Cyber law II

By Prof. Kiran Marwade

UNIT 4
E-Commerce and Legal Regulation

E-Commerce its types, Advantages and Disadvantages:

What is e-commerce?

E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services, or
the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the internet.
These business transactions occur either as business-to-business (B2B),
business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-business.

The terms e-commerce and e-business are often used interchangeably. The term e-tail
is also sometimes used in reference to the transactional processes that make up online
retail shopping.

In the last two decades, widespread use of e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and
eBay has contributed to substantial growth in online retail. In 2011, e-commerce
accounted for 5% of total retail sales, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2020,
with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it had risen to over 16% of retail sales.

How does e-commerce work?

E-commerce is powered by the internet. Customers access an online store to browse

through and place orders for products or services via their own devices.

As the order is placed, the customer's web browser will communicate back and forth
with the server hosting the e-commerce website. Data pertaining to the order will be
relayed to a central computer known as the order manager. It will then be forwarded to
databases that manage inventory levels; a merchant system that manages payment
information, using applications such as PayPal; and a bank computer. Finally, it will
circle back to the order manager. This is to make sure that store inventory and
customer funds are sufficient for the order to be processed.

After the order is validated, the order manager will notify the store's web server. It will
display a message notifying the customer that their order has been successfully
processed. The order manager will then send order data to the warehouse or fulfilment
department, letting it know the product or service can be dispatched to the customer.
At this point tangible or digital products may be shipped to a customer, or access to a
service may be granted.

Platforms that host e-commerce transactions include online marketplaces that sellers
sign up for, such as Amazon; software as a service (SaaS) tools that allow customers
to "rent" online store infrastructures; or open source tools that companies manage
using their in-house developers.
 Types of e-commerce
Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce refers to the electronic exchange of
products, services or information between businesses rather than between
businesses and consumers. Examples include online directories and product and
supply exchange websites that let businesses search for products, services and
information and initiate transactions through e-procurement interfaces. A
Forrester report published in 2018 predicted that by 2023, B2B e-commerce will
reach $1.8 trillion dollars and account for 17% of U.S. B2B sales.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) is the retail part of e-commerce on the internet. It

is when businesses sell products, services or information directly to consumers.
The term was popular during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, when online
retailers and sellers of goods were a novelty.

Today, there are innumerable virtual stores and malls on the internet selling all
types of consumer goods. Amazon is the most recognized example of these
sites. It dominates the B2C market.

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) is a type of e-commerce in which consumers

trade products, services and information with each other online. These
transactions are generally conducted through a third party that provides an
online platform on which the transactions are carried out.

Online auctions and classified advertisements are two examples of C2C

platforms. EBay and Craigslist are two well-known examples of these
platforms. Because eBay is a business, this form of e-commerce could also be
called C2B2C -- consumer-to-business-to-consumer. Platforms like Facebook
marketplace and Depop -- a fashion reselling platform -- also enable C2C
transactions.

Consumer-to-business (C2B) is a type of e-commerce in which consumers make

their products and services available online for companies to bid on and
purchase. This is the opposite of the traditional commerce model of B2C.
A popular example of a C2B platform is a market that sells royalty-free
photographs, images, media and design elements, such as iStock. Another
example would be a job board.

Business-to-administration (B2A) refers to transactions conducted online

between companies and public administration or government bodies. Many
branches of government are dependent on various types of e-services or
products. These products and services often pertain to legal documents,
registers, social security, fiscal data and employment. Businesses can supply
these electronically. B2A services have grown considerably in recent years as
investments have been made in e-government capabilities.

Consumer-to-administration (C2A) refers to transactions conducted online

between consumers and public administration or government bodies. The
government rarely buys products or services from individuals, but individuals
frequently use electronic means in the following areas:

Advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce

Benefits of e-commerce include its around-the-clock availability, the speed of access,
the wide availability of goods and services, easy accessibility and international reach.

