For centuries, the primary method that people used to purchase any goods would be to go to the store. Be it for clothing or food and everything in between, an individual would visit a store that sold the product they desired and they would pay for it with physical money. It only made sense for a person to see the object that they would spend their earnings on. The idea of obtaining something in any other way seemed completely foreign. The advent of modern technology has completely changed this, and the introduction of e-commerce has offered a popular alternative to the previous process.

E-commerce refers to the ability to buy and sell products online. For many, this new ability has become the preferred way to shop. In the US alone, the data shows that online shopping in 2016 earned $394.86 billion in sales. On its own this number is huge, and it is even more notable when we factor in that this is a 15.6% growth from 2015. If we then look at another nation, China, we can see that online shopping accounted for 26.1 trillion yuan of sales in 2016 and a rise of 19.8%. These are massive numbers that prove that the e-commerce industry is not only booming but also growing rapidly. The question then is, what sparked this digital revolution?

The Rise of Online Shopping

Certain elements that make online shopping better than physical are obvious. You can shop whenever you want, you can shop wherever you want, you can avoid long queues and you can compare prices without leaving your home. These are just a few positives but the question still remains, how did online shopping become so popular? The answer to this is likely to be found in the advent of special sales and sale days.

A day like Black Friday has existed for decades, however now that people can purchase goods digitally it has become even more popular. Individuals can now get the benefits of these sales without having to deal with the hordes of like minded shoppers. In 2016, Black Friday garnered $3.35 billion in sales within a single 24 hour period. Black Friday is only one example of a special sale that drives e-commerce. Every week online stores have a variety of specials, many of which only exist online. Not only is it much easier to purchase products on sale digitally, but in many cases the sale is only online. Shoppers would be foolish to buy things any other way as they are getting whatever they need cheaper and more conveniently.

Its is clear then that e-commerce is not the future of retail but the present. If you sell something that has a demand, the only smart thing to do is to sell it online. EditMe have expertly set up a variety of e-commerce websites, and look forward to building many more.

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