research articles on e commerce

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How E-Commerce Fits into Retail’s Post-Pandemic Future

• Kathy Gramling,
• Jeff Orschell,
• Joshua Chernoff

New data from Ernst & Young suggests it will be an important part of the consumer experience — but not everything.

The pandemic has changed consumer behavior in big and small ways — and retailers are responding in kind. Since the early days of the pandemic Ernst & Young has been tracking these shifting trends using the EY Future Consumer Index and EY embryonic platform, which show a significant and widespread industry shift toward e-commerce. In this article, the authors suggest that while e-commerce will continue to be an essential element of retail strategy, the future success of retailers will ultimately depend on creating a cohesive customer experience, both online and in stores.

If we have learned one thing from the past year, it’s that things can change in an instant — changes we thought we had years to prepare for, behaviors we assumed we’d stick to forever, expectations we have of ourselves and our organizations. This is true of the way we live, the way we work, and the way we shop and buy as consumers.

• KG Kathy Gramling is EY Americas Consumer Industry Markets Leader
• JO Jeff Orschell is EY Americas Consumer Retail Leader
• JC Joshua Chernoff is EY-Parthenon Americas Managing Director

Partner Center

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Research on e-commerce data standard system in the era of digital economy from the perspective of organizational psychology.

• Henan University School of Law/Intellectual Property School, Institute of Civil and Commercial Law of Henan University, Kaifeng, China

With the rapid development of technology and the economy, the expansion of the network has had a huge impact on the rapid expansion of the industrial agglomeration e-commerce industry, as well as ensuring the shopping experience of consumers. The rapid expansion of industrial cluster e-commerce has avoided precisely the limitations of logistical bottlenecks. Current networks and modern information technologies can provide good support and maintain a huge growth potential. In addition, digital technologies such as multimedia are becoming increasingly important in industry cluster marketing, and the concept of industry cluster e-commerce models is gaining more and more attention from companies. However, virtual e-commerce systems under industrial clusters have not been well researched in the existing studies. In this paper, through extensive research, literature reading and website browsing statistics, the virtual e-commerce models of different industrial agglomerations are studied. Firstly, the concept of big data and the processing of big data are given. Secondly, the concept of industrial agglomeration and the relationship between industrial agglomeration and e-commerce are analyzed. The basic number of domestic Internet users in the last 10 years is also counted, proving that the expansion of the Internet has led to a substantial growth of Internet users in the country and that e-commerce plays a significant role in the future of business activities. Finally the study concludes that different e-commerce models have different performance and roles in industrial agglomeration e-commerce and cannot be generalized. Instead, it is not good and can only develop different industrial agglomeration e-commerce models according to different environments.

Introduction

In the long history of mankind, when people explore and discover the law of unknowns, they rely mainly on reasoning methods such as experience, theory, and assumptions, which are largely influenced by personal prejudice. Later, people invented mathematical tools such as statistics, sampling, and probability. Through careful design and extraction methods, a small number of data samples were obtained to infer the whole picture of things. Therefore, there are often deviations and distortions in understanding things. According to Victor Meyer, thanks to advances in technology, people can access all the data of a research object and understand things from different angles. Analyze the different dimensions of all data from an incomprehensible perspective. With the rapid expansion of electronic signal technology, e-commerce ( Anam et al., 2017 ; Irene, 2018 ) has changed an inevitable outcome of the expansion of the times and is also a form of transaction that adapts to market demand. The expansion of e-commerce is very gratifying. After more than 10 years of expansion, B2C ( Gui et al., 2019 ) and C2C ( Navarro-Méndez et al., 2017 ) have become the main mode of e-commerce in China. The model has the vitality of information transparency, flexible trading, high efficiency and price advantage. With the rapid propagate of the Net, by the end of 2018, the number of Internet users in China reached 1.08 billion. A great deal of Internet users has established a good customer base for the expansion of e-commerce. In addition, the continuous improvement of relevant laws and regulations and the maturity of information technology have laid the foundation for the expansion of e-commerce. By combining big data with e-commerce, e-commerce based on big data will become the main research direction of the future society ( Nik et al., 2017 ).

Mega data (big data) ( Wang et al., 2017 ; Zhou et al., 2017 ) is what we often call big data, also known as massive data. Giant data is actually a data repository. In this era, it can be used as an asset. After professional analysis, the efficiency is higher, the amount of data is larger, the data is diverse, and the sources are different, most of which are instantaneous. The communication information generated during the sales process is also generated instantaneously. For example, customer basic data, website clicks, network data, etc., are all counted in big data, some are part of customer information, and some are not counted. In the 1980s, some scholars predicted big data and believed that big data will surely ignite the new wave of the third technological revolution. Since 2009, “Big Data” has made great progress with the rapid expansion of e-commerce and cloud computing ( Liu et al., 2018 ) and is gradually becoming well known to the public. As can be seen from the latest data, the growth of data on the Internet and mobile Internet has gradually approached Moore’s Law, and global data and information have been created “over doubling every 18 months” over the years. The application of big data in industrial agglomeration ( Xuan, 2017 ; Nádudvari et al., 2018 ) e-commerce is also getting more and more wide-ranging.

Industrial clusters ( Cao et al., 2017 ; Wang and Yu, 2017 ) have a long history as well-functioning organizations. At the end of the 19th century, Marshall creatively defined the concept of “industry zone,” that is, industrial clusters. He defines “industrial zone” as the agglomeration of certain industrial zones, which is determined by two factors: history and natural resources. There are many companies of different sizes in the area. There is a close relationship between cooperation and competition, which gradually affects the integration of industrial clusters and society. According to Marshall, the reason for the emergence of “industry zones” in the region is a combination of inside and outside factors. Later, Weber believed that the phenomenon of industrial clusters was the result of regional and geographic influences. Companies with regional and geographic advantages have established close partnerships through partnerships with other related companies. Establish complex and close internal network relationships, achieve the aggregation of enterprises in a specific region, and then develop into industrial clusters. In recent decades, academia and industry have been highly involved in the expansion of synergies between industrial clusters and supply chains. They actively used industrial clusters and supply chains in corporate management ( Heiner and Marc, 2018 ) and achieved remarkable results. Clusters and supply chains can provide a competitive advantage for businesses. However, with the rapid expansion of e-commerce, industrial clusters are faced with the dilemma of optimizing transformation and upgrading. The traditional approach to supply chain management is far from meeting the needs of users. Therefore, it is a major problem to study how e-commerce uses the first-mover advantage to promote synergy between industrial clusters and supply chains.

For the core enterprises in the industrial agglomeration, because of their own advantages in terms of capital and technology, as well as a number of strong manufacturers and suppliers, so that the online market established by the enterprise has a large number of members and good prospects for development, and attracts some new members to join, once the establishment of close cooperation in this online market, its members want to move to other online market will be very expensive, so that the core enterprises in the online market to consolidate their existing position ( Yang et al., 2022 ; Han et al., 2021 ; Setiawan et al., 2022 ; Suska, 2022 ; Yu et al., 2022 ). Therefore, e-commerce has developed into a new opportunity to enhance the synergy of China’s supply chain and enhance its competitive advantage. In the end, this paper starts from the business reality of big data-based industry agglomeration e-commerce, fully considers the dependence of industrial agglomeration area on e-commerce in the era of big data, and studies the relationship between the concept of industrial agglomeration and the relationship between e-commerce and industrial agglomeration. Therefore, with the support of big data, this paper analyses the number of netizens, the level of economic expansion, etc., and compares the impact of e-commerce yield and industrial agglomeration e-commerce investment and big data and e-commerce on industrial agglomeration. The merits and demerits of e-commerce in the type of industrial agglomeration, and the expectation is to provide a summary and reference for the industry to gather e-commerce enterprises to obtain competitive advantages in the market competition.

Big Data and E-Commerce Related Definitions

Big data overview.

With the popularity of the Internet and the rapid expansion of information technology, the signal age is making a subtle transition to the big data era. The network has turned into an integral part of people’s production and life. While enjoying the convenience brought by the information network, people also continuously feedback and input information to the network. Some information involves individual privacy, and network information security has become one of the hot topics of research. At present, the social network information security problem is becoming more and more obvious, the conventional information security software has been unable to deal with the endless information security problem, the network society urgently needs a new information technology to protect the increasingly huge information assets, and the big data technology has stronger insight, more scientific decision-making power and more accurate process optimization ability compared with the conventional software. Must be able to play a positive effect.

Professor Victor is known as the “Big Data Prophet.” Big data also called huge amount of data, refers to the amount of data involved is so large that it cannot be captured, managed, processed and collated in a reasonable time through the human brain or even mainstream software tools to help enterprises to make more positive decisions. By analyzing big data, we can draw conclusions that cannot be obtained in the case of small data. The big data we usually talk about is more about getting valuable information in a short time by quickly analyzing a large amount of data.

Big Data Analysis Process and Features

In general, there are many methods for analyzing big data, and in theory it is still in the exploration stage, but no matter what kind of big data analysis method follows the basic process, the flow chart is shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 1. Big data processing flow.

The first process of big data analysis is acquisition. Big data sampling ( Bivand and Krivoruchko, 2018 ; Cohen et al., 2018 ) means collect information collection platforms to collect users or other data. In the process of big data collection, the main problem is that the amount of data is huge, the amount of collection is large, and the data collection point is large. A large amount of data needs to be collected at the same time. Therefore, in the process of collecting big data, it is necessary to establish a larger database and how to further design the reasonable use and distribution of the database.

The second step is import and beneficiate. This mainly means that invalid information, redundant information and low-value information are excluded after the first information collection is completed, so it is necessary to execute the data before processing. Effective screening and brief analysis, and then import the resulting preliminary filtering information into another large database, this step is mainly to pre-process the big data.

The third step in big data processing is to perform statistics and analysis. This process is a process of further refinement of big data, analyzing and screening valid data, and performing statistical processing to obtain effective information.

The fourth step in big data is to deal with the mining ( Rezaei-Hachesu et al., 2017 ; Fan et al., 2018 ; Svefors et al., 2019 ) process. Unlike the above process, there is no clear path or statistical analysis method for big data information mining. It is mainly used for databases that collect large amounts of data and use various algorithms for calculations, so it is complex data. Try to get predictions or get other valid conclusions. The statistical analysis and mining process of big data is considered to be a key process for transforming data from data into value space and value sources in the process of big data information processing.

The final step is using information obtained from big data. In particular, it can be used for business decision behavior predictions, while sales companies can provide accuracy. Marketing, achieving service conversion, etc. The application prospect of big data is very broad, and it has a good application prospect in transportation, sales management, economic research and forecasting.

At present, there is no authoritative unified standard. At present, the “4V” function of big data has been widely recognized.

First, the data size is huge. In 2012, the world produced about 2.7 billion GB of data per day, the amount of data per day equals the sum of all stored data in the world before 2000. Baidu must process more than 70,000 GB of search data per minute, and Alipay generates an average of 73,000 transactions per minute. Traffic flow monitoring systems and video capture systems can generate large amounts of video data at any time. Temperature sensors in greenhouses and various detectors in the factory are also big data manufacturers. It can be said that the amount of data we generate per minute is unimaginable. Now, the scale of data that big data needs to process continues to grow, reaching orders of magnitude unimaginable in small data.

Second, there is a wide variety of data (Variety). In big data, in addition to the ever-increasing data size, the types of data that people need to deal with are beginning to emerge. The various data types are very numerous and very strange, and only a few can be handled using traditional techniques. Some are unstructured data that traditional technologies cannot handle, and this trend will be long-term, with unstructured data accounting for 90% of all data over the next decade. For example, Tudou’s video library, photos on social networking sites, records, etc., even include RFID status, mobile operator call history, video surveillance video, Weibo and status posted on WeChat. The size, format, and type of data from various sources may vary. Existing data processing techniques are useless and can cause significant difficulties when performing large amounts of processing.

Third, value is difficult to mine. The first two features show that the amount of data and data types in big data are amazing. Faced with a large amount of data, in order to mine hidden “treasures,” the analysis and processing of powerful cloud computing systems is only one aspect, not even the main one. How to analyze big data from the perspective of innovation according to needs, what to use big data ideas to examine big data to explore unimaginable economic and social values. In other words, only the combination of technology and innovation can unlock the value of big data. Otherwise, no amount of data will be useful.

Fourth, the processing speed is high (Velocity). This is the most significant feature of the big data era, unlike the era of small data and the era of probability and statistics. In traditional economic censuses, censuses and other areas, data can be tolerated for days or even a year, as the data obtained at this time still makes sense. Moreover, due to technical limitations, the collected data has been lagging behind, and the structure of statistical analysis is lagging behind, but it must be accepted. Data generation and collection is very fast, and the amount of data is growing all the time. With advanced technology, people can collect data in real time. But in most cases, if you don’t process the data in time, the advanced collection and sorting methods will be meaningless and you won’t need big data. For example, IBM proposed the concept of “big data-level stream computing,” which is designed for real-time analysis of data and results to increase practical value. Therefore, timely and fast processing of data and results is the most important feature of big data.

This is the most significant feature of the big data, unlike the era of small data and the era of probability and statistics. Due to technical limitations, the collected data is backward, and the structure of statistical analysis is also backward, but it must be accepted. Data generation and collection is very fast, and the amount of data has been growing. With advanced technology, people can collect data in real time. But in most cases, if you don’t process the data in time, the advanced collection and sorting methods will be meaningless. For example, IBM proposed the concept of “big data-level stream computing,” which aims to analyze data and results in real time to increase practical value. Therefore, timely and fast processing of data and results is the most significant feature of big data.

E-Commerce Concept

E-commerce generally refers to Internet technology, based on browser/server applications, through the Internet platform, buyers and sellers through various trade activities to achieve consumer online shopping, online payment and new business activities of various business activities and other models. The expansion history of e-commerce has a close relationship with the progress of computer network technology. E-commerce includes many models, such as B2B ( Ning et al., 2018 ) (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer), C2C (Consumer to Consumer), and O2O (Online to Offline). The main centralized e-commerce model is shown in Figure 2 .

Figure 2. Main e-commerce model.