● Availability. Aside from outages and scheduled maintenance, e-commerce

sites are available 24/7, enabling visitors to browse and shop at any time.
Brick-and-mortar businesses tend to open for a fixed number of hours and
may even close entirely on certain days.
● Speed of access. While shoppers in a physical store can be slowed by
crowds, e-commerce sites run quickly, which is determined by compute and
bandwidth considerations on both the consumer device and the e-commerce
site. Product and shopping cart pages load in a few seconds or less. An
e-commerce transaction can comprise a few clicks and take less than five
minutes.
● Wide availability. Amazon's first slogan was "Earth's Biggest Bookstore." It
could make this claim because it was an e-commerce site and not a physical
store that had to stock each book on its shelves. E-commerce enables
brands to make a wide array of products available, which are then shipped
from a warehouse or various warehouses after a purchase is made.
Customers will likely have more success finding what they want.
 ● Easy accessibility. Customers shopping a physical store may have difficulty
locating a particular product. Website visitors can browse product category
pages in real time and use the site's search feature to find the product
immediately.
● International reach. Brick-and-mortar businesses sell to customers who
physically visit their stores. With e-commerce, businesses can sell to
anyone who can access the web. E-commerce has the potential to extend a
business's customer base.
● Lower cost. Pure play e-commerce businesses avoid the costs of running
physical stores, such as rent, inventory and cashiers. They may incur
shipping and warehouse costs, however.
● Personalization and product recommendations. E-commerce sites can track
a visitor's browse, search and purchase history. They can use this data to
present personalised product recommendations and obtain insights about
target markets. Examples include the sections of Amazon product pages
labelled "Frequently bought together" and "Customers who viewed this
item also viewed."

The perceived disadvantages of e-commerce include sometimes limited customer

service, consumers not being able to see or touch a product prior to purchase and the
wait time for product shipping.

● Limited customer service. If customers have a question or issue in a

physical store, they can see a clerk, cashier or store manager for help. In an
e-commerce store, customer service can be limited: The site may only
provide support during certain hours, and its online service options may be
difficult to navigate or not answer a specific question.
● Limited product experience. Viewing images on a webpage can provide a
good sense about a product, but it's different from experiencing the product
directly, such as playing a guitar, assessing the picture quality of a
television or trying on a shirt or dress. E-commerce consumers can end up
buying products that differ from their expectations and have to be returned.
In some cases, the customer must pay to ship a returned item back to the
retailer. Augmented reality technology is expected to improve customers'
ability to examine and test e-commerce products.
● Wait time. In a store, customers pay for a product and go home with it. With
e-commerce, customers must wait for the product to be shipped to them.
Although shipping windows are decreasing as next-day and even same-day
delivery becomes common, it's not instantaneous.
 ● Security. Skilled hackers can create authentic-looking websites that claim to
sell well-known products. Instead, the site sends customers fake or
imitation versions of those products -- or simply steals credit card
information. Legitimate e-commerce sites also carry risk, especially when
customers store their credit card information with the retailer to make future
purchases easier. If the retailer's site is hacked, threat actors may steal that
credit card information. A data breach can also lead to a damaged retailer
reputation.

UNCITRAL model law:

UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985), with

amendments as adopted in 2006

The Model Law is designed to assist States in reforming and modernising their laws on
arbitral procedure so as to take into account the particular features and needs of
international commercial arbitration. It covers all stages of the arbitral process from the
arbitration agreement, the composition and jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal and the
extent of court intervention through to the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral
award. It reflects worldwide consensus on key aspects of international arbitration practice
having been accepted by States of all regions and the different legal or economic systems
of the world.
Amendments to articles 1 (2), 7, and 35 (2), a new chapter IV A to replace article 17 and a
new article 2 A were adopted by UNCITRAL on 7 July 2006. The revised version of
article 7 is intended to modernise the form required of an arbitration agreement to better
conform with international contract practices. The newly introduced chapter IV A
establishes a more comprehensive legal regime dealing with interim measures in support
of arbitration. As of 2006, the standard version of the Model Law is the amended version.
The original 1985 text is also reproduced in view of the many national enactments based
on this original version.

