The medium-term development of e-commerce

The growth prospects of e-commerce are determined by many factors, only some of which can be influenced by the companies. The latter include not only investment in hardware and programs but also considerable additional expenses for learning, standardisation, communication, consultancy and organisational adjustments within the company. Surveys of the Ifo Institute show that the business infrastructure necessary for the automatic operation of e-commerce is not available to a sufficient extent in most companies. Central customer databases, for example, are only found among about 11% of the surveyed firms. Comparable data from the US is not available, but expert interviews confirm that a similar situation prevails in the US. In light of these deficits, a boom in e-commerce is not likely in the coming years despite the constant progress in this area.