This article focuses on C2C ( Sukrat and Papasratorn, 2018 ) e-commerce. C2C e-commerce refers to a network service provider that uses computer and network technology to provide e-commerce platforms and transaction processes to users in a paid or non-paid manner. Allow both parties to conduct online transactions on their platform. The two sides of the transaction are mainly individual users, and the trading method is based on bidding and bargaining. Like B2B and B2C, C2C is also a basic e-commerce transaction model. In real life, it is similar to the “small commodity wholesale market.” There are many self-employed people in a website, and the website’s role in e-commerce is equivalent to the “market manager” in actual market transactions. At the same time, in order to promote smooth transactions between buyers and sellers, C2C e-commerce provides a series of support services for both parties. For example, in cooperation with market information collection, credit evaluation systems and various payment methods have been established. Due to the rapid expansion of e-commerce, industrial agglomeration has become more impressive. The most prominent performance of industrial agglomeration is the industrial concentration of “Internet + traditional industries” such as “Taobao Village.” C2C is the mainstream of this e-commerce business model. C2C e-commerce “Taobao Village” is a product based on urban and rural expansion in China. It has Chinese characteristics and is a “Chinese product.” This is both a theoretical issue and a very real social phenomenon. The Chinese government has put forward the “Internet+” proposal. With the expansion of China’s strategic emerging industries, “Internet + traditional industries” will become a shortcut for China’s backward regions to seek expansion, which can shorten the time required for expansion, making C2C e-commerce a “hometown of Taobao.” Therefore, in order for the industry to complete transactions, an e-commerce platform and online and offline resources and services are needed. It can be said that the C2C model is an e-commerce model that is very suitable for industrial agglomeration. The biggest advantage of the C2C e-commerce model is that it can produce and deliver enterprise products or services on demand, so that enterprises can quickly develop into large enterprises, and the C2C e-commerce model provides consumers with cheap and affordable purchases. Product and service platforms enable businesses and consumers to achieve a win-win situation.

In traditional market transactions, the delivery of goods from producers to stores requires warehouse storage, vehicle transportation, etc., which increases inventory costs and transportation costs, resulting in increased transaction costs. Unlike real-world trading, since e-commerce joins the virtual network, both buyers and sellers trade through the e-commerce platform, so there is no need for face-to-face communication. This form saves the seller’s transaction costs, including physical store and merchandise inventory and transportation costs. At the same time, buyers can also shop without going out, and can quickly compare products of different merchants through the network, which allows buyers to get more information, more efficient and lower cost. C2C e-commerce uses Internet communication channels based on open standards. Compared with traditional communication methods (such as mail, fax, newspaper, radio, and television), communication costs are greatly reduced.

Industry Agglomeration Virtual E-Commerce

Industrial cluster concept.

Industrial clusters attract the attention of many scholars by attracting resources, economies of scale, knowledge learning and innovation, saving transaction costs, and improving cooperation efficiency. Many mathematicians have studied the composition, characteristic mechanism, and identification criteria of industrial clusters through theoretical derivation, model construction, structural equations, and case studies, and elaborated and summarized the concept of industrial clusters. The definition of industrial agglomeration is that in a relatively limited space of a certain area, geographically adjacent or different geographical entities closely related to relevant institutions and government agencies spontaneously gather together, called industrial clusters. The division of labor between entities and continuous cooperation and innovation have formed a complex cluster network, providing environmental and technical support. The difference is that industrial clusters can adapt to economic expansion, and further transformation and upgrading will form a new industrial cluster model. At the same time, mutual trust, mutual decision-making, and close cooperation have created the greatest value and benefits for the industry. Finally, for the measurement and acquisition of industrial clusters, combined with the practical significance of empirical research, the measurement of industrial clusters is unified by the concentration of specific industries, that is, specific industries. A measure of the spontaneous aggregation of related entities or institutions in a particular industry in the region. If the total quantity or total capacity reaches the previous unified level, it indicates that there is an industrial cluster in the area.

The Relationship Between E-Commerce and Industrial Clusters

With the rise and prosperity of e-commerce, the new business organization system breaks the regional and spatial barriers, promotes the use of e-commerce and partners, establishes synergy and sharing mechanisms, and continuously meets the needs of users. Proactively improve user experience and satisfaction. In addition, e-commerce platforms and logistics platforms are increasingly used in new business models. Although these platforms are very different, the role of the company cannot be underestimated. The platform typically includes several key functional modules such as trading markets, logistics platforms, enterprise services, cluster information, and corporate communities. Cluster companies can conduct informal technology and information exchange on the platform. Through the construction of an e-commerce platform, industrial cluster enterprises can share market conditions, the latest industry technologies, and related industry information in real-time and quickly, creating greater economic benefits for enterprises. This close partnership helps industry clusters increase trust and mutual benefit. In short, e-commerce applications can help industrial clusters effectively integrate regional resources, meet market demands promptly, expand clusters, and increase the level of collaboration and competitiveness of enterprises within the cluster. Currently, the introduction of e-commerce applications has further promoted the expansion of supply chain coordination. As an effective spatial organization model, industrial clusters play an increasingly important role in improving the overall economic level of the region and optimizing the allocation of industrial resources. The rapid expansion of industrial clusters provides natural conditions for the expansion of enterprises, between enterprises and between supply chain members. Similar companies continue to gather, and upstream and downstream companies in the supply chain are also gathered to promote the use of e-commerce. A deeper impact on the synergy of the supply chain. Therefore, for the sake of strengthening the application of e-commerce. Based on continuous research by many scholars, it is further proved that the rapid expansion of industrial clusters promotes the coordinated management of supply chains.

Since 1980, the economy and the world have continued to develop. The Internet and information technology are constantly innovating. In addition to constantly affecting people’s daily lives in various aspects, it also leads the transformation of modern new production organizations. Figure 3 shows the statistics of Chinese netizens in the past decade. As can be seen from the above data, since the popularity of smartphones in 2013, mobile network users have occupied almost the entire network in the past 7 years. In the future expansion, mobile network users will develop more rapidly, making the popularity of mobile Internet and smart phones break the expansion of PC networks. At anytime, anywhere, and on the Internet, the online concept of the PC era has been broken, and immediacy has become a unique personality in the age of network information. A large amount of information, rapid response and scale effect are the main features of the e-commerce. The rapid spread of mobile phone business applications shows that the use of mobile phone networks by netizens has changed from basic communication entertainment to life entertainment. Since 2013, thanks to the expansion of domestic smart phone technology, the Internet access method based on mobile Internet has opened a new period of e-commerce and access to the Internet anytime and anywhere, so that more buyers and sellers can conduct transactions through the network, and Each transaction is based on online trading of various trading tools, and the trading platform and trading model have been rapidly developed. E-commerce has become a grassland, which has an impact on the production value chain, profit model and marketing methods of traditional industries. It can be seen that the growth of the network has boosted the expansion of e-commerce. The growth of e-commerce has promoted industrial agglomeration, and industrial agglomeration has formed economic globalization.

Figure 3. Number and proportion of mobile phone users.

Industrial Agglomeration Virtual E-Commerce Analysis

China’s e-commerce transaction scale.

In the e-commerce environment, China’s e-commerce has undergone earth-shaking changes, especially in the past 30 years, the rapid growth of signal technology and technological innovation have made all aspects related to e-commerce stand out. The cost of online transactions has been greatly reduced, network communication is extremely convenient, and e-commerce is everywhere. On the basis of China’s national conditions, the application and expansion of e-commerce in China is different from that of other countries, but its expansion is in full swing. The expansion of China’s e-commerce is a signification part of accelerating the informationization of the national economy. At the same time, the application of e-commerce has also changed the production organization of enterprises to a large extent. Enterprises and users can interact directly with e-commerce related R&D, technology expansion, production, procurement, marketing and product operations. Other services and links can fully introduce user engagement and control market demand trends in real time. Table 1 shows the scope of China’s e-commerce transactions collected from the China E-Commerce Research Center.

Table 1. Scope of China’s e-commerce transactions.

Figure 4 shows the scope of China’s e-commerce market transactions from 2013 to 2017. It can be seen that as of 2018, China’s e-commerce still maintains a rapid growth trend. With the continuous encouragement and support of the government, all relevant systems are in a stage of continuous improvement. Under the impetus of e-commerce, enterprises and users, constantly proposing new consumer demand will help the rapid expansion of the upstream and downstream industry chains of traditional enterprises and provide new impetus for China’s economic expansion.

Figure 4. Trends in the scale of China’s e-commerce transactions.

It can be seen from Figure 5 that from 2001 to 2008, industrial agglomeration e-commerce investment and fixed asset investment are all levels of sustained growth, which proves that e-commerce expansion is relatively rapid during this period. In the future, industrial agglomeration investment profits can be Add a lot. From 2008 to 2015, the level of China’s economy was in a period of slow growth, and the investment level during this period was almost stable. After 2015, due to the saturation of the economy, the investment level remained at a certain level and the economic expansion region was stable.

Figure 5. Changes in national fixed asset investment and industrial agglomeration e-commerce investment from 2001 to 2018.

The Impact of the Level of Big Data Expansion on E-Commerce in Industrial Agglomeration

With the increasing popularity and expansion of the Internet, e-commerce has become an important aspect of Internet applications. In addition to the old e-commerce companies, traditional stores also opened their own online shopping malls. Consumers are also increasingly enjoying this convenient and fast way to shop. According to CNNIC’s statistical report, as of last year, the number of Internet users in China has reached 1.008 billion, and the proportion of online shopping among netizens has increased to 55.7%. In addition to online shopping, many service industries or national administrative departments have also increased the construction of online platforms, such as online car rental, travel route booking, room service, online transaction management fees, etc., further expanding the application field. E-commerce has created more business growth points. The expansion of business types and the explosive growth of business volume have brought a lot of data information. The old e-commerce companies Amazon, Alibaba and so on are all beneficiaries of big data. It can be said that without the support of big data technology, there is no e-commerce enterprise today.

The expansion of big data makes practitioners more competitive in e-commerce. From the perspective of the number of competitors, China’s e-commerce industry is currently in a highly concentrated stage. Although a large number of e-commerce companies have emerged, in the field of online retail, Taobao, Tmall, Jingdong, No. 1 store, Amazon and many others occupy most of the market. The emergence of big data has further increased barriers to entry, so the number of competitors in the online retail industry will change less. From the perspective of foreign competitors, it will undoubtedly increase the intensity of market competition. For example, the way Amazon enters the Chinese market is to acquire Joyo. From the perspective of switching costs, the e-commerce industry has typical low-cost conversion characteristics for consumers. On-site e-commerce companies often use large subsidies, promotions and free shipping to retain old users and win new users, which makes the market competitive. The pressure is constantly increasing. Pursuit of economies of scale. Most industries have significant economies of scale. E-commerce operators are pursuing economies of scale and blindly expanding, resulting in overcapacity, which ultimately led to fierce competition in the industry.

Figure 6 shows the expansion index for big data and e-commerce. As can be seen from the above data, in the future expansion process, big data is indispensable as a tool to support e-commerce and industrial agglomeration, and e-commerce is expanding very rapidly. The expansion of industrial agglomeration plays a very significant role. In the future, the expansion of e-commerce in all walks of life cannot be ignored. The future world is the electronic world and the data world. As an effective management mode of enterprise manufacturing and industrial organization, industrial cluster and supply chain management have become the inevitable requirements and strategic measures for enterprises to survive and develop in various fields. The coupled industrial cluster supply chain provides a new expansion trend for resource coordination and industrial upgrading, enabling cluster enterprises to improve traditional production methods, respond quickly to user needs, and consciously work closely together to grasp rapid changes more quickly and accurately. In order to deal with this problem, it is necessary to improve the operational efficiency of the enterprise through the information charge platform and modern management tools. Through the information platform, this work-use management becomes more complex, professional and standardized, thus freeing up enough energy to respond to industry changes.

Figure 6. Impact of big data and e-commerce on industrial agglomeration expansion.

In industrial agglomeration, the pioneering role of core enterprises should not be overlooked. If the pioneering enterprises can be cultivated effectively, through it to other enterprises and supporting enterprises to enter the industry to play a direct demonstration and produce cohesion, so that the formation of industrial agglomeration has a driving effect. At present, some of the core enterprises in the industry have already established a relatively complete e-commerce system. If we can combine the needs of SMEs in the industry, open up some of the functions of the system to a certain extent, and realize the sharing of information and knowledge with enterprises in the industry, this is very beneficial to enhancing the enthusiasm of SMEs to participate in industrial division of labor and cooperation, and at the same time lowering the this is very beneficial to increase the enthusiasm of SMEs to participate in industrial division of labor and cooperation, and at the same time reduces the threshold for SMEs to participate in e-commerce. A well-developed social network based on marketization or externalization is the basis for the formation and development of industrial clusters. To this end, the construction of information service organizations and networks within industrial clusters should be supported and encouraged to provide a variety of information services to enterprises, reducing the wasted costs and incomplete information caused by enterprises collecting information alone. At the same time, the construction of public institutions and means of communication that facilitate interaction between producers and the market should be strengthened, cooperation between enterprises and universities or research institutes should be encouraged, and the establishment of local public institutions that provide technical training, technical support and market information to producers should be supported. In addition, the construction of information advisory services should be accelerated and a multi-level public information platform should be established. In this regard, government departments or professional information service providers can intervene to provide a full range of information service approaches and dovetail with government public data platforms to achieve low-cost information services and knowledge provision within the industry.

Analysis of Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Business Models in Industrial Agglomeration

As shown in Figure 7 , for the industrial agglomeration of the B2C e-commerce model, all goods and services of the enterprise are carried out through the network, including online shopping, online payment, logistics and after-sales. They are all done over the Internet and won’t be traded face to face. This model puts forward higher requirements for industrial agglomeration enterprises. Compared with the C2C and O2O models, the selection of the B2C e-commerce model requires that the industrial agglomeration area has a good organizational management level and complete information construction, because all activities are carried out online. Among the three e-commerce models, the B2C model has the highest information security requirements and requires more financial support and sufficient strength to ensure smooth transactions. For the C2C model, the needs of enterprises are much lower than those of B2C. For industries with insufficient funds, low level of enterprise informatization and low management level, C2C e-commerce model can be selected. The industrial cluster area builds an e-commerce trading platform through website construction. Consumers can find the trading objects and negotiate the transaction through the platform. Industrial agglomeration enterprises only need to optimize platform management, maintain transaction order, formulate transaction specifications, and improve trust mechanisms. Therefore, the C2C e-commerce model has lower requirements for the company’s capital, information and management level than the B2C model. For the O2O model, the network becomes the platform for offline transactions. For industrial clusters, the function of the C2C e-commerce model is to undertake the browsing work of consumers, let consumers understand the information through the platform, and then conduct transactions online. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the investment cost of the C2C e-commerce model, and its management level and informatization level are lower than the B2C and O2O e-commerce models. Most industrial clusters can conduct business activities through the C2C platform.