E-Commerce legal aspects: Legal Issues Associated with E-commerce

There are various legal issues associated with E-Commerce businesses as well. And if
these issues are not taken care of in time, they can lead to serious problems for your
business. Described below are some of the common legal issues an e-commerce
business faces.
1. Contracts

The ability for parties to make genuine and legally enforceable contracts online is at
the heart of e-commerce. As parties replace paper documents with electronic
equivalents, basic problems arise about how e-contracts may be made, performed, and
enforced. The Information Technology Act of 2000 governs contractual elements of
electronic record use, including attribution, acknowledgment, dispatch time and
location, and reception. The IT Act, however, should be read in connection with the
Indian Contracts Act, 1872, because it is just an enabling Act. The Contract Act
requires three key factors for the formation of every contract. There must be an offer,
which must be accepted without alteration, and there must be some kind of
remuneration for the contract. E-contracts would benefit from these elements.

However, a difficult question that law often arises: How do we know whether the
offeree has ACCEPTED the offer?

Additionally, this will require certain types of contracts and the impossibility of
determining the true consumer’s age, with the standard age to enter into contracts set
at 18. As a result, it’s critical that an online business portal considers this possibility
and includes a form on its website saying that the person with whom it’s dealing or
entering into an e-contract has reached the age of majority.

2. Privacy and Data Protection

The privacy of its users is a vital factor for every e-commerce company. Individuals
and organisations can easily get personal and sensitive information thanks to
breakthrough technology and a lack of safe processes. When it comes to internet
enterprises, privacy is a big concern that may lead to issues for both the company and
its consumers. Consumers exchange personal information with companies via the
internet and expect the sellers to keep it private. When an e-commerce firm caters to
customers in other countries, those countries may have laws that render the
e-commerce corporation accountable for infringing the privacy rights of the foreign
customer. For example, if Company A in India collects personal data from a European
Union customer and distributes it to firms in the United States, it may be accountable
for infringing on the customer’s privacy rights. When it comes to internet enterprises,
privacy is a big concern that may lead to issues for both the company and its
consumers. Consumers exchange personal information with companies via the internet
and expect the sellers to keep it private.
3. Intellectual Property Rights

All trademarks and copyrights for the items, words, and symbols to be utilised must be
protected. India, on the other hand, has a well-defined legal and regulatory framework
for the protection of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, the regulations have yet
to be entirely updated for total efficiency in the virtual world. For example, there is no
law against the misrepresentation and abuse of domain names.

Using content from another firm while creating material for your e-commerce website
might be a serious legal issue. This might mark an end to your e-business. There are
several royalty-free websites that allow you to access their information and photos.
You may utilise those websites to generate online content for your company’s website.

E-commerce websites are often built and administered by third companies that are
experts in the sector. A third party is frequently in charge of the material. Thus, unless
the parties agreement expressly states that IP rights are protected, there is a risk of
trademark, copyright, or patent infringement on an online platform.

4. Jurisdictional Issues

In India, there is a scarcity of jurisprudence on questions of jurisdiction in the

e-commerce sector. Due to the occurrence of several transactions, resolving disputes
in the B2C sector is particularly difficult. Aside from the design of the corporate
structure, judgments must be made on the jurisdiction in which the corporate structure
should be located since this will decide the scope of any responsibility that may
emerge against the website. Apart from the form of the corporate structure, decisions
must be taken on the jurisdiction in which it should be based since this will determine
the scope of any liability that may arise against the website.

This means that you can be sued in a foreign court even if you are not physically
present in that nation, as long as your website has just a minimum connection to that
nation. As a result, a business should include an applicable choice of law and forum
provisions in its online contract, identifying the jurisdiction to which the contractual
parties would be subject. In general, much local legislation allows for a long-arm
jurisdiction, which means that the execution of such local laws has extraterritorial
applicability if an act or omission has resulted in some illegal or adverse consequence
inside the country’s territory.
Electronic signature issues:
The traditional signatures are hand written and are uniquely representative of one’s
identity. The use of signature is mandatory in law in certain cases and holds an important
legal position in the document as it signify two things, the identity of the person and its
intent to it. The Signature is one’s identity on a document and is used in day to day
transaction and in case of illiterate persons its fingerprint is considered as his signature.
The handwritten signature is prone to forgery and tampering hence insufficient for online
transaction and contracts. The online transaction requires unique and strong protection
which is served by electronic signature.

