Another problem hindering the growth of e-commerce is the impersonal way of doing business online. Buying products over the web is convenient for consumers, but it lacks the human contact that comes with traditional shopping. By using telephony technology, which allows users to make telephone calls through online networks, some online companies have been able to tackle this problem. The benefits that e-commerce has had for business in the late 1990's have been huge. By doing business online, companies have been able to reach customers all over the globe, thereby enabling them to expand their business and their profits.
Businesses can also collect information about their customers through the use of cookies.
Cookies are small files that are placed on to a users hard drive when that user logs onto a web site. The cookies help the operator of the web site gain information about the purchasing habits of certain groups of people. This information is extremely valuable to businesses since it allows them to target groups with certain advertising better than going off of demographics. Another benefit that e-commerce offers to businesses is the reduced amount of overhead costs. A company that does business on the Internet will have reduced overhead costs because it does not have to spend the same amount of money on buildings and customer service when compared to business that do not use e-commerce.