E-commerce to 2020
Dr Peter Marsh of the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC), who conducted the study said: “The Web has already revolutionised the way we shop – groceries, clothing, skills and services are all bought and sold online and the ethos behind shopping sites, based on a moral economy of trust and reputation will continue to shape our v/e-commerce experiences.”
In the study Dr Marsh goes on to say: “By 2020 v-commerce will replace e-commerce, with 3D virtual equivalents of shopping malls. ‘Minority Report’ style responsive billboards with ‘customised’ advertising to personal handhelds, computers, and Internet TVs, will have resulted in a mass personalisation and diversification of advertising and marketing. Importantly however shops will not have become obsolete. Shopping is a leisure activity and people will still enjoy its physical aspects: feeling a sweater and trying on shoes will make up an important part of the shopping experience.”
Jacques Greyling, MD of Rackspace Managed Hosting UK, the UK’s most recommended hosted company said: “The growth of v-commerce over the next ten years, as predicted by SIRC, will be used to give customers a more tangible online shopping experience, where users can navigate virtual shopping malls in a 3D environment, providing an enhanced shopping experience that will to help drive online sales. This move to virtual shopping will also place increased demand on the technology used to support online services, such as web hosting, and so the robustness and reliability of these providers will be critical to its success.”
Paul Hatcher, Web Development Director at Base 01, a specialist B2B and digital agency said: “Technology is developing to make the idea of virtual shopping more feasible for a wider commercial market. Retailers are seeing the popularity of sites, such as Second Life, and are opening their minds to this being the way of the future. Whilst the development of such sites today is very much for pioneers, as the technology becomes more established and available for retailers of all sizes, and as users’ experience and familiarity of the virtual world grows, this type of online experience without doubt will become the norm by 2020.”
Jacques Greyling said: “There has been much speculation about where the Web will take retail in the future. This study shows that the Web in 2020 will be characterised by personalisation and customisation while being backed up and supported by well-designed and hosted online environments. Retailers will be able to offer locally sourced produce and goods on a highly personalised basis, reducing the need for stock piling.”
The SIRC report examines the role the Internet will play in the year 2020 and comments on a wide-ranging number of elements extending from retail to business, work and social interactions. It can be downloaded from www.rackspace.co.uk/2020.