The concept of digital signature was introduced through Information Technology Act 2000
in India, which is enhanced with hybrid concept of electronic signature which is based on
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures 2001. The electronic signature is a
technologically neutral concept and includes a digital signature. The object and purpose of
electronic signature are similar to that of traditional signature. In cyber world electronic
signature ensures that the electronic records are authentic and legitimate as electronic
signature are safer and cannot be forged and is convenient as the sender himself does not
have to be present personally at the place to contract to sign the document. For example a
person can sign a contract in India and send it to any part of the world to complete the
transaction.

The traditional signatures are hand written and are uniquely representative of one’s
identity. The use of signature is mandatory in law in certain cases and holds an important
legal position in the document as it signify two things, the identity of the person and its
intent to it. The Signature is one’s identity on a document and is used in day to day
transaction and in case of illiterate persons its fingerprint is considered as his signature.
The handwritten signature is prone to forgery and tampering hence insufficient for online
transaction and contracts. The online transaction requires unique and strong protection
which is served by electronic signature.

The concept of digital signature was introduced through Information Technology Act 2000
in India, which is enhanced with hybrid concept of electronic signature which is based on
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures 2001. The electronic signature is a
technologically neutral concept and includes a digital signature. The object and purpose of
electronic signature are similar to that of traditional signature. In cyber world electronic
signature ensures that the electronic records are authentic and legitimate as electronic
signature are safer and cannot be forged and is convenient as the sender himself does not
have to be present personally at the place to contract to sign the document. For example a
person can sign a contract in India and send it to any part of the world to complete the
transaction.
E contracts issues:
Issues and challenges faced in e-contract
● E-contract:
The Indian Contract Act and the IT Act are legally valid e-contracts.
E-contracts are ruled by certain rules that mandates that contracts can be
undertaken through free consent and lawful consideration between the two
individual. There is a huge possibility that in e-contract minors also enter into
contracts. So in order to stop minors entering into contract the forms on the
websites should mention that whoever the individual undertakes the contract
should be above 18years.

● Data Protection:
Protecting the facts in online is the major worry of every individual. The
Information Technology 2011 and the Section 43A of the IT Act both
highlights the recommendations of how to protect the data in India.Every
Company should take care in order to protect from corruption , damage , loss or
destruction of any kind of private information or data also in the
communication of the contract between parties.

● Intellectual Property Rights:

Sometimes it is seen that e-commerce website are operated by some other
parties who are specialised in the same stream . The information is protected by
the third party. If the agreement do not provide IP rights between parties then
there is a possibility of infringement on trademark , copyright or patent at
online platform.

● Product returns and refunds:

In e-contract the consumer has the right to cancel the product after it was
ordered. If the customer is not satisfied with product returns the product to the
seller. Many times we have seen that consumers get attracted with the products
on the screen as it looks eye catching and orders it but when the product
reaches in hand they become unsatisfied and returns the product. Many times
consumers also face fraudulence. It should be further observed that if goods are
cancelled the refunds should be receive by the consumers within few days but
traders usually block the consumers money by not refunding. Hence refund
time should be mentioned in advance by the law which if exceeded by the
trader will lead to fine.
 ● Delivery of faulty goods:
In electronic contracts we have faced issues like ordering goods but receiving
false goods. We have many time seen such cases in our real life as well as read
in newspapers like a person ordered a laptop but received a brick , a vim bar
instead of Samsung Galaxy Core 2 , pieces of stones was received once instead
of iPhone 4S. The legislation orders the seller to provide equal amount of
compensation to the suffered consumers to curb the issues. But still there are
sellers who does acts in order to harass the consumer. In order to stop this issue
strict rules and laws should be imposed.

E commerce trends:
Ecommerce Trends Leading the Way
We spoke with leaders in the industry about the changes this year and they had a lot to
share. So, let's explore the biggest ecommerce trends and see where things are headed.

