In: Operations Management
Question 1
The world post Covid 19 has created the concept of social distancing which will impact on the way we do business. Online purchasing is expected to increase because it will reduce human interaction and contribute to the reduction of Covid 19 related illnesses. However, online purchases have created contemporary legal issues which may be a novel for most legal systems in several Caribbean Countries.
You are required to critically discuss the concept of online purchases and the various methods used in online transactions with supporting case laws.
The act of purchasing products or services over the Internet. Online shopping has grown in popularity over the years, mainly because people find it convenient and easy to bargain shop from the comfort of their home or office. One of the most enticing factor about online shopping, particularly during a holiday season, is it alleviates the need to wait in long lines or search from store to store for a particular item. Online shopping has revolutionized the business world by making everything anyone could want available by the simple click of a mouse button. Local retailers are attempting to expand their footprints by offering goods for sale via online shopping so as to better compete with the likes of Amazon.
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers.
COVID-19 pandemic has affected e-commerce, including the implications for cross-border trade. It notes the increased use of e-commerce as consumers adapt to lockdowns and social distancing measures and draws attention to several challenges, such as the need to bridge the digital divide within and across countries.
A digital payment occurs when goods or services are purchased through the use of various electronic mediums. There is no use of cash or cheques in this type of payment.
The various methods used in online transactions are
Credit Cards
Credit cards are the most common way for customers to pay online. Merchants can reach out to an international market with credit cards, by integrating a payment gateway into their business.
Mobile Payments
A popular payment method in countries with low credit card and banking penetration, mobile payments offer a quick solution for customers to purchase on ecommerce websites.
Prepaid Cards
An alternative payment method, commonly used by minors or customers with no bank accounts. Prepaid cards come in different stored values for customers to choose from. Online gaming companies usually make use of prepaid cards as their prefered payment method.
Ewallets
An ewallet stores a customer's personal data and funds, which are then used to purchase from online stores. Signing up for an ewallet is fast and easy, with customers required just to submit their information once for purchases.
Direct Deposit
Direct deposits are when customers instruct their banks to pull funds out of their accounts to complete online payments.
Cash
Physical cash, is a payment method often used for physical goods and cash-on-delivery transactions. Paying with cash does come with several risks, such as no guarantee of an actual sale during a delivery, and theft.
The first World Wide Web server and browser, created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, opened for commercial use in 1991. Thereafter, subsequent technological innovations emerged in 1994: online banking, the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut, Netscape's SSL v2 encryption standard for secure data transfer, and Intershop's first online shopping system.