电子商务外文翻译.docx
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电子商务外文翻译
外文翻译
原文:
ElectronicCommerce
BetteAnnSteadJackieGilbert
Abstract:
Theauthorexplainshowe-commerceismergingwithtraditionalformsofretailing.AccordingtoAmerica'sDepartmentofCommerce,onlineretailsalesintheworld'sbiggestmarketlastyearroseby26%,to$55billion.Thatsoundsalotofmoney,butitamountstoonly1.6%oftotalretailsales.Thevastmajorityofpeoplestillbuymostthingsinthegoodold"bricks-and-mortar"world.Butthecommercedepartment'sfiguresdealwithonlypartoftheretailindustry.Forinstance,theyexcludeonlinetravelservices,oneofthemostsuccessfulandfastest-growingsectorsofe-commerce.Nordothefigurestakeinthingslikefinancialservices,ticket-salesagencies,pornography,onlinedatingandahostofotheractivities,fromtracingancestorstogambling.Buttheactualvalueoftransactionscurrentlyconcludedonlineisdwarfedbytheextraordinaryinfluencetheinternetisexertingoverpurchasescarriedoutintheofflineworld.Tostartwith,theinternetisprofoundlychangingconsumerbehaviour.Halfofthe60mconsumersinEuropewhohaveaninternetconnectionboughtproductsofflineafterhavinginvestigatedpricesanddetailsonline,accordingtoastudybyForrester,aresearchconsultancy.Thishasenormousimplicationsforbusiness.Acompanythatneglectsitswebsitemaybecommittingcommercialsuicide.Awebsiteisincreasinglybecomingthegatewaytoacompany'sbrand,productsandservices--evenifthefirmdoesnotsellonline.Tosomeextent,theonlineandofflineworldsmaymerge.Multi-channelsellingcouldinvolveacombinationoftraditionalshops,aprintedcatalogue,ahome-shoppingchannelonTV,aphone-inorderserviceandane-commerce-enabledwebsite
Section:
Asurveyofe-commerce
E-commerceiscomingofage,saysPaulMarkillie,butnotinthewaypredictedinthebubbleyears
WHENthetechnologybubbleburstin2000,thecrazyvaluationsforonlinecompaniesvanishedwithit,andmanybusinessesfolded.Thesurvivorspluggedonasbesttheycould,encouragedbythegrowingnumberofinternetusers.Nowvaluationsarerisingagainandsomeofthedotcomsaremakingrealprofits,butthebusinessworldhasbecomemuchmorecautiousabouttheinternet'spotential.Thefunnythingisthatthewildpredictionsmadeattheheightoftheboom--namely,thatvastchunksoftheworldeconomywouldmoveintocyberspace--are,inonewayoranother,comingtrue.
Therawnumberstellonlypartofthestory.AccordingtoAmerica'sDepartmentofCommerce,onlineretailsalesintheworld'sbiggestmarketlastyearroseby26%,to$55billion.Thatsoundsalotofmoney,butitamountstoonly1.6%oftotalretailsales.Thevastmajorityofpeoplestillbuymostthingsinthegoodold"bricks-and-mortar"world.
Butthecommercedepartment'sfiguresdealwithonlypartoftheretailindustry.Forinstance,theyexcludeonlinetravelservices,oneofthemostsuccessfulandfastest-growingsectorsofe-commerce.InterActiveCorp(IAC),theownerofand,alonesold$10billion-worthoftravellastyear--andithasplentyofcompetition,notleastfromairlines,hotelsandcar-rentalcompanies,allofwhichincreasinglysellonline.
Nordothefigurestakeinthingslikefinancialservices,ticket-salesagencies,pornography(a$2billionbusinessinAmericalastyear,accordingtoAdultVideoNews,atrademagazine),onlinedatingandahostofotheractivities,fromtracingancestorstogambling(worthperhaps$6billionworldwide).Theyalsoleaveoutpurchasesingreymarkets,suchastheonlinepharmaciesthatarethoughttoberesponsibleforagoodproportionofthe$700mthatAmericansspentlastyearonbuyingcut-priceprescriptiondrugsfromacrosstheborderinCanada.
Tipoftheiceberg
Andthereismore.Thecommercedepartment'sfiguresincludethefeesearnedbyinternetauctionsites,butnotthevalueofgoodsthataresold:
anastonishing$24billion-worthoftradewasdonelastyearoneBay,thebiggestonlineauctioneer.Nor,bydefinition,dotheyincludethebillionsofdollars-worthofgoodsboughtandsoldbybusinessesconnectingtoeachotherovertheinternet.SomeoftheseB2Bservicesareproprietary;forexample,Wal-Marttellsitssuppliersthattheymustuseitsownsystemiftheywanttobepartofitsannualturnoverof$250billion.
Soe-commerceisalreadyverybig,anditisgoingtogetmuchbigger.Buttheactualvalueoftransactionscurrentlyconcludedonlineisdwarfedbytheextraordinaryinfluencetheinternetisexertingoverpurchasescarriedoutintheofflineworld.Thatinfluenceisbecominganintegralpartofe-commerce.
Tostartwith,theinternetisprofoundlychangingconsumerbehaviour.OneinfivecustomerswalkingintoaSearsdepartmentstoreinAmericatobuyanelectricalappliancewillhaveresearchedtheirpurchaseonline--andmostwillknowdowntoadimewhattheyintendtopay.Moresurprisingly,threeoutoffourAmericansstartshoppingfornewcarsonline,eventhoughmostendupbuyingthemfromtraditionaldealers.Thedifferenceisthatthesecustomerscometotheshowroomarmedwithinformationaboutthecarandthebestavailabledeals.Sometimestheyevenhavecomputerprint-outsidentifyingtheparticularvehiclefromthedealer'sstockthattheywanttobuy.
Halfofthe60mconsumersinEuropewhohaveaninternetconnectionboughtproductsofflineafterhavinginvestigatedpricesanddetailsonline,accordingtoastudybyForrester,aresearchconsultancy(seechart1).Differentcountrieshavedifferenthabits.InItalyandSpain,forinstance,peoplearetwiceaslikelytobuyofflineasonlineafterresearchingontheinternet.ButinBritainandGermany,thetwomostdevelopedinternetmarkets,thenumbersareevenlysplit.Forrestersaysthatpeoplebegintoshoponlineforsimple,predictableproducts,suchasDVDs,andthengraduatetomorecomplexitems.Used-carsalesarenowoneofthebiggestonlinegrowthareasinAmerica.
Peopleseemtoenjoyshoppingontheinternet,ifhighcustomer-satisfactionscoresareanyguide.Websitesaredoingevermoreandclevererthingstoserveandentertaintheircustomers,andseemsettotakeamuchbiggershareofpeople'soverallspendinginthefuture.
Whywebsitesmatter
Thishasenormousimplicationsforbusiness.Acompanythatneglectsitswebsitemaybecommittingcommercialsuicide.Awebsiteisincreasinglybecomingthegatewaytoacompany'sbrand,productsandservices--evenifthefirmdoesnotsellonline.Auselesswebsitesuggestsauselesscompany,andarivalisonlyamouse-clickaway.Buteventhecoolestwebsitewillbelostincyberspaceifpeoplecannotfindit,socompanieshavetoensurethattheyappearhighupininternetsearchresults.
Formanyusers,asearchsiteisnowtheirpointofentrytotheinternet.Thebest-knownsearchenginehasalreadyenteredthelexicon:
peoplesaytheyhave"Googled"acompany,aproductortheirplumber.Thesearchbusinesshasalsodevelopedoneofthemosteffectiveformsofadvertisingontheinternet.Anditisalreadythebestwaytoreachsomeconsumers:
teenagersandyoungmenspendmoretimeonlinethanwatchingtelevision.Allthismeansthatsearchisturningintotheinternet'snextbigbattlegroundasGoogledefendsitselfagainstchallengesfromYahoo!
andMicrosoft.
Theotherwaytogetnoticedonlineistooffergoodsandservicesthroughoneofthebigsitesthatalreadygetalotoftraffic.Ebay,Yahoo!
andAmazonarebecominghugetradingplatformsforothercompanies.Buttotakepart,acompany'sproductshavetostanduptointensepricecompetition.Peoplecheckonlineprices,comparethemwiththoseintheirlocalhighstreetandmaywelltakeapeekatwhatcustomersinothercountriesarepaying.Evenifwebsitesarepreventedfromshippingtheirgoodsabroad,thereareplentyofweb-basedentrepreneursreadytooblige.
Whatisgoingonhereisarbitragebetweendifferentsaleschannels,saysMohanbirSawhney,professoroftechnologyattheKelloggSchoolofManagementinChicago.Forinstance,someonemightusetheinternettoresearchdigitalcameras,butvisitaphotographicshopforahands-ondemonstration."I'llthinkaboutit,"theywilltellthesalesassistant.Backhome,theywilluseasearchenginetofindthelowestpriceandbuyonline.Inthisway,consumersare"deconstructingthepurchasingprocess",saysProfessorSawhney.Theyareunbundlingproductinformationfromthetransactionitself.
Allaboutme
Itisnotonlypricetransparencythatmakesinternetconsumerssopowerful;itisalsothewaythenetmakesiteasyforthemtobefickle.Iftheydonotlikeawebsite,theyswiftlymoveon."Thewebisthemostselfishenvironmentintheworld,"saysDanielRosensweig,chiefoperatingofficerofYahoo!
"Peoplewanttousetheinternetwhenevertheywant,howtheywantandforwhatevertheywant."
Yahoo!
isnotaloneindefiningitsstrategyasworkingoutwhatitscustomers(260muniqueuserseverymonth)arelookingfor,andthentryingtogiveittothem.Thefirstthingtheywantistobecomebetterinformedaboutproductsandprices."Weoperateourbusinessonthatbelief,"saysJeffBezos,Amazon'schiefexecutive.Amazonbecamefamousforbooks,butlongagobranchedoutintosellinglotsofotherthingstoo;amongitslatestventuresarehealthproducts,jewelryandgourmetfood.Apartfromcheapandbulkyitemssuchasgardenrakes,MrBezosthinkshecansellmostthings.AndsodothemillionsofpeoplewhouseeBay.
Andyetnobodythinksrealshopsarefinished,especiallythoseoperatinginnichemarkets.Manybricks-and-mortarbookshopsstillmakeagoodliving,asdofleamarkets.Butmanyrecordshopsandt