Figure 7. Advantages and disadvantages of different e-commerce in industrial agglomeration.

As the rising of Internet industry and other technologies, on the basis of the rapid expansion of e-commerce, the coordination problem of e-commerce has gradually emerged, affecting the organizational environment. At present, the research related to e-commerce and supply chain collaboration is getting more and more attention. As a new impetus for economic expansion, e-commerce has brought new impetus to the supply chain. In the process of supply chain coordination, e-commerce means making the required information more convenient and accurate, thus further enhancing the trust of the supply chain enterprises and the internal and external trust, and bringing economic benefits, the company has further expanded. In this paper, through the different applications of virtual e-commerce in industrial agglomeration, different e-commerce types highlight different characteristics in big data. Therefore, this paper analyses industrial agglomeration and electronics through literature comparison and data survey. The relationship between business, and through the investigation, we can see that the industrial agglomeration investment has been continuously expanded with the expansion of e-commerce and big data, which also proves that the future expansion of e-commerce is promising. Finally, the application of three different e-commerce models in industrial agglomeration is compared. The results show that different e-commerce models are determined by their own different, so we must choose the correct e-commerce model to adapt to the expansion of society through the actual situation.

Industrial agglomeration is an important way to enhance regional economic development, while e-commerce promotes the integration of enterprises into the world market. The author intends to analyse the problems of enterprise e-commerce in this context from the perspective of industrial agglomeration, and propose how to better realize the interaction between e-commerce and industrial agglomeration, so as to achieve the improvement of the competitiveness of enterprises in the industry.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author Contributions

HY was responsible for designing the framework of the entire manuscript from topic selection to solution to experimental verification.

Research on the Path and Countermeasures of Cultivating and Expanding Rural Collective Economy in Kaifeng City.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords : virtual e-commerce, industrial agglomeration expansion, big data, e-commerce model, standard system

Citation: Yue H (2022) Research on E-Commerce Data Standard System in the Era of Digital Economy From the Perspective of Organizational Psychology. Front. Psychol. 13:900698. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.900698

Received: 21 March 2022; Accepted: 14 April 2022; Published: 04 May 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Yue. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Hongqiang Yue, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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20 years of Electronic Commerce Research

• Published: 29 March 2021
• Volume 21 , pages 1–40, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• Satish Kumar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5200-1476 1 ,
• Weng Marc Lim 2 , 3 ,
• Nitesh Pandey 1 &
• J. Christopher Westland 4  

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2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of Electronic Commerce Research ( ECR ). The journal has changed substantially over its life, reflecting the wider changes in the tools and commercial focus of electronic commerce. ECR ’s early focus was telecommunications and electronic commerce. After reorganization and new editorship in 2014, that focus expanded to embrace emerging tools, business models, and applications in electronic commerce, with an emphasis on the innovations and the vibrant growth of electronic commerce in Asia. Over this time, ECR ’s impact and volume of publications have grown rapidly, and ECR is considered one of the premier journals in its discipline. This invited research summarizes the evolution of ECR ’s research focus over its history.

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Artificial intelligence in E-Commerce: a bibliometric study and literature review

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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

The year 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of Electronic Commerce Research ( ECR ). The journal has changed substantially over its life, reflecting the wider changes in the tools and commercial focus of electronic commerce. ECR ’s early focus was on telecommunications and electronic commerce. After reorganization and new editorship in 2014, that focus expanded to embrace emerging tools, business models, and applications in electronic commerce, with an emphasis on emerging technologies and the vibrant growth of electronic commerce in Asia. Over these years, ECR has steadily improved its stature and impact, as evidenced through various quantitative (e.g., citations, impact factors) and qualitative (e.g., peer-informed journal ranks) measures. According to Clarivate Analytics, ECR ’s impact factor in 2019 was 2.507, Footnote 1 which means that articles published in ECR between 2017 and 2018 received an average of 2.507 citations from journals indexed in Web of Science in 2019. The five-year impact factor of ECR was 2.643, 1 which indicates that articles published in ECR between 2014 and 2018 received an average of 2.643 citations from Web of Science-indexed journals in 2019. According to Scopus, ECR ’s CiteScore was 4.3, Footnote 2 which implies that articles published in ECR between 2016 and 2019 received an average of 4.3 citations from journals indexed in Scopus in 2019. The source normalized impact per paper (SNIP) of ECR was 1.962, which suggests that the average citations received by articles in the journal is 1.962 times the average citations received by articles in the same subject area of Scopus-indexed journals in 2019. Apart from these quantitative measures, ECR has also been rated highly by peers in the field, as seen through journal quality lists. For example, ECR has been consistently ranked as an “A” journal by the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA 2010) and the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC 2013, 2016, 2019) journal ranking lists.

This research presents a 20-year retrospective bibliometric analysis of the evolution of context and focus of ECR ’s articles [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. To curate a rich bibliometric overview of ECR ’s scientific achievements, this study explores seven research questions (RQ) which are commonly asked by both authors and our Editorial Board members:

RQ1. What is the trend of publication and citation in ECR ?

RQ2. Who are the most prolific contributors (authors, institutions, and countries) in ECR ?

RQ3. What are the most influential publications in ECR ?

RQ4. Where have ECR publications been cited the most?

RQ5. What is the trend of collaboration in ECR ?

RQ6. Who are the most important constituents of the collaboration network in ECR ?

RQ7. What are the major research themes in ECR ?

A bibliometric analysis can offer a broad, systematic overview of the literature to delineate the evolution of electronic commerce technologies, and point the direction to trending topics and methodologies [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Our research is organized as follows. Section  2 outlines our bibliometric methodology. Section  3 goes on to performance analysis to uncover contributor and journal performance trends (RQ1–RQ4), the co-authorship analysis performed to unpack collaboration and constituent characteristics (RQ5–RQ6), and the bibliometric coupling and keyword analyses used to reveal the major themes and trends within the ECR corpus (RQ7). Section  4 applies graph theoretic analysis. Section  5 applies cluster analysis. Section 6 applies thematic analysis. Finally, we conclude the study with key takeaways from this retrospective.

2 Methodology

Bibliometric methodologies apply graph theoretic and statistical tools for analysis of bibliographic data [ 15 ] and include performance analysis and science mapping [ 16 ]. To answer research question 1 to research question 4, this study uses performance analysis to measure the output of authors’ productivity and impact, with productivity measured using publications per year, and impact measured using citations per year. We begin by measuring the productivity and impact of ECR , and then the productivity and impact of authors, institutions, and countries using both publications and citations per year metrics on top of ancillary measures such as citations per publication and h -index. Finally, we measure the impact of ECR articles using citations and shed light on prominent publication outlets citing ECR articles.

To answer research question 5 to research question 7, this study uses co-authorship, bibliographic coupling, and keyword analyses. We begin by conducting a co-authorship analysis, which is a network-based analysis that scrutinizes the relationships among journal contributors [ 17 ]. Next, we perform bibliographic coupling to obtain the major themes within the ECR corpus. The assumption of bibliographic coupling connotes that two documents would be similar in content if they share similar references [ 18 , 19 ]. Using article references, a network was created, wherein shared references were assigned with edge weights and documents were denoted with nodes. The documents were divided into thematic clusters using the Newman and Girvan [ 20 ] algorithm. Finally, we track the development of themes throughout different time periods using a temporal keyword analysis. The assumption of this analysis suggest that keywords are representative of the author’s intent [ 21 ] and thus important for understanding the prominence of themes pursued by authors across different time periods. Indeed, we found that these bibliometric methods complement each other relatively well, as bibliographic coupling was useful to locate general themes while keywords were useful to understand specific topics.

To acquire bibliographic data of ECR articles for the bibliometric analyses mentioned above, this study uses the Scopus database, which is one of the largest academic database that is almost 60% larger than the Web of Science [ 21 ]. Past research has also indicated that the citations presented within the Scopus database correlate more with expert judgement as compared to Google Scholar and Web of Science [ 22 ]. We begin by conducting a source search for “ Electronic Commerce Research ,” which resulted in 927 articles, and after filtering out non- ECR articles, we obtain a list of 516 ECR articles (see Fig.  1 ). However, ECR only gained Scopus indexation in 2005, and thus, only 443 ECR articles (2005–2020) contained full bibliometric data, whereas the remaining 73 ECR articles (2001–2004) contained only partial bibliometric data (e.g., no affiliation, abstract, and keyword entry). All 516 ECR articles were fetched and included in the performance analysis as partial bibliometric data was sufficient, but only 443 ECR articles were included in science mapping (e.g., co-authorship, bibliographic coupling, and keyword analyses using VOSviewer [ 23 ] and Gephi [ 24 ]) as full bibliometric data was required. This collection of articles met the minimum sample size of 200 articles for bibliometric analysis recommended by Rogers, Szomszor, and Adams [ 25 ].

Research design. Note Bibliometric analysis was conducted for only 443 (primary) documents as 73 (secondary) documents lack full data (affiliation, abstract and keywords)

3 Performance analysis: productivity and impact

The publication and citation trends of ECR between 2001 and 2020 are presented in Fig.  2 (RQ1). In terms of publication, the number of articles published in ECR has grown from 20 articles per year in 2001 to 81 articles per year in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 7.64%. In terms of citations, the number of citations that ECR articles received has grown from three citations in 2001 to 1219 citations in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 37.19%. These statistics suggest that ECR ’s publications and citations have seen exponential growth since its inception, and that the journal’s citations have grown at a much faster rate than its publication, which is very positive.

Annual publication and citation structure of ECR

3.2 Authors

The most prolific authors in ECR between 2001 and 2020 are presented in Table 1 (RQ2). The most prolific author is Jian Mou, who has published six articles in ECR , which have garnered a total of 95 citations. This is followed by Yan-Ping Liu and Liyi Zhang, who have published three articles each in ECR , which have received a total of 46 and 42 citations, respectively. Among the top 20 contributors, the author with the highest citation average per publication is Katina Michael (TC/TP and TC/TCP = 59 citations), who is followed closely by Yue Guo (TC/TP and TC/TCP = 51 citations); they are the only two authors who have an average citation greater than 50 for their ECR articles.

3.3 Institutions

The most prolific institutions for ECR between 2001 and 2020 are presented in Table 2 (RQ2). IBM, with 14 articles and 371 citations, emerges as the highest contributing institution to ECR . It is surprising yet encouraging to see a high number of contributions coming from practice, which reflects the ECR ’s receptiveness to publish industry-relevant research. Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that this contribution is derived from the collective effort of IBM’s research labs around the world (e.g., Delhi, Haifa, and New York)—a unique advantage that most higher education institutions do not enjoy unless they have full-fledged research-active international branch campuses around the world. The second and third most contributing institutions are Nanjing University and Xi’an Jiaotong University, with 11 and 10 articles that have been cited 116 and 29 times, respectively. This is yet another interesting observation, as the contributions by Chinese institutions suggest that ECR is a truly international journal despite its origins and operations stemming in the United States. Finally, the University of California (TC/TP and TC/TCP = 34.86 citations) emerges as the institution that averages the most citations per publication, followed by IBM (TC/TP and TC/TCP = 26.50 citations) and Texas Tech University (TC/TP and TC/TCP = 26.20 citations).

3.4 Countries

The most prolific countries in ECR between 2001 and 2020 are presented in Table 3 (RQ2). China emerges as the most prolific contributor, with 152 articles and 1066 citations. This is followed by the United States, which has contributed 143 articles and 2813 citations. No country other than China and the United States has contributed more than 50 articles to ECR . Nevertheless, it is important to note that ECR also receives contributions from many countries around the world, as the remaining ± 50% of contributions in the top 20 list comes from 18 different countries across Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

3.5 Articles

The most cited articles in ECR between 2001 and 2020 are presented in Table 4 (RQ3). The most cited article published in ECR during this period is Füller et al.’s [ 26 ] article on the role of virtual communities in new product development (TC = 270). This is followed by Sotiriadis and van Zyl’s [ 27 ] article on electronic word of mouth and its effects on the tourism industry (TC = 188), Nonnecke et al.’s [ 28 ] article on the phenomena of ‘lurking’ in online communities (TC = 185), Lehdonvirta’s [ 29 ] article on the factors that drive virtual product purchases (TC = 170), and Bae and Lee’s [ 30 ] article on the effect of gender on consumer perception of online reviews (TC = 125). The diversity of topics in the most cited articles indicate that electronic commerce is indeed a multi-faceted subject, which we will explore in detail in the later sections.

3.6 Publication outlets

The publication outlets that have cited ECR articles the most between 2001 and 2020 are presented in Table 5 (RQ4). The list includes many prestigious journals such as International Journal of Information Management (ABDC = A*, IF = 8.210), Information and Management (ABDC = A*, IF = 5.155), and Decision Support Systems (ABDC = A*, IF = 4.721), among others. The presence of such reputed journals reflects ECR ’s own reputation of high standing among its peers. Apart from ECR , the publication outlets that have highly cited ECR include Lecture Notes in Computer Science including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics (TC = 218), Computers in Human Behavior (TC = 95), and ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (TC = 88), which reflect the diversity in publication outlets that ECR is making an impact (e.g., book, conference, journal).

4 Co-authorship analysis: scientific network

4.1 co-authorship.

The co-authorships in ECR between 2005 and 2020 are presented in Table 6 (RQ5). On the one hand, the co-authorship analysis shows that the share of articles written by a single author has gone down over the years from 10.94% (2005–2008) to 8.61% (2017–2020). The small and decreasing share of single-authored articles do not come as a surprise given the importance and proliferation of collaboration to address increasing thematic and methodological complexity in research [ 31 ]. On the other hand, the co-authorship analysis shows that multi-authored articles have increased their share in ECR , especially articles with three authors or more. In particular, the share of articles with three and five or more authors have increased from 31.25% and 4.69% between 2005 and 2008 to 34.45% and 14.35% between 2017 and 2020, respectively. These statistics suggests that collaboration is growing in prominence, which is consistent with recent observations reported by other premier journals in business [ 32 , 33 , 34 ], and that ECR is a good home for collaborative research.

4.2 Network centrality

The most important authors, institutions, and countries across different measures of centrality are presented in Table 7 (RQ6). In this study, we employ four measures of centrality: degree of centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and eigen centrality.