1. AR enhances the reality of online shopping.

2. There will be a growing volume of voice search.
3. AI helps shops learn about shoppers.
4. On-site personalization uses those insights to create individualized experiences.
5. Big data plays a big part in creating personalized experiences.
6. Chatbots improve the shopping experience.
7. Mobile shopping is still on the move.
8. More ways to pay.
9. Headless and API-driven ecommerce allow continued innovation.
10. Customers respond to video.
11. Subscriptions keep customers coming back.
12. Sustainability is becoming more important.
13. Businesses should optimize digital strategy for conversion.
14. B2B is growing...and changing.

1. Augmented reality enhances the reality of online shopping.

Augmented reality (AR) has been a complete game changer for ecommerce. With this
type of technology, shoppers can truly see the item they're shopping for, which helps
them make a buying decision. AR really changes the shopping experience in specific
industries, such as fashion and home decor because the customer can get a better feel
for the item without seeing it in-person.
In 2019, Gartner predicted that 100 million consumers will shop using AR by 2020, so
it will be interesting to see how that shakes out next year.
Michael Prusich, Director of Business Development at 1Digital Agency, agrees with
this prediction:
“Polls have shown some really powerful numbers in regards to AR too: 35% of people
say that they would be shopping online more if they could virtually try on a product
before buying it, and 22% would be less likely to visit a brick-and-mortar store if AR
was available via their favourite ecommerce store. AR grants a person with the ability
to not just see a 3D model of a product but lets a user see how it looks if they were
actually wearing it. Some products and industries lend themself better to traditional
shopping methods, but AR is going to shake things up sooner than later.”
Tessa Wuertz, Director of Marketing & Partnerships, efelle.com, also sees the
potential for even smaller to mid market businesses joining the trend:
“We are expecting a lot more businesses to utilize AR for their products and
businesses — so much so that it will become more standard in ecommerce and social
media platforms. We’re seeing it put to use with larger companies, but I think we’re
soon going to start seeing it become mainstream for businesses of all sizes.”

2. There will be a growing volume of voice search.

Not only do more people own smart speakers, but they also rely on voice assistants to
complete daily tasks. Loop Ventures forecasts that 75% of U.S. households will own a
smart speaker by 2025.
As more homes adopt smart speakers, more consumers will utilize voice search to
shop online, order food and organize their lives. The rise of voice search creates an
opportunity for ecommerce businesses in terms of keywords and content.
David Zimmerman, Director of eCommerce Solutions, Kensium, included “more
involvement of voice-enabled solutions in the commerce space with Amazon Alexa
and Google Home” high on his list of 2020 trends to keep an eye on.

3. AI helps shops learn about shoppers.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning make it possible for the customer to
have automated, personalized shopping experiences. AI is continuously collecting
data on how a customer shops, when they buy purchases and what they're looking for
in a product or a service. It's a piece of technology that really can't be replicated
in-store.
Ron Smith, Editor in Chief, The Digital Outdoor, emphasizes how the complexity of
AI and the ability to make it more human is also increasingly important:
“People want to know that brands care about them, and AI will be programmed
accordingly. We have currently seen the opposite behavior on social media, where AIs
learn from humans’ more negative remarks, but it’s highly likely that consumers will
crave the impact. If bots can learn how to form sentences to convey an emotion,
companies can soon teach them to offer comfort and products based on customers’
moods.”

4. On-site personalization uses those insights to create individualised experiences.

Buyers of all sorts — including B2C and B2B — are looking for personalised, custom
shopping experiences online. The data collected from AI is what makes it possible for
a buyer to get personalized product recommendations and detailed customer service.
Implementing personalized experiences on-site or in marketing efforts has been shown
to have a strong effect on revenue, with one study finding it had a 25% revenue lift for
retailers scaling advanced personalization capabilities.
For further context, this accounted for 19% of participating companies while retailers
that were "building basic personalization capabilities" achieved "a revenue lift of 10%
or more; the retailers in this tier account for 40% of the participating companies.
Kaleigh Moore, freelance writer and ecommerce specialist, sees AI-powered
personalization becoming increasingly relevant in 2020:
“As brands harness and leverage more data, they’ll be able to create incredibly
relevant experiences for shoppers that feel tailor-made.”

