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外文文献：Thedevelopmentofe-commerceE-commerceiscomingofage,saysPaulMarkillie,butnotinthewaypredictedinthebubbleyearsWhenthetechnologybubbleburstin2000,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),theownerofexpedia.comandhotels.com,alonesold$10billion-worthoftravellastyear—andithasplentyofcompetition,notleastfromairlines,hotelsandcar-rentalcompanies,allofwhichincreasinglysellonline.Nordothefigurestakeinthingslikefinancialservices,ticket-salesagencies,pornography(a$2billionbusinessinAmericalastyear,accordingtoAdultVideoNews,atrademagazine),onlinedatingandahostofotheractivities,fromtracingancestorstogambling(worthperhaps$6billionworldwide).Theyalsoleaveoutpurchasesingreymarkets,suchastheonlinepharmaciesthatarethoughttoberesponsibleforagoodproportionofthe$700mthatAmericansspentlastyearonbuyingcut-priceprescriptiondrugsfromacrosstheborderinCanada.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.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’sproductshavetostanduptointenseprice