In essence, degree of centrality refers to the number of relational ties a node has in a network. In contrast, betweenness centrality refers to a node’s ability to connect otherwise unconnected groups of nodes, wherein nodes act as a gateway for the flow of information. Whereas, closeness centrality refers to a node’s closeness to every other node in the network, whereby nodes that reflect a greater number of shortest paths than others in a network indicates the ability of those nodes to transmit information and knowledge across the network with relative ease. Finally, eigen centrality refers to a node’s relative importance in a network, whereby nodes that are connected to other highly connected nodes are crucial to information transfer.

In terms of authors, Jian Mou emerged as the most important author for degree of centrality and betweenness centrality, whereas Xin Luo and Jian-xin Wang were flagged as the most important authors for closeness centrality and eigen centrality, respectively. In terms of institutions, Renmin University emerged as the most important institution for degree centrality and betweenness centrality, whereas the University of Ottawa was rated as the most important institution for closeness centrality and eigen centrality. In terms of countries, China emerged as the most important country for betweenness centrality, whereas the United States emerged as the most important country for the other three measures of centrality. Collectively, these findings indicate the most important constituents for degree of centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and eigen centrality in terms of authors, institutions, and countries.

4.3 Collaboration network

The author collaboration network in Fig.  3 indicates that authors groups in ECR are fairly separated from each other, especially among highly connected authors (more than five links in the network). This suggests that most authors in ECR chose to work in a single team rather than across multiple teams. The institution collaboration network in Fig.  4 reaffirms our earlier finding that Renmin University is indeed the most important constituent of the network, especially among highly connected institutions (more than five links in the network). The institution collaboration network also appears to be more complex than the author collaboration network, wherein institutions appear to be far more connected to each other, indicating a good degree of collaboration across institutional lines. The country network in Fig.  5 presents a similar network scenario, where countries appear to be fairly well connected, with the United States being at the center of the country-level collaboration network. These findings suggest that ECR authors collaborate more actively across institutions and countries than teams.

Author co-authorship network. Note Threshold for inclusion is five or more links in the network

Institution co-authorship network. Note Threshold for inclusion is five or more links in the network

Country co-authorship network. Note Threshold for inclusion is five or more links in the network

5 Bibliographic coupling: thematic clusters

Bibliographic coupling is applied to unpack the major clusters (themes) within the ECR corpus. The method is predicated on the assumption that documents that share the same references are similar in content [ 18 , 35 ]. The application of bibliographic coupling on 443 ECR articles resulted in the formation of 30 clusters, wherein 11 major clusters were identified. The 11 major clusters, which contained 401 (or 90.5%) ECR articles, were ordered based on number of publications and average publication years, with more recent clusters ordered before older clusters in the case of clusters sharing the same number of publications. The summary of the 11 major clusters, which take center stage in this study, is presented in Table 8 .

5.1 Cluster #1: online privacy and security

Cluster #1 contains 74 articles that have been cited 963 times with an average publication year of 2013.09. The most cited article in this cluster is Zarmpou et al.’s [ 36 ] article on the adoption of mobile services. This is followed by Chaudhry et al.’s [ 37 ] article on user encryption schemes for e-payment systems, and Antoniou and Batten’s [ 38 ] article on purchaser’s privacy and trust in online transactions. Other articles in this cluster have considered topics such as e-commerce trust models [ 39 ], consumer privacy [ 40 ], cybercrime and cybersecurity issues [ 41 ], gender differences [ 42 ], and the development and implementation of various authentication systems [ 43 , 44 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be centered on online privacy and security issues , including equivalent solutions for improved authentication and encryption to improve trust in electronic commerce.

5.2 Cluster #2: online channels and optimization

Cluster #2 contains 49 articles that have been cited 415 times with an average publication year of 2016.67. The most cited article in this cluster is Jeffrey and Hodge’s [ 45 ] article on impulse purchases in online shopping. This is followed by Biller et al.’s [ 46 ] article on dynamic pricing for online retailing in the automotive industry, and Yan’s [ 47 ] article on profit sharing and firm performance in manufacturer-retailer dual-channel supply chains. Other articles in this cluster have examined online channels such as peer-to-peer networks and social commerce [ 48 , 49 ] and optimal supply chain configuration [ 50 , 51 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be concentrated on online channels and optimization , particularly in terms of the channel characteristics and price and supply chain optimization in electronic commerce.

5.3 Cluster #3: online engagement and preferences

Cluster #3 contains 49 articles that have been cited 982 times with an average publication year of 2013.98. The most cited article in this cluster is Nonnecke et al.’s [ 28 ] article on online community participation. This is followed by Sila’s [ 52 ] article on business-to-business electronic commerce technologies, and Ozok and Wei’s [ 53 ] article on consumer preferences of using mobile and stationary devices. Other articles in this cluster have explored topics such as online community participation and social impact across countries [ 54 ], online opinions across regions and its impact on consumer preferences [ 55 , 56 ], content and context factors [ 57 ], data mining techniques [ 58 ], and recommender systems and their application in online environments [ 59 , 60 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be focused on online engagement and preferences , including the adoption and usage of technology (e.g., data mining, recommender systems) to curate engagement and shape preferences among target customers in electronic commerce.

5.4 Cluster #4: online market sentiments and analyses

Cluster #4 contains 41 articles that have been cited 198 times. This cluster has the highest average publication year among the 11 major clusters (2018.56), which indicates that most articles in this cluster are fairly recent. The most cited article in this cluster is Zhou’s [ 61 ] article on multi-layer affective modeling of emotions in the online environment. This is followed by Suki’s [ 62 ] article on online consumer shopping insights, and Chen et al.’s [ 63 ] article on information markets. Other articles in this cluster have investigated topics such as Internet queries and marketplace prediction [ 64 ], cross-border electronic commerce using the information systems success model [ 65 ], and electronic [ 66 ] and social [ 67 ] commerce using big data. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be centered on online market sentiments and analyses , with the use of advanced modeling techniques to unpack fresh insights on electronic commerce being relatively prominent.

5.5 Cluster #5: online reviews and ratings

Cluster #5 contains 40 articles that have been cited 611 times with an average publication year of 2017.28. The most cited article in this cluster is Bae and Lee’s [ 30 ] article on online consumer reviews across gender. This is followed by Flanagin et al.’s [ 68 ] article on user-generated online ratings, and Fairlie’s [ 69 ] on the digital divide in online access, which speaks to the technological infrastructure required to post and respond to online reviews and ratings. Other articles in this cluster have examined quantitative and qualitative feedback in online environments [ 70 ], electronic word of mouth platforms and persuasiveness [ 71 ], online reviews and product innovation [ 72 ] , recommender systems and product ranking [ 73 ], and online rating determinants [ 74 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be concentrated on online reviews and ratings , including its potential differences among consumers coming from different demographic backgrounds.

5.6 Cluster #6: online exchanges and transactions

Cluster #6 contains 34 articles that have been cited 320 times with an average publication year of 2011.29. The most cited article in this cluster is Narayanasamy et al.’s [ 75 ] article on the adoption and concerns of e-finance. This is followed by Dumas et al.’s [ 76 ] article on bidding agents in e-auction, and Marinč’s [ 77 ] article on the impact of information technology on the banking industry. Other articles in this cluster have explored topics such as game theoretic aspects of search auctions [ 78 ], auction mechanism for ad space among advertisers [ 79 ], trust analysis in online procurement [ 80 ], efficiency of reverse auctions [ 81 ], and effect of hedonic and utilitarian behaviors on the e-auction behavior [ 82 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be focused on online exchanges and transactions , particularly in terms of auction mechanisms and banking-related services.

5.7 Cluster #7: online media and platforms

Cluster #7 contains 30 articles that have been cited 668 times with an average publication year of 2016.23. The most cited article in this cluster is Sotiriadis and van Zyl’s [ 27 ] article on social media in the form of Twitter. This is followed by Huang and Liao’s [ 83 ] article on augmented reality interactive technology, and Hsieh et al.’s [ 84 ] article on online video persuasion in electronic commerce. Other articles in this cluster have investigated topics such as the role of social media in disseminating product information [ 85 ], the effect of video formats on person-to-person streaming [ 86 ], interpersonal relationship building using social media [ 87 ], and microblog usage [ 88 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be centered on online media and platforms , particularly in terms of its variation, use, and impact in shaping consumer behavior in electronic commerce.

5.8 Cluster #8: online technology acceptance and continuance

Cluster #8 contains 26 articles that have been cited 244 times with an average publication year of 2016.37. The most cited article in this cluster is Zhou’s [ 89 ] article on the adoption of location-based services. This is followed by Chen et al.’s [ 90 ] article on the adoption of electronic customer relationship management, and Royo and Yetano’s [ 91 ] article on crowdsourcing usage in local governments. Other articles in this cluster have examined topics such as gender discrimination in online peer-to-peer lending [ 92 ], continued usage of e-auction services [ 93 ], and investor trust in peer-to-peer lending platforms [ 94 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be concentrated on online technology acceptance and continuance , including determinants and discriminants that explain online technology-mediated behavior across different forms of electronic commerce such as e-auction, e-lending, e-government, and e-customer relationship management.

5.9 Cluster #9: online communities and commercialization in the virtual world

Cluster #9 contains 22 articles that have been cited 771 times with an average publication year of 2012.23. The most cited article in this cluster is Füller et al.’s [ 26 ] article on the role of virtual communities in new product development. This is followed by Lehdonvirta’s [ 29 ] article on the revenue model of virtual products, and Guo and Barnes’s [ 95 ] article on the purchase behavior of virtual products. Other articles in this cluster have investigated topics such as metaverse retailing [ 96 ], issues faced by developers of virtual worlds [ 97 ], the impact of virtual world on e-business models [ 98 ], e-commerce transactions in virtual environments [ 99 ], and customer value co-creation in virtual environments [ 26 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be focused on the online communities and commercialization in the virtual world , particularly in virtual environments such as online gaming.

5.10 Cluster #10: online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty

Cluster #10 contains 18 articles that have been cited 291 times with an average publication year of 2016.11. The most cited article in this cluster is Hanafizadeh and Khedmatgozar’s [ 100 ] article on consumer expectations of risk in online banking. This is followed by Valvi and Fragkos’s [ 101 ] article on purchase-centered e-loyalty, and Aloudat and Michael’s [ 102 ] article on regulatory expectations of ubiquitous mobile government. Other articles in this cluster have examined topics such as continued usage of e-services [ 103 ], determinants of e-loyalty [ 104 ] , risk expectations of e-services [ 105 ], and e-service quality implications for customer satisfaction and loyalty [ 106 ]. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be centered on online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty , particularly in e-service settings such as online banking.

5.11 Cluster #11: online purchase intention

Cluster #11 contains 18 articles that have been cited 671 times with an average publication year of 2014.00. The most cited article in this cluster is Kim’s [ 107 ] article on online purchase intention using trust theory and technology acceptance model. This is followed by Gregg and Walczak’s [ 108 ] article on the effects of website quality on online purchase intention, and Taylor et al.’s [ 109 ] article on the effects of privacy concerns on online purchase intention. Other articles in this cluster have explored topics that either reaffirm the findings of the highly cited articles in this cluster, such as privacy concerns and personalization [ 109 , 110 ], or that extend the breadth of cluster coverage, such as store image [ 111 ], risk, and trust [ 112 ] as determinants of online purchase intention. Thus, ECR articles in this cluster appear to be concentrated on online purchase intentions , particularly in terms of its multi-faceted determinants that avail or transpire in electronic commerce.

6 Temporal keyword analysis: thematic evolution

Building on the thematic clusters uncovered using bibliographic coupling (see Fig.  6 ), this study performs a temporal keyword analysis to unpack the development of themes and its evolutionary trajectory in ECR over time.

Period wise publication trend in major clusters. Note Cluster #1 = online privacy and security. Cluster #2 = online channels and optimization. Cluster #3 = online engagement and preferences. Cluster #4 = online market sentiments and analyses. Cluster #5 = online reviews and ratings. Cluster #6 = online exchanges and transactions. Cluster #7 = online media and platforms. Cluster #8 = online technology acceptance and continuance. Cluster #9 = online communities and commercialization in the virtual world. Cluster #10 = online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty. Cluster #11 = online purchase intention

6.1 Thematic development from 2005 to 2008

Most ECR articles between 2005 and 2008 appear in Clusters #1, #3, and #6 (see Fig.  6 ), which indicate research concentration on online privacy and security, online engagement and preferences, and online exchanges and transactions. The keyword network in Fig.  7 confirms this observation. Apart from general keywords such as “e-commerce,” keywords such as “cryptography,” “privacy,” and “security” relate directly to the theme of Cluster #1, which is about online privacy and security. The prominence of the word “cryptography” indicates the popularity and importance of the topic during this period. Other keywords such as “auctions,” “online auctions,” and “bidding strategies” relate to the theme of Cluster #6, which is about online exchanges and transactions, with particular focus on online auction and banking. Other keywords such as “collaborative filtering,” “online communities,” and “mobile commerce” relate to the theme of Cluster #3, which is about online engagement and preferences. The bigger and bolder keywords observed in Clusters #1 and #3 suggest that the direct benefits and costs of electronic commerce were most pertinent in the early stages of ECR , with the augmented aspects of electronic commerce in Cluster #6 emerging closely behind the two leading clusters in this period.

Keyword network between 2005 and 2008. Note Threshold for inclusion is a minimum of two occurrences

6.2 Thematic development from 2009 to 2012

Most ECR articles between 2009 and 2012 are located in Cluster #1 (see Fig.  6 ), which reveal the continued pertinence of research concentrating on online privacy and security during this period. Nonetheless, ECR experienced a substantial growth in research focusing on online media and platforms, online communities and commercialization in the virtual world, online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty, and online purchase intention, as seen through ECR articles in Clusters #7, #9, #10, and #11 during this period. The keyword network in Fig.  8 adds to this observation. In particular, keywords such as “security,” “payment protocol,” and “trust management” relate to the theme of Cluster #1 on online privacy and security, whereas keywords such as “metaverses,” “second life,” “virtual reality,” and “virtual world” speak to the emergence of online communities and commercialization in the virtual world characterizing Cluster #9. Similarly, keywords such as “reputation” and “trust” are important to online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty (Cluster #10) and their online purchase intention (Cluster #11). Interestingly, though Cluster #7 emerged during this period, we did not observe any unique or specific keywords relating to this cluster, which may be attributed to online media and platform research early focus on its “adoption,” a keyword that we felt resonates more with Cluster #8.

