Le e-commerce à l’heure du confinement
You all know at least one website. But do you know how long has it been around? Who invented them? How has e-commerce become essential? You will know everything thanks to this article.
E-commerce has become commonplace in many households. It takes the hassle out of travel, allows us to buy what we want anywhere and anytime of the day. But do you know how he was born? What impact does it have on our lives? On our children? Is it really harmless? This article will answer all your questions.
The birth of the web
The first website was launched on December 20, 1990. It is due to a CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) researcher, Tim Berners-Lee. He is the inventor of the famous "www", which stands for World Wide Web, literally the web on a global scale.
He created it with the aim of being able to share, exchange and inform people from all over the world without them having to meet him. The information he has disclosed on his site is second to none. Being able to get all the information they needed, with just one click ?! Unimaginable and yet he did.
Its site gathers basic information. Especially for researchers around the world. Particularly in the nuclear sector Its primary objective is to inform specialists about CERN research. Inform them of the World Wide Web project. The very one they were sailing on. Make possible a remote and continuous exchange of information.
This site was also intended to help other IT engineers to create websites. At that time, the creation of websites was totally revolutionary. It was not accessible as it is today. This first website has become the open door to the evolution of the web.
Tim Berners-Lee is a pioneer in IT innovation. His name is similar to that of a god in the computer world. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but he really revolutionized the world of computing.
Since then millions have been created, among them, world-famous sites including the famous GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple). Soon joined by Microsoft, hence the transformation into GAFAM.
Here are some examples with their publication date:
- Microsoft launched in 1975
- Creation of Apple Computer Inc in 1976
- The Yahoo! In 1994
- The Amazon e-commerce site in 1995
- The Google search engine in 1998
- The first Houra online cybermarket in 2000
- The famous social network Facebook in 2004
- The Youtube video platform in 2005
- The Dropbox storage system in 2008
- The Pinterest photo sharing network in 2010
Over all these years, the web has continued to improve and evolve. This exponential growth made it possible to exceed one billion websites in 2014. Even more impressive, there are no less than 4 billion users 5 years later. About 800,000 websites are created per day. This number is staggering, and it explains why it is so difficult to find a place in this great market that is the web.
The advantages and disadvantages of today's web
The invention of the Web has had both a positive and a negative impact. It has made a lot of breakthroughs in very important areas such as science, health, industry and so on. For that alone it will always have many more advantages. And that despite all the negative points that we can enumerate.
However, he took way too big a place for many of us. Sometimes even to the detriment of humans. Not all people who use it do so with kindness. As much as it can be very useful and even save lives, so much that in the wrong hands it could have a truly harmful impact. Our century is changing as it does, but it seems obvious that we must learn to use it correctly and wisely.
Our young people are more and more connected. I would even say constantly. It is almost essential to their existence. They use it for absolutely everything. Even if it means exposing yourself a little too much in plain sight. Social networks, influencers, reality TV personalities, all participate in their naive exhibition. It is up to us to teach them how to use it correctly and intelligently.
Regarding the pros, there are more than the cons. Obviously, this exceptional invention could not have only disadvantages.
For many it is an important source of information. He gives us everything we need. Scientists around the world share their findings on it. Advances in medical research appear there. School teachers often use it as a work aid. Doctors to communicate with each other around the world. Companies to promote their brands. Small producers sell their goods. It allows distance education, helps us in looking for our best vacation. It keeps us informed about news from around the world.
All this information that we can collect thanks to him makes us more curious, more educated, more interesting people ...
The web is full of really useful information. So useful that it has become a reflex to take out your smartphone to inquire as soon as we do not know something.
This invention remains one of the most important of our era. It will have allowed much progress and breakthroughs that could have been imagined 40 years ago. It is beneficial for so many things that it has taken a really important place in our lives. It has even become normal for 88% to connect to it. Knowing that evolution is not about to stop, it seems obvious that soon we will be living to the rhythm of it.
What is e-commerce?
The developments of our century have made possible deeds that were unimaginable a short time ago. Technological innovations are responsible for many of them.
In this digital age, owning a computer, tablet or smartphone is essential. We use it to manage our schedules, make doctor's appointments, buy clothes and everything else ...
Among these developments we can count electronic commerce or e-commerce. It is making an essential purchase or not, via a sales platform. All of these transactions are carried out remotely through the payment interface.
This is the offspring of mail order, mail order. Do you remember those big catalogs he got home? We spent hours going through them because there were so many pages. The 3 Swiss, the redoubt, damart and so on. It was our parents' ally, evening reading.
Today they have been replaced by e-commerce. Much more choice, immediately available, multiple resellers of the same product for a wider price range. e-commerce has many more advantages than mail order
In recent years, e-commerce has grown considerably. Thousands of sites have sprung up. They have invaded all sales sectors, all fields combined. According to the fevad (federation of e-commerce and distance selling), this market weighs more than 100 billion euros in 2019.
E-commerce also has a positive impact on the purchasing power of the French. Indeed, thanks to a catalog of very varied choices, references by the thousands and the war of "I am the cheapest", e-commerce takes care of your wallet.
According to internet lives stats, there are no less than 1.78 billion sites in the second quarter of 2020. These statistics were collected by this company using fairly complicated algorithms. However, given that several sites are being created per minute around the world, this number is surely already out of date.
With such a large number of websites, the growth of e-commerce can only change.
What has confinement changed in consumption habits?
The economic situation of our country, among other things, is complicated because of the health measures taken by the government. These measures force the closure of all non-essential businesses. In other words, we can do our shopping in supermarkets, but we cannot go to small merchants of clothing, jewelry, books and others, in our neighborhood.
As a result, many businesses have taken to selling online to make up for financial losses. The creation of websites exploded during confinement and even after. To cope with this change which has had a huge impact on VSEs / SMEs, they had to completely reorganize their sales system. Many companies that had created a website during the lockdown kept it afterwards. Sound decision since a new confinement has taken place.
The current context is, for many, a springboard for their e-commerce sites. This is a sector that was already booming before the outbreak of the Covid. With the development of all digital, it takes more and more place in our daily lives. But faced with the health crisis we are going through, consumption habits have changed. On average, we consult dozens of websites per day. As much out of necessity as out of entertainment or pure pleasure.
This is a significant benefit for these new administrators of e-commerce sites. Also according to FEVAD, online sales of brands with physical stores increased by 83% in the second quarter of 2020. An increase never seen in such a short period, and that since the creation of e-commerce.
Many French people make their food purchases via drives from supermarkets. March 16, 2020, On the first day of containment, drive orders increased by 237%. A barely believable increase. In the long term, 20% of additional customers favor drives. So-called non-essential purchases via e-commerce represent 10% of the market share.
This is explained by 2 things, the first happens to be as a result of health closures ordered by the government. Farmers' markets could not be set up, as did small local shops. The second is the fear of being in contact with the virus. Most of the users of the drive since the containment have confided to having taken to the drive because of this fear of being in contact with an infected person. The drive is the best option for shopping safely.
In conclusion, the health crisis has had a beneficial effect on e-commerce. While the lockdown has had a negative impact on real businesses, it's not all bad. The exponential growth of this market has allowed a lot of commerce to stay afloat. It’s a large market that can be viewed anytime, anywhere.
It allows for compulsive or non-compulsive purchases and helps the poorest households to maintain decent purchasing power. E-commerce offering much wider product ranges than in real stores and with increasingly attractive prices. Competition is also a major issue. The more you have an attractive site with the best prices, the better your business will be.
This new way of consuming is not about to decrease. And you, are you one of these new consumers? Obviously, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article and viewing my site;)