E-Commerce

Disadvantages of Electronic Commerce

Some businesses are less suitable for electronic commerce.  Such businesses may be involved in the selling of items which are perishable or high-cost, or which require inspection before purchasing.  Most of the disadvantages of electronic commerce today, however, stem from the newness and rapidly developing pace of the underlying technologies.  These disadvantages will disappear as electronic commerce matures and becomes more available to and accepted by the general population.

Disadvantages:

·        Return-on-investment is difficult to calculate.

·   Many firms have had trouble recruiting and retaining employees with the technological, design, and business process skills needed to create an effective commerce presence.

·   Difficulty of integrating existing databases and transaction-processing software designed for traditional commerce into the software that enables electronic commerce.

·       Many businesses face cultural and legal obstacles to conducting electronic commerce.