5. Big data plays a role in creating personalised experiences.

Today, many consumers are more aware that ecommerce sites are collecting personal
data, which puts them at risk. Because of this, experts have mixed feelings about the
benefits of big data and how it affects the personalised shopping experience.
Luis Catter, Conversion Rate Optimization Expert at Kensium Solutions, has his own
predictions for how personalization will continue to evolve alongside data concerns:
“As the tech giants continue to expand and bring more services in-house,
personalization will eventually make its way to the internet of things. In addition to
seeing suggestions on search engines or shopping platforms, we’ll also see them on
our thermostats and our doorbell cameras. However, with some of the legislation
being enacted, we’ll be able to opt out of it. This will create an interesting dichotomy
— people who have ultra-personalized experiences and those who do not. This will
have interesting impacts on how we as marketers are able to reach new users.”

6. Chatbots improve shopping experiences.

Chatbots interact with online shoppers much like an in-store sales associate would do.
Today's shopper wants to be able to find and buy a product in just a few clicks, and if
they can't, they get frustrated. This is where a chatbot can step in and save the sale.
Experts predict that 80% of businesses will be using chatbots in 2020.
Shane Barker, Founder and CEO of ecommerce thought leadership blog
shanebarker.com/blog posits:
“Chatbots are all the rage today for customer support. However, I think they’ll
drastically change the way people shop online. They’ll become one of the most
important marketing tools. In the retail space, self-checkout kiosks will probably
become the norm and in-store marketing will increase.”
Duran Inci, CEO of Optimum7, sees chatbots becoming increasingly personalized to
improve the customer experience:
“The same way chatbots are becoming more intuitive, so do I think that personal
shopping assistant bots online will become more prevalent, using previous data to help
anticipate new products that you’ll like. Similar to Amazon’s suggestions for similar
products.”

7. Mobile shopping is still on the move.

Mobile shopping allows customers to make purchases from anywhere, which is vital
in today's world. However, if your ecommerce site isn't responsive on mobile or
through web apps, you'll be missing out on big opportunities. Shoppers who are
mobile users want the added convenience, plus the ability to pay digitally.
In 2019, Statista estimated that by the end of 2021, 73% of ecommerce sales will take
place on a mobile device.
Corey Dubeau, VP of Marketing at Northern Commerce, is one of many who see
“improved quality and more mobile payment integrations” to be a harbinger of change
in 2020.

8. More ways to pay.

Customers have individual needs when it comes to payment methods, but they might
cancel a potential sale if they can't pay how they want on an ecommerce website.
Offering a wide variety of ways to pay is a good way to increase conversion rates on
mobile devices. Plus, if customers can save their payment information on your site,
they'll be able to checkout even faster the next time they make a purchase.
Joe Chilson, Head Writer and Account Manager, 1Digital Agency sees centralization
of payments also making strides in 2020:
“Think about how easy it would be to buy a product on any website if, at checkout,
you could simply give them an ID unique to you. This unique ID would be for a
centralised wallet service that would securely store all your payment info, shipping
and billing addresses, preferences, etc. Companies like Apple and PayPal have taken
shots at this in the past, but I think it could become more normalised.”

9. Headless and API-driven ecommerce allow continued innovation.

Headless commerce is a solution that allows an online store’s ecommerce platform to

be completely decoupled from the frontend presentation layer.
More ecommerce businesses are adopting headless because of its flexibility on the
backend, plus the added SEO, content marketing and digital experience capabilities.
LARQ Ecommerce Architect Antonio Kaleb explains: “With headless, we get more
control over our content and customer journey through checkout. We had a
multi-region need that was solved with the headless BigCommerce solution, allowing
us to combine all of our stores into one single domain, for which we have developed
additional features.”

10. Customers respond to video.

Video proved to be a great way to engage customers in 2019, and it's not going away
anytime soon. Creating videos for your website is a great way to instantly grab and
engage a customer and inform them about your product or service.
Ron Smith, Editor in Chief, The Digital Outdoor considers how video can be used to
help educate customers:
“I see the use of podcasting and short video content to augment the opportunity for
buyers to learn about how an ecommerce brand’s products and services provide the
solution to the opportunity, challenge or problem a buyer is looking to answer. With
these two forms of content development comes the technology to micro track a
viewer’s engagement…”
Shane Barker further emphasizes the importance:
“The importance of videos can’t be understated. Videos can help you explain and
showcase your products better than images ever can. You should consider adding
videos of your products in your ecommerce store.”

