Online retailing also known as online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over online channels primarily the Internet using a web browser. Online retail is decidedly convenient due to its 24-hour availability, global reach and generally efficient customer service.
Online retailing is a subset of e-commerce and refers to the purchase and sale of goods between consumers and retailers using the internet - also referred to as the business to consumer (or B2C) market. Other terms are interchanged for online retailing including e-tailing. Online retailing establishments are taking the form of „pure plays‟ in which businesses provide online only services in particular retail categories or as part of multi-channel establishments where online activities are combined with bricks and mortar operations. The growth of online shopping has occurred in the context of greater familiarity with, and confidence in, the use of the internet across a range of activities. This reflects a substantial cultural change in how the community is conducting economic transactions.
The increasing use by the community of the internet for e-commerce is facilitated by growing household access to the internet and improvements in the technical capability of internet infrastructure.ToSome extent, e-retailing can be attributed to new forms of goods and services with no direct analogue in the physical retail sector think apps and online gaming. But for the most part, these internet-based sales are simply capturing market share of items that previously were sold either through catalogues over the phone or by traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers in physical stores.
