The Internet has changed the world in many ways. Instant communications have led to a wealth of information, and have pushed us into an age of information. This explosion of available information has in turn led to consumer awareness and an expanded consumer base. These expansions are perhaps the greatest boons to business since manufacturing became common practice, if businesses choose to utilize them.
The first thing that needs to be understood is who is online. Exact figures are not available for the Internet. There are only estimates as to how many people are online or how many businesses there are. This is because of the structure of the Internet. According to global reach, there are nearly 529 million people online. 1 Businesses are more difficult to count due to the question of what constitutes a business online. The US Census Bureau eliminated the question of how many and instead measured how much money was conducted online versus total retail sales. The Census Bureau started measuring these statistics during the 4th quarter of 1999 and the most recent numbers available are from 3rd quarter 2001. The sum total of sales during this period of time is estimated at 0.9 percent of total US retail sales or, over 54 billion dollars.2 The Better Business Bureau is also attempting to bring some order to the chaos by registering web sites with the BBB if they meet certain requirements. Currently they have over 6,000 web sites registered, but are receiving 300-400 applications each month.3 This widespread growth onto the internet is accelerating and as computers get more affordable and numerous, so will online users.
The affect of the Internet on business cannot be put easily into one straight answer. The best way to analyze the facts is to present the pros and cons of the change to e-business as relates to consumers and businesses. Consumers have experienced many pluses with the boom of e-business.