Keyword network between 2009 and 2012. Note Threshold for inclusion is a minimum of two occurrences

6.3 Thematic development from 2013 to 2016

Most ECR articles between 2013 and 2016 continue to be situated in Cluster #1 (see Fig.  6 ), which suggest the continued pertinence of research concentrating on online privacy and security during this period. Nonetheless, there are a number of clusters that saw noteworthy growth, such as Clusters #2, #5, #7, #8, and #10, which indicate that research attention has also been invested in topics related to online channels and optimization, online reviews and ratings, online media and platforms, online technology acceptance and continuance, and online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty. The keyword network in Fig.  9 supports this observation. More specifically, keywords such as “personal information” and “privacy” indicate continued research in Cluster #1, though it appears that the focus has shifted from authentication and security mechanisms to privacy matters, which may be attributed to the rise of personalized and targeted online marketing activities (e.g., tracking of user activity for personalized advertisements). Whereas, keywords such as “B2C e-commerce” and “e-government” denote emerging interest in online channels and optimization (Cluster #2), “electronic word of mouth” indicates growing interest in online reviews and ratings (Cluster #5), “cloud computing,” “IPTV,” and “social media” reveal increasing interest in online media and platforms (Cluster #7), “information technology,” “technology adoption,” and “technology acceptance model” speak to research on online technology acceptance and continuance (Cluster #8), and “product type,” “quality of service,” and “user satisfaction” resonate with research on online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty (Cluster #10).

Keyword network between 2013 and 2016. Note Threshold for inclusion is a minimum of two occurrences

6.4 Thematic development from 2017 to 2020

Most ECR articles between 2017 and 2020 are located in Cluster #4 (see Fig.  6 ), which reflect the noteworthy emergence and shift of research concentration from online privacy and security to online market sentiments and analyses. Other thematic clusters such as Clusters #2, #3, and #5 have also witnessed a massive increase in publications during this period. This implies that ECR has become relatively diverse in the research that it publishes, which also explains the rise in the number of papers that the journal publishes during this period. The keyword network in Fig.  10 sheds further light on this observation. In particular, many keywords in the network illustrate a strong research concentration on online market sentiments and analyses, such as “big data,” “data mining,” machine learning,” “sentiment analysis,” and “social network analysis” (Cluster #4). Similarly, keywords such as “dual channel supply chain,” “supply chain coordination,” and “social commerce” indicate the type of research focusing on online channels and optimization (Cluster #2), “social influence,” “social media,” and “social media marketing” reflect research in the area of online engagement and preferences (Cluster #3), and “consumer reviews,” “online reviews,” “reputation,” and “word of mouth” speak to research on online reviews and ratings (Cluster #5).

Keyword network between 2017 and 2020. Note Threshold for inclusion is a minimum of two occurrences

7 Conclusion

This study presents a 20-year retrospective of ECR since its inception in 2001. Several research questions were proposed and pursued using a bibliometric methodology consisting of performance analysis and science mapping (e.g., co-authorship analysis, bibliographic coupling, and temporal keyword analysis).

Our first four research questions—i.e., research question 1 to research question 4—concentrated on the publication and citation trends of ECR . Through performance analysis, we found that ECR has grown exponentially in terms of its publications and citations. Most contributors of ECR come from China and the United States, which reflect (1) China’s standing as the world’s largest e-commerce market with 50 percent of the world’s online transactions occurring in this country, and (2) the United States’ standing as the world’s pioneer of e-commerce (e.g., Amazon) and her expectation for e-commerce to reach 50% of total retail sales in the country in 10 years [ 113 ]. Interestingly, IBM, a non-academic institution, emerged as the highest contributing institution to the journal, which is unsurprising given that IBM is the largest industrial research organization in the world with 12 research labs across six continents [ 114 ]. More importantly, ECR was found to be well received among its peers, with many of its citations coming from prestigious journals in the field of information systems and management. Nevertheless, we observed that ECR receives very little contribution from Africa and several parts of Asia, particularly South Asia and South East Asia. Though electronic commerce may not have been very prominent in these regions in the past, we believe that the coronavirus pandemic that has taken the world by storm in 2020 has accelerated the proliferation and adoption of electronic commerce in these regions, and thus, we would encourage authors from these regions to submit their best papers to ECR in the near future. Thus, we raise two future research questions (FRQs) for exploration:

FRQ1: What are the e-commerce innovations that avail in underexplored regions (e.g., Africa, South Asia, and South East Asia) and how do such innovations fare in terms of similarities and differences in manifestations and impact against their more richly explored counterparts (e.g., China, United States)?

FRQ2: How can global pandemics such as COVID-19 change or impact e-commerce around the world (e.g., can the pandemic accelerate e-commerce adoption across all layers of society; can the pandemic lead to new innovations; can e-commerce contribute to positive and/or negative economic and social impact during the pandemic—and if yes, what and how, and if no, why)?

Our next two research questions—i.e., research question 5 and research question 6—focused on the collaboration trends in and the important constituents of ECR in the co-authorship network. Using co-authorship analysis, we found that the collaboration culture in ECR has grown with the passage of time, as evidenced through the decreasing share of single-authored articles and the increasing share of multi-authored publications, especially in the five or more authors category. We also observed that the share of multi-authored articles has always been dominant in the journal, with such publications forming nearly 90% of the corpus at any given point in time. Indeed, these observations reflect the increasing emphasis that universities place on multi-author and inter-/multi-/trans-disciplinary collaborations in promotion and tenure practices and policies [ 115 ]. In terms of important constituents in the co-authorship network, Jian Mou emerged as the most important author across two measures of centrality, whereas Renmin University and University of Ottawa emerged as the most important institutions at the institution level, and the United States emerged as the most important constituent at the country level. Nonetheless, we noted that authors who collaborate in ECR do not work much across diverse teams, but they do, however, work a lot across institutions and countries. Future scholars could rely on the centrality networks that we have curated herein this study for potential collaboration with authors from varying institutions and countries who have a good publication record and a research interest to publish with ECR .

Our final research question—i.e., research question 7—was dedicated to unpacking the major themes in ECR . Through bibliographic coupling, our study found 11 major clusters that reflected the major themes underpinning research published in ECR : (1) online privacy and security, (2) online channels and optimization, (3) online engagement and preferences, (4) online market sentiments and analyses, (5) online reviews and ratings, (6) online exchanges and transactions, (7) online media and platforms, (8) online technology acceptance and continuance, (9) online communities and commercialization in the virtual world, (10) online customer expectations, satisfaction, and loyalty, and (11) online purchase intention. Through temporal keyword analysis, our study observed that the topics published in ECR has become more diverse over time, with a noteworthy shift from an early concentration on online privacy and security to a contemporary focus on newer, industry-informed topics, such as online market sentiments and analyses, which we reckon coincides with the emergence of the unique peculiarities of the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0), such as big data and machine learning, in recent years [ 116 , 117 ]. Thus, to extend the line of research that concentrates on unpacking the contemporary realities of e-commerce, we propose another two future research questions (FRQs) for exploration:

FRQ3: How can emergent technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, big data analytics, blockchain, machine learning) be applied to improve forecasting (e.g., cybercrime, social network), optimize functions (e.g., advertising, sales), and protect stakeholders (e.g., privacy, security) in e-commerce?

FRQ4: How can e-commerce operators leverage on emergent technologies to acquire competitive advantages (e.g., how to build trust and good relationships with customers [e.g., digital natives, digital migrants], and how to respond to changes in customer demands and marketplace trends with agility), and whether these competitive advantages that they acquired are sustainable or transient (and if transient, then what can they do to curate, maintain, or replenish their competitive advantages in the long run)?

Though thorough in its approach, this study does suffer from certain limitations. First, this study relies on the Scopus for bibliometric data. Though the database has its merits, as laid out in the methodology section, the bibliographic data is not created for the purpose of bibliometric analysis. This may lead to errors in the data source. Through data cleaning, we have attempted to minimize errors, but any remaining error in the source data, which we might have missed, could have an impact on the final analysis, though we believe that the margin for such errors would be relatively small, if not, negligible. Second, ECR has been around for 20 years, but the dataset available on Scopus, which we used, is only complete for 16 years (2005–2020). Due to this limitation, the science mapping part of the study—i.e., co-authorship, bibliographic coupling, and temporal keyword analysis—had to be restricted to this period only. We do not discount the possibility that the complete set of earlier data (2001–2004) may become available on Scopus in the future, and thus, we would encourage future research aiming to conduct a bibliometric review for ECR , perhaps in the next milestone (e.g., 30, 40, or 50 years), to check on such data availability, and if available, to take advantage and conduct a full-fledged science mapping for the journal. Finally, the scientific insights that could be uncovered through a bibliometric methodology, though rich, remain limited. In particular, bibliometric reviews such as ours do not delve into expert information, such as the theories, contexts, and methods employed to create new knowledge on electronic commerce in the ECR corpus. This, in turn, makes it difficult for bibliometric reviews to put forth a comprehensive set of data-informed proposals for future research. Nonetheless, we opine that bibliometric reviews do provide a good starting point of data-informed insights that future research can rely on to understand the trajectory of the extant discussion of electronic commerce in the journal. In particular, we believe that such insights would be useful, not only for future empirical research (e.g., potential collaboration networks, research themes of interest), but also for future reviews on thematic domains in ECR (e.g., systematic reviews on online market sentiments), which can be done in a number of ways, such a critical review [ 118 , 119 , 120 ], a thematic review [ 121 , 122 ], a theory-driven review [ 123 ], a method-driven review [ 124 , 125 ], or a framework-based review [ 126 ].

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Department of Management Studies, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302017, India

Satish Kumar & Nitesh Pandey

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Weng Marc Lim

School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology, Jalan Simpang Tiga, 93350, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Department of Information and Decision Sciences, University of Illinois – Chicago, 601 S. Morgan Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60607-7124, USA

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Kumar, S., Lim, W.M., Pandey, N. et al. 20 years of Electronic Commerce Research . Electron Commer Res 21 , 1–40 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-021-09464-1

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Accepted : 01 February 2021

Published : 29 March 2021

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-021-09464-1

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Sustainability in e-commerce packaging: A review

Sílvia escursell.

a CELBIOTECH_Paper Engineering Research Group, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech, Colom 11, 08222, Terrassa, Spain

b Elisava, Escola Universitària de Disseny I Enginyeria de Barcelona, La Rambla 30-32, 08002, Barcelona, Spain

Pere Llorach-Massana

M. blanca roncero.

Online purchasing, and hence e-commerce packaging production and use, have grown steadily in recent years, and so has their environmental impact as a result. This paper reviews the evolution of packaging over the last century through a compilation of scientific literature on e-commerce packaging focusing on its environmental side. The primary aims were to identify research gaps in e-commerce packaging and to propose new research lines aimed at reducing its environmental impact.

A systematic search of abstracts was conducted to identify articles dealing with sustainability in e-commerce packaging in order to better understand changes in materials and formats, identify problems such as oversizing and allow prospective readers to become acquainted with the latest innovations in materials, sustainability and logistics.

Based on existing research, packaging materials and technology evolved rapidly until the 1990s. Later, however, it has become increasingly difficult to further reduce their cost and environmental impact. Also, some packaging products continue to be made from non-renewable materials and thus restrict growth of e-commerce. Further research is needed with a view to producing new packages from renewable sources such as cellulose-containing materials, which are widely available in nature, or from recycled cellulose-based materials such as cartonboard. Improving distribution processes with new, more effective tools could additionally help alleviate the environmental impact of packaging. Similarly, new production processes such as additive manufacturing and 3D printing might help optimize package volume and shape, thereby facilitating more sustainable production through, for example, reduced CO 2 emissions. Currently available technology can be useful to rethink the whole e-commerce packaging paradigm, which has changed very little over the past few decades.

Abbreviations

1. introduction.

E-commerce continues to grow every year in many developed countries. Analysts have recently predicted that its market penetration will have increased by up to 25% by the year 2026 ( Taylor, 2019 ). This prediction is consistent with the fact that the proportion of online purchases rose from 32% ISO, 2015 , where 20 billion packages were shipped, to 43% in 2018 ( Eurostat, 2018 ; Monnot et al., 2019 ; Zhou, 2016 ). As shown by some consumer studies ( Pålsson, 2017 ; Rizet et al., 2010 ), this trend has had an adverse impact on the environment in the form of increased CO 2 emissions and energy use. Although and increasing number of customers now prefer online buying because it is more convenient, the favourable or adverse effects of e-commerce on the environment remain uncertain. Thus, the Covid-19 pandemic has boosted online shopping ( Kim, 2020 ) by, for instance, forcing many physical stores to start selling online —a trend that is unlikely to be reversed in the future. There have been substantial changes in the purchasing behaviour of consumers, many of whom have bought something online for their first time during the pandemic. Many are expected to continue shopping online —at least until an effective vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is found— through fear of being infected at large malls ( Organization, 2020 ).

Research into the environmental impact of e-commerce and traditional in-store shopping have revealed that, for example, brick and mortar retailing (i.e., buying at physical stores) can reduce CO 2 emissions by up to 70% ( Cairns, 2005 ; Liyi, 2011 ; Van Loon et al., 2015 ; Wiese, 2012 ) or even 84% in some cases ( Carling, 2015 ). Based on available data, e-commerce is an effective choice for non-urban delivery over long distances ( Morganti et al., 2014 ; Moroz, 2016 ; Wang and Zhou, 2015 ) as it avoids using private means of transport to reach urban areas, which is where malls are usually located. The main problem as regards delivery in urban cities arises in the ‘last mile’, where a number of factors including package type, material and size, and consumer behaviours, are all major contributors to carbon emissions ( Manerba et al., 2018 ; Van Loon et al., 2015 ; Visser, 2014 ; World Economic Forum, 2017 ).

The fact that packaging materials have a direct impact on energy use —and hence on logistics and waste production— is arousing increasing concern ( Fichter, 2003 ; Pålsson, 2017 , 2013 ; Shvarts, 2019 ; Sivaraman, 2007 ; Wikstrom, 2010 ). As can be seen from Fig. 1 , producing the amount of packaging needed for one person’s weekly consumption of food (viz., 10% of the supply chain energy) requires using a large amount of energy ( Kooijman, 2009 ). Package weight and volume are also important because they influence energy use for transport.

Amount of energy needed, in MJ, for one person’s weekly consumption of food. Adapted from ( Kooijman, 2009 ).

Overall, existing studies highlight the need to develop packaging solutions based on alternative materials to ensure that energy is efficiently used and waste reduced. Overpackaging continues to result in overuse of materials and energy, and thus influences the impact of production and transportation processes ( Lu et al., 2020 ; Monnot et al., 2019 ).

