Today with the global economy in such disarray, the ecommerce trends are still growing. Although the patterns are sporadic the potential for continued expansion in the ecommerce sector of the business world is vast. Ecommerce growth So let's consider the possible effects of the world's financial problems on internet retail. First, it is probable that a lot of online retailers are going to fail. However, e-tailers that meet certain criteria are going to weather the storms ahead and possibly flourish. Here are three of the reasons why: 1.Online retailers actually need very little money to maintain visibility. Unlike retailers who have to spend thousands/month in rent and utilities, e-tailers only have to pay a few dollars/month in hosting fees to be in front of customers. 2.Internet retail is still growing even while traditional retail is shrinking. During 2007, internet retail grew 22% while total retail grew only 3.8%. While we may not see 22% growth this year, even in the face of bad times, internet retail is expected to grow. 3.While we do not expect to see an overwhelming number of failures, there may be enough to open up some opportunities for smaller e-tailers to take advantage of.

Buying patterns in e-commerce

In the 1940s, Thomas Watson, then chairman of IBM Corp., estimated the global aggregate demand for computers to be five. He simply could not foresee the explosive development that information technology (IT) would have over the second half of the 20th century, and especially its implications. Today more than 25,000 people gain Internet access every hour. This growth offers great opportunities and great challenges for existing businesses and potential customers A study by Merrill Lynch expects the number of European Internet users to jump from 72 million in 2000 to more than 300 million by the end of 2008. European consumers, however, have yet to get used to shopping online.

Revenue growth through customer acquisition and retention is as important a requirement in e-commerce as it is in other business. Customers, especially in the Western business culture, count speed of service as a key reason that they do business with a company. They resent delays and hate waiting for service. In most countries the gross domestic product (GDP) is generated through different kinds of services, and speed of service no longer distinguishes an enterprise as providing superior value. Customers generally are not thrilled if they receive good service, but they are highly dissatisfied if they do not. E-business provides the necessary framework to cope with these demands by cutting the waiting time for a service.

Customers also want consistent, reliable, and easy-to-use service. As the speed of service increases, customer expectations grow. Thus, making customer service friendly, easy, and solution-orientated is an important business trend. The increasing popularity of outsourcing makes this issue even more important. For outsourcing to succeed, enterprises must coordinate their operations with their partners and vendors. E-business helps streamline this integration process more accurately and efficiently than other business models. Northern European countries have the highest e-commerce penetration ratio, but the three largest traditional markets are the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Internet penetration continues to climb in Europe, and with its head start in wireless communications future prospects for e-commerce look bright. However, growth has been constrained somewhat by telecommunications regulations.

With the demographic areas expanding there is more of a need to utilize resources at hand to work within these countries. . This is where a professional payment providing service comes in. A Payment Service Provider (PSP) takes care of the financial battle ground and leaves the operation of your business up to you. With today's society grasping internet retail more and more, the handling of the various types of currencies and credit/debit card is getting more complicated. So, here is where you have to decide on whom you will trust your business with. All of the payment providers operating today have somewhat similar features. But the serious providers take it a bit further and make it more personable by taking their business and your business to heart. The things you should take into account before selecting a provider are: • Security • Rebilling • Virtual Terminal • Customizable Payment Page • Chargeback Protection • Real Time Reporting

The consumers are trending towards ecommerce as the way to make the best of the difficult time ahead, and some of the evolving payment service providers are there to provide the solutions to put the consumers and the e-tailors together. With the global crisis the evolving PSP are combining solution packages to include the merchant into affiliate programs where it is a win-win situation; the additional marketing channel for the merchant and revenue for the PSP.

I am a MarCom Rep. for an online payment provider.