and the beginningof banking automation in the 1960s, computers and communicationsnetworks have played an increasing role in theinfrastructure of commerce (see banking and computers).Some businesses also established proprietary networks (forexample, to allow pharmacies to order drugs directly fromsuppliers).Electronic sales directly to consumers were pioneeredby “teletex,” such as the French Minitel, as well as such servicesas CompuServe and America Online. However, theseservices were proprietary, meaning that businesses couldonly market to subscribers. The widespread adoption of theInternet in the mid-1990s (see World Wide Web) createdan open and potentially much larger marketplace.The first e-commerce boom came in the late 1990s,when enthusiasm about the seeming potential for unlimitedprofits drove numerous online startups, often withpoorly conceived business plans that assumed that rapidexpansion and low prices would result in gaining controlof a particular sector and achieving a dominant (andprofitable) position. Among the numerous casualties ofthe “dot-bust” of 2000–2001 was WebVan, a companythat sold and delivered groceries directly to consumer’shomes.While the bursting of the “dot-com bubble” was painfulto investors, entrepreneurs, and workers, recoverywas soon underway. The recovery was aided by the steadygrowth of Internet users (particularly those with broadbandconnections), innovative software for interacting withconsumers and analyzing transaction information, and thecoming of age of a generation that had virtually grown uponline.Today e-commerce is a steadily growing sector, and it isincreasingly international, fed by nearly 1.5 billion Internetusers worldwide. (China, with more than 250 million Webusers, has become the world’s largest online market.)Meanwhile in the United States in 2007 total consumerretail sales on the Internet reached $136 billion, up nearly20 percent over the previous year. According to a reportfrom Forrester Research, online retail revenues (excludingtravel-related services) will pass $250 billion by 2011. Surveysshow that about 80 percent of American Internet usershave bought something online, while many users who buyproducts off-line originally searched for information aboutthem online.The most popular e-commerce sectors today include theselling of books, music and movies, travel-related services,electronics, clothing, luxury goods, and medications. (In2006, online buyers actually spent more money on clothingthan on computers and related products.) A numberof other online activities can be considered part of e-commerce,although they are usually not included in retailingstatistics (see auctions, online; online gambling;online games; and social networking).InfrastructureSuccessful e-commerce depends on a complex array of services,facilities, and software. For marketing and consumercommunications, see online advertising and customerrelationship management. Behind the scenes, transactiondata is constantly being collected and analyzed todetermine the success of the marketing program and to“personalize” the customer experience and allow for targetedmarketing (see cookies and data mining).The actual transaction processing requires shoppingcart software and a connection to the credit card processinginfrastructure (see digital cash). Specialized forms of sellingrequire additional software and support systems (see,for example, auctions, online). An ongoing e-businessmust also deal with functions shared by “brick and mortar”(traditional) stores: inventory control, ordering from suppliers(see supply chain management), taxes, payroll, andso on. The broader e-commerce sector also includes businessesthat do not target consumers but, rather, the needsof business itself—so-called business to business or B2B.Security and PrivacyOne continuing obstacle to the growth of e-commerce hasbeen consumers’ concerns about the theft or misuse of personalinformation gathered as part of the shopping process.This can involve either fake Web sites (see phishing andspoofing) or legitimate businesses that sell informationabout customers without their knowledge or consent (seeprivacy in the digital age). According to a report fromGartner Research, more than $900 million in e-commercesales during 2006 was lost because of consumers’ securityconcerns, and about a billion dollars more in sales was lostbecause customers decided not to buy online at all.TrendsE-commerce is maturing even as it continues to evolve.Some trends in the second half of the 2000 decade reflectchanges in what is presented to the consumer, how it isdelivered, and how users can participate in ways other thansimply viewing content and selecting products: