E-commerce gets ready for the mainstream

During the 1998 Christmas shopping season, US consumers spent an estimated $3 billion over the Internet, exceeding all expectations. All of a sudden there was mass awareness of e-commerce. Businesses that had not caught on to the potential of online sales have most surely done so by now. Retailers of all kinds will have to be ready for the 1999 Christmas season if they don't want to get left behind altogether. Many companies selling to consumers will launch serious e-commerce initiatives this year with the intention of generating new revenue. However, many companies selling to other businesses will come to find that the real bonanza is not new revenue sources but savings in the cost of conducting transactions. Self-directed online buying eliminates error-filled fax and phone orders, redundant data entry, and call center costs.