11. Subscriptions keep customers coming back.

There are subscriptions of all sorts these days and their convenience is attractive for
consumers. For companies, subscription services create a way to plan for inventory
and sales that are already locked in.
David Zimmerman, Director of eCommerce Solutions, Kensium still predicts that
“more companies will offer subscription services or monthly payment options for
larger purchases” in the coming year.

12. Sustainability is becoming more important.

Consumers and businesses alike are becoming more aware of the environment.
Because of this, consumers are being more conscious about where they shop and the
impact it has on the environment and related effects.
One survey found that 50% of respondents wanted more sustainability in the fashion
industry, and 75% wanted to see less packaging.
Many businesses are finding ways to be more eco-friendly by going paperless when
possible, using biodegradable packaging, and using recyclable supplies.

13. Businesses should optimize digital strategy for conversion.

Getting potential customers to your site is one task but getting them to convert is
another. In 2020, businesses are looking to improve their conversion rates by
optimising their product pages. Multi-channel selling is also another way to get
conversions, whether through Facebook advertising or shopping ads on Google.
Scott Ginsberg, Head of Content, Metric Digital ads:
“More and more brands are competing for the same eyes. Facebook’s algorithm
rewards video and motion-based creative that are more likely to hook your audience
quickly. And customers are also more demanding, impatient and curious than ever
before. Make sure you understand the ins and outs of Performance Ad Creative that
doesn’t only look cool, but also drives conversions. Using those channels intelligently
is the best way to make sure your brand will be uniquely positioned to stand out in the
continually changing digital marketing landscape.”

14. B2B is growing...and changing.

If you were ever worried that B2B would go out of style, fear not. Global retail
ecommerce sales for B2B are expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2021, according to data
from Statista.
Forrester predicts that by 2020 almost half of all adults will be Millennials, which also
means an increase in Millennial B2B buyers. Both of these audiences want to be able
 to easily research their needs and related products without conversing with
salespeople.
B2B ecommerce brands are working to meet these needs. Connie Wong, Marketing
Manager, Silk Software, talks about this transition:
“The days of orders needing to be placed through fax order forms or phone calls only
are shrinking. More and more businesses are beginning to see the value in servicing
their customers online. By automating these tasks through their ecommerce site, teams
are moving away from spending the bulk of their time on processing order entries
from email spreadsheets or hard copy forms. Instead, they are shifting their focus
towards what matters most: engaging with customers, providing them with an
excellent customer experience, and establishing ongoing client relationships.”

E commerce and Taxation:

Taxation of E-Commerce Transactions in Income Tax and GST (with Integrated
Examples) There are many taxation provisions affecting the E-Commerce transactions in
Income Tax as well as GST. The government is introducing various sections in both the
taxation regimes, that is Direct and Indirect Tax so as to evade non-taxation of the
transactions and obtaining tax benefit. Earlier, when there were no provisions on the
E-Commerce transactions, small sellers who were selling their goods/ providing services
through E-Commerce Operators, the transactions were out of the tax nets and taxes were
being avoided. Also, the Non-Resident E-Commerce Operators made profits in India
without paying any taxes. So, the Government introduced the following provisions in
Income Tax and GST. Under Income Tax Act I. Section 194-O (introduced by Finance
Act,2020) – E-Commerce operators should deduct TDS @1% on the gross amount of such
sales or services or both at the time of credit of the amount of sale of goods, services, or
both to the account of an e-commerce participant or at the time of making payment to an
e-Commerce participant by any other mode, whichever is earlier. But the word “gross
amount of sales” has not been defined in this case. Let us understand it through an
example. Suppose there is sales of Rs 30 lacs and returns of Rs 5 lacs, TDS should be
deducted @ 1% on Rs 30 lacs and not on Rs 25 lacs.