Customer satisfaction is the last link in the e-commerce chain ( Elgaaied-Gambier et al., 2018 ; Yu, 2016 ). According to García et al. (2019) , 71% of e-customers would shop online again if they were awarded premium packaging. Companies should therefore improve consumers’ experience through functional, aesthetic presentation of packages, and preservation of their brand image. Moreover, they should strive to control the direct and indirect environmental impacts of their packages through green messages. For example, Tu et al. (2018) found 67.75% of manufacturers to provide incorrect recycling information and Choice (2010) found 98% of labels to be false or the result of greenwashing practices intended to deceive customers. Some authors ( Breugelmans, 2007 ; Monnot et al., 2019 ) have examined changes in online consumer behaviour and attached less importance to the visual graphics of products. Marketing mix strategies (particularly communication and advertising approaches) are gaining increasing ground because dealers are increasingly perceiving the needs to provide adequate, accurate product information and to grant prospective buyers access to previous customers’ opinions. A shift in focus from information about physical products to information about online products is clearly in order if designers and manufacturers are to reduce the need for packaging materials.

This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the methodology used. Section 3 deals with the evolution and state of the art in packaging by first examining primary sources of literature on its history and economic changes, and then analysing sustainable packaging and how specific materials and new ways of thinking can advantageously replace current choices. Section 4 depicts today’s e-commerce scenario and e-commerce packaging alternatives. Some points are illustrated with specific cases to help readers understand the advantages and disadvantages of existing approaches. Section 5 discusses the most salient representative innovations in e-commerce packaging on a global scale for easier understanding of the new paradigms in its materials and logistics. Finally, several conclusions are drawn and suggestions for future research made.

This work is a systematic review based on the suggestions of Ferrari (2015) , Nsanzumuhire and Groot (2020) , Tranfield et al. (2003) , and Vom Brocke et al. (2009) . It is based in the following steps:

2.1. Identification of relevant literature

A methodical database search was performed to compile a body of articles based on the relevance of their abstracts and the reputation of their authors.

As shown in Fig. 2 and Table 1 , the main databases searched were Google Scholar and Elsevier Scopus, which are among the largest directories of scientific papers, books and congress reports. The academic database DiscoveryUPC 1 Server, which is a content search engine of all the databases to which UPC is subscribed and includes UPC’s own resources (books, magazines, articles, doctoral theses, conferences, videos), was also searched. This process allowed ethical downloading of articles, and the software Mendeley facilitated their filtering and organization. The criteria established to select the published articles were based on the following strategies: (1) relevant issues (e-commerce, history of packaging, circular economy, packaging materials, new paradigms, last innovations); (2) chronological order (from late 19th century to 2020); (3) issues and challenges.

Flow chart of literature review process.

Table 1

Methodology: key words, period considered, and academic databases of the three core sections in the manuscript.

Keywords included in this search were: e-commerce and consequences, packaging, sustainability, cellulose based-materials, circular economy, additive manufacturing and robots. See more details attached in Table 1 .

2.2. Screening and selection of studies included

From the first selection of relevant literature, the abstracts were evaluated and read to order full articles assessed for eligibility. Studies on any type of packaging (food, cosmetics, cleaning products, etc.) and studies dealing with the latest innovations in e-commerce technology and sustainability were included irrespective of author name and whether the journals were indexed. There was no exclusion in terms of geographical area. Articles whose abstracts were irrelevant to points such as packaging evolution (materials, innovation, shapes, sustainability) or whose contents were redundant, were excluded. Papers written in a language other than English or Spanish were excluded.

After excluding the number of references a total of 305 articles were assessed for eligibility.

163 articles were finally deemed especially relevant to the target subject matter as it indicates in Fig. 2 , the flow chart of the search procedure. The following ‘Results’ section introduces the results from these publications.

2.3. Data extraction

The authors extracted data from the articles included in the study, showed in Fig. 2 , identifying: (1) e-commerce and consequences (GHG emissions, last mile, e-commerce vs. physical stores, waste material after package use, returns); (2) packaging evolution through the last times (60’s, 90’s, 00’s, materials and shapes, new innovations in packaging sector); (3) packaging and e-commerce (references framework, green packaging, materials efficiency in packaging for e-commerce; (4) new paradigms and new challenges (new logistics systems as customers pick up, drones and robots, and cellulose-based materials).

2.4. Quality assessment

This review is based on the following qualitative criteria:

• • To ensure the quality of the articles, searches were performed for particularly relevant authors publishing in high ranked journals (Q1 and Q2).
• • The consistency of the results of this study is based on the solid evidence found in high quality works. Common data and perspectives found in 70–80% of the revised papers were considered to be reliable.
• • From each article read, the most relevant data were extracted, critical assessment and saved in a document for easy identification: title, abstract, date, keywords, relevant data and contribution to the study (quality of results, limitations, methods, interpretations of the results, impact of the conclusions for the study)

Furthermore, the following questions were used to select the publications:

• • Does the publication discuss the problems, obstacles or challenges of e-commerce and sustainability?
• • Does the publication analyse in detail the evolution of packaging, both in terms of materials and form?
• • Does the publication analyse individuals or companies that contribute new developments in materials or packaging?
• • Does the publication discuss if these developments are really positive contributions to the problems of e-commerce?
• • Does the publication analyse new opportunities in logistics and new materials?

Additionally, the applied methodologies were analysed. All articles with unreliable data were excluded as unsuitable for quality reasons.

2.5. Data synthesis

The core of this paper comprises the following sections: (3) Evolution and state of the art in packaging; (4) Current scenario and packaging in e-commerce and (5) New paradigms for sustainable packaging in e-commerce. Table 1 summarizes the methodological aspects of the investigation including keywords, periods of time and databases used to acquire the information. The table includes the content analysis procedure followed to extract relevant information of the qualitative type (e.g., quartile ranking of the journals) and quantitative type (basically, the topics dealt with in the articles).

3.1. Evolution and state of the art in packaging

This section examines changes in packaging since 1880 with emphasis on the materials used in recent decades, and on their economic and environmental impact. Also, it shows how sustainable packaging has improved, not only as regards aesthetics, in the meantime. In addition, it uses several case studies to assess the strengths and weaknesses of sustainable packaging initiatives following Circular Economy.

3.1.1. Evolution of packaging: materials, formats and latest innovations

The timeline in Fig. 3 summarizes the history of packaging since the late 19th century. Design historians have deemed the period from 1880 to 1900 the beginning of modern packaging. This period brought about new concepts such as mass marketing and mass production, which ran in parallel with the opening of the earliest supermarkets with their associated low prices and high volumes, as well as with the notion of strategic advertising in the same pack ( Twede, 2012 ). According to some authors ( Piselli, 2016 ; Schleger, 1968 ), this revolution changed consumption habits, promoted new ways of mechanizing production, facilitated the spread of supermarkets and even brought economic benefits to packaging manufacturers and consumers. The packaging materials largely used in the period 1880–1900 were paperboard folding carton, tin and glass, mechanization of which allowed vast amounts of packages to be produced ( Piselli, 2016 ; Twede, 2012 ). The advantages cartonboard boxes provided to customers gradually increased the market share of many industrial sectors. In fact, according to Davis (1967) , patents on up to 800 different types of boxes were filed in this early period.

Packaging timeline.

The scarcity of materials during the Second World War (1939–1945) led to their preferential use for making war-related products that were sent to soldiers in battle. This left the general population lacking in resources. Packages were then largely made from steel (shipping containers), tin (cans), glass (bottles), paper (containers), kraft paper (bags), cloth (bags) or wood (boxes) ( Risch, 2009 ; Schleger, 1968 ; Sheldon, 1944 ). In that time of shortage, people preferred to pay few cents more for products held in high-quality, reusable containers such as glass bottles.

The 1950s witnessed a boom in marketing and communication through packaging; however, they also started an age of waste-related problems and shorter product life cycles (so-called ‘planned obsolescence’; Jorgensen, 2013 ). Packaging was then almost more important than the products themselves —so much so that James Pilditch called it ‘the silent salesman’ ( Cheskin, 1957 ; Maffei and Schifferstein, 2017 ; Opie, 1991 ; Pilditch, 1963 ; Piselli, 2016 ; Vilnai-Yavetz, 2013 ). A new age of self-service in supermarkets then began that allowed consumers to stock up products faster and without waiting to be served ( Quinn, 2001 ). At that point, it was necessary to understand consumers’ needs and to apply marketing mix techniques such as market research, merchandising and advertising to better fulfil them ( Cheskin, 1957 ; Kotler, 2010 ; Quinn, 2001 ; Silayoi and Speece, 2007 ; Vilnai-Yavetz, 2013 ).

Until the 1960s, packaging materials had remained essentially unchanged because marketing departments and designers had focused on shape, colour and size to ensure optimal viewing of products on the shelves ( Cheskin, 1957 ; Silayoi and Speece, 2007 ; Vilnai-Yavetz, 2013 ). Louis Cheskin, an innovative marketing person and psychologist, coined the concept ‘sensation transference’ and provided experimental evidence for the need to arouse people’s emotions through the aesthetics of packaging design. This meant that packages should not focus on aesthetic values such as shape, size, colour or graphics to attract customers’ attention, but rather on assigning values of the products to their packages so that customers would be able to discriminate between the two ( Cheskin, 1957 ).

The 1960s, 1970s have been deemed the golden age for advances in technology and space travel. The advances included the production of new materials such as vapour- and water-proof plastics, aluminium and adhesives to cater for the needs of the packaging industry. Although the earliest plastics (e.g., John Wesley Hyatt’s celluloid) were discovered in the 19th century, they were not used for packaging until the 1960s and 1970s ( Wudl, 2014 ) because of their high combustibility and short lifetime. At the time, plastic was the main material for all types of packaging because it was easily pliable in different shapes, durable, hygienic, flexible and inexpensive. Polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were the most widely used materials in water bottles and plastic bags ( Opie, 1991 ; Risch, 2009 ).

Scientific and technological advances fortunately led to a more humanistic approach. Thus, materials can now be scrutinized at deeper levels such as those afforded by nanotechnology. In fact, scientists have shown that some nanoscale materials can adapt themselves to many other materials and enhance their properties to unbelievable levels as a result ( Doordan, 2003 ; Leydecker, 2008 ; Watson, 2001 ). The term ‘nanotechnology’ was coined by the Japanese scientist Norio Taniguchi at a conference of the Japanese Precision Engineering Society in 1974. Nanotechnology can be very useful to understand the physical, chemical and biological properties of materials at a very small scale ( Leydecker, 2008 ; Martín-Gago et al., 2014 ).

The concept of sustainability emerged in 1980. For humans to continue to enjoy nature, it was deemed essential to be aware that the amount of fossil resources available for manufacturing materials was limited, and also that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport and other human activities had adverse effects ( Doordan, 2003 ; Jorgensen, 2013 ; Lyla and Seevakan, 2018 ; Manzini, 1994 ; Rizet et al., 2010 ; Shvarts, 2019 ; Watson, 2001 ). In 1997, Pira International devised new rules for packaging in the 21st century. Previously, the EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EU) ( European Parliament, 1994 ) had taken several steps to control packaging waste and foster the recycling concept ( Sturges, 2000 ). The goal was to recover 50–65% of all packaging waste and recycle 25–45% of all packaging by 2001. This directive was amended in 2008 ( European Parliament, 2008 ) to add ‘new recycling and recovery targets to be achieved by 2020: 50% preparing for re-use and recycling of certain waste materials from households and other origins similar to households, and 70% preparing for re-use, recycling and other recovery of construction and demolition waste’ ( European Commission, 2008 ).

Based on a survey conducted by Cone Communications in 2014, 77% of consumers were being more environmentally conscious and taking action with better choices when shopping at supermarkets. In fact, many consumers were willing to pay an additional 10% over the usual price for a sustainable container ( Hitchin and Bittermann, 2018 ; Kotler, 2018 ; Lindh, 2016 ). On the other hand, customers buying online were unaware of the need for sustainability; rather, they prioritized other, more appealing variables such as price, volume and time of delivery ( Monnot et al., 2019 ; Shvarts, 2019 ).

European Comission, 2015 the European Union revised the legislation again under the concept ‘Circular Economy Package’ and made new proposals that all member countries of the European Commission were to adopt by 2030, namely: at least 65% of municipal waste and 75% of packaging waste should be recycled, and municipal landfill volume should be reduced by at least 10%.

The packaging sector clearly needs research and production of emerging materials as alternatives to plastic and fossil-based materials. One form of evidence is the presentation of existing choices such as edible and cellulose-based materials on the market ( Janjarasskul and Krochta, 2010 ). classified edible materials as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids and resins. Proteins from wheat, soy, milk and corn are used to improve optical and mechanical properties, while polysaccharides such as cellulose derivatives, starch, chitin, pectin and alginate are meant to improve gas-barrier and mechanical properties. Lipid materials such as glycerol, wax and resins added to composite materials act as moisture-protective films ( Janjarasskul and Krochta, 2010 ). For instance, Notpla’s Ooho is a seaweed-based material used as edible bubbles of water intended to replace plastic bottles. Kombutcha, which is obtained by fermentation of tea sugars, is one other alternative edible material. Because it generates no waste, the biodesign company MakeGrowLab has deemed it very useful for packaging ( Shvarts, 2019 ).

According to Carlin (2019) , sustainability in e-commerce can be accomplished by favouring the use of paper and paperboard materials for packaging. In this line, Mirjam de Bruijn has developed the unconventional package called ‘Twenty’. This product reduces the water content of home care, beauty and personal care products by 80%, thereby allowing smaller cardboard packages to be used. In fact, Twenty reduces the use of packaging materials and avoids the need for plastic bottles, which decreases transportation costs ( Solanki, 2018 ) to an extent that may cause a shift in consumers’ behaviours.

Packaging materials should not only be environmentally friendly, but also pose little problem over ‘the last mile’, which is the greatest hindrance to e-commerce expansion at present. Companies are struggling to deliver lighter packages as expeditiously as possible, but obviously at a cost. For example, IKEA charge a high price for home delivery of its products, but it is their customers’ decision to pay it ( Yu, 2016 ). On the other hand, to keep their customers satisfied the online supermarket Ulabox has not levied last-mile charges even though this obviously detracts from the company’s turnover ( García et al., 2019 ).

