Benefits To Consumers That Use e-Commerce
Maxine Jones
Strayer University
Professor W.E. Simonpietri
Fundamentals of E-Business 107
January 30, 2011

Electronic Commerce consists of buying and selling of products and services over electronic systems, such as the internet and other computer networks. We are now able to conduct business, socialize, and trade in a more innovative way. Electronic Commerce early beginnings started as far back as the late 1970’s with the introduction of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Later, a researcher named Tim Berners-Lee at the European Organization for Nuclear Research proposed a hypertext-based web of information, that a user could navigate using a simple interface called a browser. He named it the “World Wide Web”. This invention has facilitated us in various aspects of our daily lives. “In 1989 the National Science Foundation permitted two commercial e-mail services, MCI Mail and CompuServe to establish limited connections to the internet for the sole purpose of exchanging e-mail transmissions with users of the internet”, (Electronic Commerce, 2010, pg. 57). Commercial businesses were not allowed to use the internet. “The AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) prohibited the use of the NSFNET for purposes not in support of research and education, a policy consistent with the NSF’s mission,” (Chaudhury, Abijit; Jean-Pierre Kuilboer, 2002) “Later, in 1991 NSF restrictions were then lifted on commercial businesses use of the internet; plans to privatize the internet were underway” (Electronic Commerce, 2010, pg. 57). The way for web-based e-commerce was born.
E-Commerce has opened countless doors to a diverse group of consumers. Many buyers choose to use e-commerce because they are provided with a broad range of choices than traditional commerce. They can consider many different