Some studies have examined potential solutions to the last mile problem. Such solutions include locker-based automated parcel stations (APS), pick-up points (PP) and parcel machines allocated in various areas for customers to collect their purchases ( Morganti et al., 2014 ; Moroz, 2016 ). Amazon and Google are extensively using the parcel locker solution. For other companies, the click-and-collect concept allows consumers to buy products online and collect them at a physical store ( Roger and Batty, 2017 ). One limitation of this concept is that companies still use the same types of packaging for their e-commerce channels ( Carrillo, 2014 ; Ruesch et al., 2016 ). As can be seen from Fig. 4 , both shapes and folding in cardboard boxes for transportation have remained almost unchanged. This subject is addressed in greater detail in Section 5.2 through several case studies which show that the same form and divider concept, and similar materials, continue to be used.

(a) Cardboard folding box from the 1896 catalogue of the Britannia Folding Box Co. ( Davis, 1967 ).(b) Contemporary design ( Brildor, 2019 ).

3.1.2. Sustainable packaging following circular economy

When ( Papanek, 1973 ) wrote Design for the Real World , he demanded that the role of product designer should be played with a more analytical and self-critical attitude. He insisted that products should be efficient and sustainable rather than merely aesthetically pleasing. In contrast, however, concepts such as ‘eco-design’, ‘green design’, ‘design for environment’ and ‘sustainable design’ have become the norm even though they do not respond to Papanek’s ideal and remain more akin to the linear model of the ‘take-make-use-dispose’ process ( Moreno, 2016 ; Oxman, 2015 ). The earliest notions leading to the concept of Circular Economy (CE) arose in the 1970s ( Stahel, 2013 ) and, especially, with Pearce and Turner in 1989 ( Evans and Bocken, 2014 ; Ghisellini, 2016 ; Gregorio et al., 2018 ). Manzini (1994) focused on the environmental consciousness on the manufacturing process of new products such as packages, and also to consumers’ attitudes in the 1980s and 1990s. The emerging political, economic and design awareness led to the development of new products that were intended to be more ethical and positive towards the environment.

Circular Economy (CE) is a business model based on a closed-loop system that uses biological and technical inputs separately ( Bocken, 2016 ; Ghisellini, 2016 ; MacArthur et al., 2013a , 2014 ). CE adds value to existing materials and avoids overexploiting natural resources, which helps to reduce waste. The ‘butterfly diagram’ developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation ( MacArthur et al., 2013b ) encourages companies to rethink their manufacturing processes by following CE methodology. A sizeable number of studies on CE for packaging have addressed the role played by business models and stakeholders, existing packaging strategies for materials, logistics, and legislation and policies, among others ( Gregorio et al., 2018 ; Meherishi et al., 2019 ; Moreno, 2016 ).

The Delft University of Technology, where the 4R strategy was developed ( Klooster, 2002 ), has conducted extensive research into CE as applied to packaging. Table 2 summarizes the 4R approach, the four Rs standing for ‘recycle’, ‘reuse’, ‘renew’ and ‘rethink’. In this context, recycling is using materials from packaging waste to produce new materials for making new packages; reusing is harvesting, washing and using packaging products once more; renewing is using biodegradable, compostable or renewable materials for packaging; and rethinking is finding new design methods to improve existing packaging solutions socially and environmentally.

Table 2

Circular Design strategies as applied to packaging.

The current trend is to recycle and to search for biodegradable, compostable or renewable packaging materials that can be easily disposed of with no waste. Rethinking packaging design is being considered to depart from conventional uses.

3.2. Current scenario and packaging in e-commerce

3.2.1. global e-commerce market distribution.

At present, global e-commerce is being led by Amazon, eBay and Alibaba/Aliexpress ( Fernández, 2018 ). Amazon dispatches more than 10 billion packages each year (an estimated 27 700 000 packages each day) and have recognized that their carbon footprint in 2018 was 44.40 million tons ( Amazon, 2019 ; Shieber, 2019 ). Covid-19 increased the number of virtual visits to Amazon in March 2020 to 4.06 billion visitors ( Baltrusaitis, 2020 ). This is a huge amount of material and a massive wastage of energy. For this reason, Amazon is considering reducing secondary packaging in all deliveries in the future; however, they will have to rely on manufacturers to achieve this ambitious goal, and not all are willing to spend money and time in innovating and redesigning secondary packaging.

3.2.2. Packaging design strategies for a better environment

This section examines various strategies companies are currently using to reduce CO 2 emissions and energy wastage in e-commerce packaging. Amazon is currently working on the concept of ‘material reduction’ with their FFP programme. The secondary packaging they use must protect the product, minimize the amount of material used in each pack and maximize its recyclability in order to reduce waste production ( Amazon, 2018 ). Amazon’s certification requirements include using rigid hexahedral boxes of the following minimum dimensions: 228.6 mm (length) × 152.4 mm (width) × 9.5 mm (height). Amazon makes its boxes with corrugated cardboard and other cellulosic materials —or plastics such as PET, HPDE and PP. All must be 100% recyclable and airtight sealed with a long enough piece of masking tape so that no material will be wasted during shipment. Amazon even recommends using technology for measurements. Also, packages must be labelled with appropriate information, the volume of each product should not exceed the holding capacity of its container and packages must be easy to open by customers.

Packages should be made from as little material as possible. ‘Dematerialization’ is a widespread approach to reducing material and energy use, production of solid waste and CO 2 emissions. Victor Papanek illustrated the concept briefly back in 1971 in describing a particular anecdote in his book Design for a Real World ( Papanek, 1973 ). There, he proposed making toilet paper an inch less wide to reduce the wastage of millions of litres of water each day.

Based on Circular Economy principles, the manufacturer of the Saica Pack ( Saica, 2017 ) uses waste as a secondary raw material to produce eight different cardboard boxes (seven for small items and one big box for shipping deliveries) for Amazon Spain under the FFP program. Although Amazon’s warehouses can recycle 75% of their own material and return it to Saica, they cannot control the fate of everything they deliver.

Mondi Group (2019) produces recycled paper and sustainable flexible plastic for packaging. As material manufacturers, they are continuously working jointly with recycling companies and sustainable material suppliers to broaden their range of solutions. Although they have competitive prizes, they only manufacture packages in standard sizes. Pro Carton is a cartonboard manufacturer that has grown 2.5% each year over the last decade as a supplier of a sustainable alternative to plastics. Cellulose in their cartonboard comes from sustainable forests (FSC) and is mixed with recycled material. One should be aware, however, that some recycled materials such as cardboard do not have the same properties as the pure materials. This is so because recycled materials have shorter fibres and these are less resistant to handling than are long fibres. The greatest advantage of recycled fibres is that they save trees from felling in addition to 1% of water and 30% of electricity per ton of paper ( Piselli, 2016 ).

One problem with online purchases is that most products are packaged in the same type of material: corrugated paper ( Carlin, 2019 ; Pålsson, 2017 ). By contrast, food e-commerce has introduced more complex variables into packaging that require new, effective developments. Packaging Regulations have established three different layers of packaging. The person who unwraps a package at any level is deemed the end user of the material. It is therefore important to understand which level of packaging a company is bracketed at in order to determine its total obligation tonnage and total cost. There are three main tiers here, namely:

• • Primary packaging , which encompasses the wrapping or containers handled by the consumer or end user and serves to protect and advertise the product (e.g., foil wrapped around a chocolate bar).
• • Secondary packaging , usually in the form of large cases or boxes that are used to group quantities of primary packaged goods for distribution and for display in shops (e.g., cardboard boxes containing large numbers of foil-wrapped chocolate bars).
• • Tertiary packaging , which comprises the containers used to gather packaging groups into larger loads for transport in order to facilitate loading and unloading of goods (e.g., wooden pallets and plastic wrapping).

Online grocery retailers typically use corrugated board packages and paper or plastic bags (mostly biodegradable plastics). Why are they still using those materials if new alternatives are needed in e-commerce? In fact, a clear demand for new materials exists in this area. Standard stores are increasingly using paper bags instead of corrugated board packages for home delivery ( Carlin, 2019 ; Pålsson, 2017 ), thereby saving 80% on energy. The question thus arises as to how e-commerce materials for reducing this impact can be obtained. Although e-commerce can reduce CO 2 emissions in non-urban areas —and also in urban sectors under APS or PP—, the impact of packaging materials and energy requirements should be the main consideration here.

3.2.3. Disruptive sustainable packaging solutions and materials for e-commerce

This section is concerned with existing alternatives to standard packaging designs. Very little attention has to date been paid to the original flat wine bottle redesigned by Garçons Wines ( Garçons Wines, 2019 ), shown in Fig. 5 , which can be delivered in a letterbox. The bottle is manufactured from 100% recycled PET, so it will not break in freight deliveries; also, it is 100% recyclable after use. At only 63 g, it is 87% lighter than a standard glass bottle, so the environmental impact of its transportation is much smaller. However, this new form of packaging can alter consumers’ perception and lead them into believing that the wine it contains is of lesser quality.

Flat wine bottle for e-commerce deliveries ( Garçons Wines, 2019 ).

The Winepack ( Total Safe Pack, 2016 ) was developed jointly by Itene and Cartonajes Font to protect wine bottles. This packaging system ( Fig. 6 ) has a special folding that reduces bottle breakage by 95%. The outer box consists of a double layer of 8 mm thick corrugated cardboard and the inner piece of a single layer of 3 mm thick corrugated cardboard. The package has a double thickness flange at the top and bottom. The Winepack uses a fair amount of material and is thus expensive for e-commerce. Because it is single-use, it increases environmental impact and material wastage —consumers tend to have a negative perception when they receive an overpacked product they have purchased online. In fact, according to Monnot et al. (2019) , saturation with materials generated once a package is disassembled can be the source of bad experiences for consumers. In any case, the Winepack provides improved protection for bottles and reduces product losses as a result.

Winepack solution ( Total Safe Pack, 2016 ).

Fig. 7 compares a standard package for wine transport with the Winepack, which is a corrugated cardboard box with dividers ( Olivares, 2019 ), in terms of bottle safety, and Table 3 shows the final additional cost of packaging 100 bottles. As can be seen, the Winepack provides substantial savings in bottle handling. Thus, it avoids bottle breakage, which reduces losses and their associated costs; also, it affords transportation of bottles in greater numbers without breaking. As a result, the Winepack is a cost-saving, environmentally friendly solution. Cost savings do not offset packaging price relative to standard packaging, however. Moreover, the actual benefits of using the Winepack over a conventional wine package are still to be demonstrated. For example, the Winepack uses 4 times more corrugated cardboard, which means increased transport costs and CO 2 emissions. One should bear in mind that the environmental tax for cardboard is 0.068 €/kg ( Ecoembes, 2009 ).

Standard package ( Rajapack, 2019 ).

Table 3

Comparison of costs between the premium package and the standard package for 1 bottle.

∗L Length, W Width, H Height. Transport price = average for a bottle of about 1.5 kg delivered to an address in the Iberian Peninsula.

Although not intended for e-commerce food purchases, the Scudopack is another choice for diminishing the environmental impact of packaging and reducing the amount of material used. As shown in Fig. 8 , Scudo systems are typically used to protect furniture, windows, marble and doors, and recommended for all types of electronic products including radiators and photovoltaic panels, because they are easy to apply and highly resistant to impacts. Thus, they have been found to decrease breakage by up to 70% and to reduce packaging volume —and transport costs as a result. Their advantages over conventional packages include a substantial reduction in material volume, costs and product breakage —a Scudopack can withstand 30 consecutive impacts without damage, so it fulfils ISTA regulations.

Scudopack solution to protect furniture with a minimum amount of cardboard ( Scudopack, 2017 ).

Metsä Board (2018) recently detected a high consumption of bubble wrap and mini-polystyrene foams (so-called ‘packing peanuts’) to secure products in e-commerce packaging. Although conventional expanded polystyrene (EPS) packing peanuts are light and durable, they are not degradable, so they can be the source of health problems for production workers. Alternative biodegradable starch-based peanuts are more expensive than are EPS packing peanuts ( Cheng Kwee et al., 2013 ). Iiro Numminen found cutting a pattern in cardboard packaging to provide a secure package with the same amount of material and less cost (see Fig. 9 ). This idea won him Metsä Board’s ‘Better With Less’ prize, which is awarded to innovative packaging solutions ( Metsä Board, 2018 ).

‘Stretching Inner Part’ as designed by Iiro Numminen, winner of Metsä Board’s prize ( Metsä Board, 2018 ).

In Finland, Repack offers a bag for reusable packaging that reduces CO 2 emissions by up to 80%. Instead of bio-based material, which is not reusable, Repack is made of polypropylene (PP). This polymer is long-lasting, recyclable and lightweight, and has a reasonable impact on cost saving. In any case, the manufacturer is open to using other biomaterials that might be found on the market. Repack’s proposal is that customers themselves should return their empty bags through a post office (see Fig. 10 ). The service, however, is unsuitable for fragile contents such as liquid foods.

Repack as reusable packaging ( Repack, 2019 ).

Fig. 11 compares the previous alternative packaging solutions in terms of cost savings, material volume and function. As can be seen, the Scudopack is the most cost-effective solution, as well as the most functional and best performing, and the one using the least material. On the other hand, the Winepack and Garçons Wines solutions are effective in terms of material volume and functionality, but not in cost, which is high relative to the Scudopack. Finally, Repack and the Stretching Inner Part fall in between the previous two extremes, with acceptable cost savings, and good material volume and functionality properties.

Comparison of the five solutions examined in terms of cost saving, material volume and function on a scale from 0 to 10.

Fig. 12 compares the previous solutions in terms of reusability, returnability, recyclability and adaptability to product volume. As can be seen, the Garçons Wines and Repack solutions are the indisputable winners in these respects. Repack is reusable, made from recyclable material and returnable, but cannot easily adapt to any type of product because it is only available in a standard shape. Garçons Wines have focused on adapting their solution to particular products and even specific circumstances of the sector (e-commerce in this case), whereas the Winepack, Scudopack and Stretching Inner Part have been conceived for product adaptability and recyclability.

Comparison of the five solutions examined in terms of the indicators reusable, returnable, recyclable, and adapted to product shape and volume.

In summary, the Garçons Wines and Repack solutions are the best choices for e-commerce but are made from non-biodegradable materials obtained from non-renewable sources. The other three solutions are made from cardboard, which is biodegradable and comes from a renewable source (cellulose fibre). This topic is dealt with in greater detail in Section 5.2 .

3.3. New paradigms for sustainable packaging in e-commerce

Today, the world is at a very special time in history. In fact, the early 21st century is witnessing substantial changes through the fourth industrial revolution, also known as ‘the digital revolution’. The changes include the development of exponential technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous Vehicles, 3D Printers, Drones, Virtual Reality, Brain–Computer Interfaces and Genetic Engineering. 3D printers, for example, are allowing new materials to be applied with better resolution and in less time. This has enabled DYI printing of products at home instead of buying them ( Salim et al., 2014 ).

In Japan, technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, 3D vision sensors and robots are allowing workers to improve package manufacturing processes ( Carlin, 2019 ). This is the right time to stop thinking in a linear manner, and to switch to exponential and circular thinking as new paradigms for the human being. The following sections discuss various technological improvements and material enhancements that are expected to lead to a renewed society.

3.3.1. Logistics

By using cost-effective algorithms, US carriers such as UPS can save 85 million miles of driving each year ( Salim et al., 2014 ), thereby considerably reducing CO 2 emissions —each day, the company delivers around 16 million shipments. The traditional concept of transportation is being challenged by the advent of autonomous cars and the new information paradigm. Autonomous cars avoid having drivers —and the aggressive behaviours of some— on the roads; also, they help reduce fuel consumption. Recent studies on transportation strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have shown that using appropriate sensors and algorithms can reduce logistic activity and increase the efficiency of autonomous cars. In any case, the fuel market for cars should provide more options such as electricity, hydrogen or biofuels and electrofuels for hybrid cars in order to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions. As suggested by their high environmental impact and the apparent lack of viable alternatives, a thorough Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of electric car batteries is also in order ( Belvedere, 2017 ).

Using robots and small drones to deliver packages can reduce emissions on the ‘last mile’. This would imply rethinking package shapes and making use of new, light, sustainable materials. To solve this problem, the company Matternet (2017) uses a combination of vans and drones to make shipments more efficient in accordance with the size of the package to be delivered, thereby reducing GHG emissions ( Condliffe, 2017 ). The company itself is revolutionizing transport standards and considering introducing drones as an effective delivery option for developing countries in Africa. They intend to use technology to make the leap to new ways of transport in much the same way as the mobile phone improved communication ( Salim et al., 2014 ). Amazon gave the option to send shipments with drones in 2016 under the ‘Prime Air’ concept ( Amazon, 2016 ); the project, however, was abandoned because it was not as effective as predicted ( Vincent and Gartenberg, 2019 ). UPS went further in this direction thanks to its being authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use drones for hospital deliveries ( Ray, 2017 ). This was made possible by the digital and technological revolution leading to increasingly powerful devices at increasingly low prices ( Ray, 2017 ); for the moment, however, the system can only be used by commercial airlines and is subject to stringent regulations. In any case, adopting drones should be the concern of citizens, governments and air forces as it might lead to collapsed skies unless their use is strictly regulated. For this reason, alternative technologies are currently being sought one of which involves using pneumatic tube systems invented in the late 19th century ( Woodford, 2019 ). Such systems are still used by banks, hospitals, supermarkets and logistics centres, among others, in the United States. Elon Musk’s Hyperloop relies on this concept, and the situation is highly likely to improve in the long term and allow new methods of fast, efficient transport to be developed ( Dudnikov, 2017 ).

In any case, progress towards reducing the impact of the last mile could be furthered by a change in consumers’ attitude. For instance, if most customers collected their orders at specific places, a number of transport problems could be solved and packaging wastage reduced. As stated above, Amazon is already installing automated parcel machines and establishing pick-up points for personal collection in urban areas. In fact, they have established several supermarkets in the USA where Artificial Intelligence is used to avoid the need for staff and to allow customers to purchase their products easily and conveniently ( Favors, 2017 ).

3.3.2. Packaging materials and processes

As shown by existing literature, cellulose-based materials have a very low environmental impact relative to other choices ( Suhas et al., 2016 ). Cellulose is one of the most naturally abundant materials ( Abitbol et al., 2016 ; Bharimalla, 2017 ; Klemm, 2018 ; Li, 2015 ; Nechyporchuk et al., 2016 ; Osong et al., 2016 ; Perepelkin, 2004 ; Rajinipriya, 2018 ; Tayeb, 2018 ; Vilarinho et al., 2018 ; Yang et al., 2019 ) and one of the most important renewable materials ( Brinchi et al., 2013 ; Cusola, 2015 ; Hischier et al., 2005 ; Osong et al., 2016 ; Piselli, 2016 ).

Cellulose can be found in woody and non-woody plants (grass, algae), and bacteria, as well as in waste from forestry and timber industries, agricultural practices and industries, and even from pulp and paper industries ( Li, 2015 ; Rajinipriya, 2018 ; Ramesh, 2017 ). Plant cells are the main raw material for paper and cardboard production. The interesting properties of cellulose as a macro structure could be explored for use in disposable packages, but has some limitations as regards barrier properties.

By virtue of its exceptional mechanical, physical, thermal, optical and even barrier properties, nanocellulose (NC) appears to have a high potential for a wide variety of uses. Recent studies suggest that the food packaging industry is searching for efficient ways to produce this strong, lightweight bio-based material. Because it has antimicrobial properties, and is transparent and water- and oxygen-permeable, NC is highly suitable for packaging to be in contact with food ( Itzela et al., 2013 ; Li, 2015 ; Nechyporchuk et al., 2016 ; Osong et al., 2016 ; Rajinipriya, 2018 ; Vilarinho et al., 2018 ).

A young generation of design students at Aalto University in Finland has worked collaboratively with chemists to explore biomaterials from cellulose and develop new approaches for the future. There are some indications that the properties of NC can be further improved. Thus, although the crystal structure of cellulose confers it strength, three students (Arto Salminen, Steven Spoljaric and Jukka Seppäla) have found a way to enhance it before spinning ( Fig. 13 ) in order to increase its water stability and expand its range of uses ( Kääriaäinen et al., 2015 ).

Cellulose-based filaments from hydrogel suspensions ( Kääriaäinen et al., 2015 ).

Another student (Martha Yessen) has developed an interesting reaction for converting dissolved cellulose acetate into solid cellulose ( Lindberg et al., 2017 ). The high versatility of cellulose has enabled the production of new biodegradable materials through a combination of chemistry and technology that expands the scope of cardboard and paper in e-commerce packaging.

ISO 17296–2:2015 ( ISO, 2015 ) defines the principles behind material extrusion for Additive Manufacturing. However, 3D printing in one of its seven forms can be used to produce packages by material extrusion, vat photopolymerization, powder bed fusion, material and binder jetting, sheet lamination and directed energy deposition. These processes can be applied to various materials but are especially suitable for plastics, bioplastics, other polymers, metals, ceramics, glass or even edible viscoelastic ink for food ( Braslavsky et al., 2017 ; Jordan, 2019 ; Keating, 2016 ). The Finnish initiative known as ‘Design Driven Value Chains in the World of Cellulose’ (DWoC) uses Direct Ink Writing (DIW) and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) to print solid and liquid cellulose-based materials ( Kääriaäinen et al., 2015 ; Kataja and Kääriäinen, 2018 ).

In the Netherlands, 3D printing has allowed the industrial designer Beer Holthuis to print objects with recycled paper in order to reuse material that would otherwise have been wasted. According to Holthuis (2018) , each person generates about 80 kg of paper waste each year. 3D printing enables customized, more sustainable package production and facilitates Circular Economy. Its actual potential, however, should be assessed by comparing life cycles with those of existing conventional choices.

Tomorrow Machine is a Swedish packaging studio, product and food concept that has worked on a series of proposals with Innventia, a research company, for Ekoportal2035. Ekoportal2035 is a futuristic project of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation seeking new outputs for cellulose in the near future. One of the proposals, presented in 2013, was a plastic made with cellulose and printed with 3D technology. This solution has gained ground as a tool for producing flexible objects that can even self-manufacture and self-destruct ( Billqvist and Glansén, 2013 ; Innventia, 2019 ; The Swedish Forest Industries Federation, 2019 ).

Neri Oxman, the renowned architect and founder of the Mediated Matter Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been searching for several years new biopolymers from renewable sources and considering their return to nature as waste ( Pangburn, 2019 ). This is what Oxman calls ‘Material Ecology’. New ways of manufacturing biopolymers have also been devised. The concept of ‘designing for decay’, inspired by nature, has been used to obtain organic materials such as cellulose, chitosan and pectin —the most abundant natural polymer— and transform them into objects that will break down over time ( Lipps et al., 2019 ). Once the materials have been obtained, they are used to feed a 3D printer operated by a water-based robot for additive manufacturing of extruded hydrogel composites ( Mogas-Soldevila et al., 2014 ). According to Oxman, the industrial revolution abandoned nature and led to mass production, repetition and practical design, but handicapped imagination ( Latza et al., 2015 ; Lipps et al., 2019 ); however, emerging technologies and new materials are opening up new horizons for creativity.

4. Conclusions and suggestions for further research

The packaging industry has scarcely changed the structure of folding boxes since the 19th century even though the recent growth of e-commerce has considerably increased packaging usage and raised the need for effective solutions to the ensuing environmental problems. This paper reviews the state of art of packaging in e-commerce with the aim of depicting the current scenario, identifying gaps in past research and proposing new lines to revitalize the evolution of packaging, which has been stuck since the 1990s.

The current scenario for the packaging sector can be easily understood if one considers the following facts:

• • Packaging evolved substantially by effect of the production of new materials until the 1990s. At present, however, it has reached a standstill owing to the need for effective ways of reducing costs and environmental impacts. Unlocking this situation will call for new design paradigms to be built.
• • Overpackaging is increasingly common and should be among the concerns of policy makers.
• • Although packaging made from non-renewable materials such as plastics continues to be widely used on the grounds of its recyclability, too strong a dependence on these sources should be avoided at any rate.
• • Package distribution remains one of the main contributors to the environmental impact of packaging and is hence in need of more effective solutions.

Based on the foregoing, work aimed at reducing the environmental impact of packaging should somehow be guided by the following considerations:

• • The abundant waste generated by e-commerce —usually in the form of cardboard— can end up being degraded and returned to nature. Also, such a widely abundant natural biopolymer as cellulose can be obtained from renewable sources and biodegraded or upcycled after use.
• • Effective guidelines and policies to avoid overpackaging are very much needed.
• • Circular packaging should be promoted by developing sound specific design guides.
• • Production with new technologies such as additive manufacturing and 3D printing should be further explored to devise new packaging solutions (e.g., packages more closely fitting the shape and volume of the products they are to hold and made from lesser amounts of material). High-performance 3D printers afford cleaner manufacturing and can alleviate CO 2 emissions. The new production technologies are being increasingly used at the industrial scale on account of their low production costs and high throughput.
• • New logistic strategies such as those based on drones, electric cars or pick-up points should be evaluated in order to identify the best performers as regards environmental impact reduction and ways of using them in different scenarios should be found.
• • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies should be fostered to ensure that the previous research lines will improve on previous choices (e.g., to confirm that a new solution reduces carbon footprint relative to the existing packaging product it is intended to replace). Package design should also be subjected to LCA in order to ensure that the ensuing solutions are more environmentally friendly than the original ones.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge funding by Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness: FILMBIOCEL Project (CTQ2016-77936-R, funding also from FEDER) and MICROBIOCEL Project (CTQ2017-84966-C2-1-R). They are also grateful to the members of the consolidated research group AGAUR 2017 SGR 30. Finally, they thank Dr. Nicolas Maffei, of the Norwich University of Arts, for sharing his knowledge of packaging history and Amy Straker for her hospitality.

Handling editor Prof. Jiri Jaromir Klemeš

1 DiscoveryUPC: www.discovery.upc.edu .

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TikTok Shop joins the social commerce boom but Meta is still on top

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The merging of shopping and social media is more than a trend; it’s a response to evolving consumer behavior. Social commerce is fueled by the significant amount of time that consumers spend on social media —US adults will spend 11.4% of their total daily media time and 17.9% of their digital media time with social platforms in 2024, per EMARKETER’s June 2023 forecast. 

With social commerce, every interaction on social platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram is a revenue-driving opportunity without the friction of leaving that digital environment. 

In this guide, we’ll explore the state of social commerce , examining the most popular platforms so retailers and advertisers can make the most of this dynamic digital shopping journey.

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Overview of social commerce

Social commerce fuses social media with ecommerce, allowing purchases to be made directly within a social platform. Social commerce enables consumers to not only discover products and engage with a brand’s greater community, but also to shop from brands without switching platforms and disrupting the customer experience. 

For marketers, the ability to advertise and sell in the same space streamlines the buying journey and gives them access to a host of benefits, including direct access to customers, more transparent return on ad spend, and new opportunities to take advantage of peer recommendations and the creator economy .

Social commerce thrives on inspiration, trends, and generating demand for products users may not have considered. Unlike ecommerce, where people often shop with specific products in mind, social commerce excels in promoting discretionary items like fashion and beauty products.

Who engages in social commerce?

Although early social commerce adopters have included younger generations who are more comfortable with navigating digital spaces, older generations are also embracing it as social media platforms become more user-friendly. 

• Nearly a quarter (23.1%) of US social buyers are between the ages of 25 and 34, per a September 2023 EMARKETER forecast, and more than two-thirds (66.5%) are under 44.
• US digital buyers ages 18 to 34 have made purchases on Instagram (28%), Facebook (26%), and TikTok (22%), per an October 2023 EMARKETER survey conducted by Bizrate Insights. 
• More than half (53%) of US shoppers ages 18 to 29 planned to use TikTok for holiday shopping in 2023, compared with just 36% of adults overall, according to September 2023 ESW data. 

Swayed by endorsements, peer reviews, and social connections, shoppers who follow influencers also make up a large social commerce audience. 

• A third (33%) of Gen Zers have purchased a product from an influencer-founded brand in the last year, per a November 2023 Morning Consult survey. 
• Gen Z is more likely than any other generation to purchase a product after watching a review from an influencer they follow, per November 2022 data from Deloitte. 

Top social commerce platforms

Major social media platforms have evolved, seamlessly integrating commerce into their core experience. These platforms have not only redefined manners of social interaction—they’ve also established themselves as modern digital storefronts. 

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook leads with the largest number of social commerce buyers, expected to reach 64.6 million in 2024, according to a September 2023 EMARKETER forecast. Its massive user base allows brands to reach a diverse, global audience, while extensive storefront features and insights-collecting capabilities add to a competitive ecosystem for online shopping. 

Facebook Marketplace is a dedicated platform for buying and selling secondhand items. Although the platform allows businesses to sell products and place ads, its roots are in local, community-based listings. Marketplace is a major reason why Facebook has such a strong lead in social commerce. In fact, Instagram would take the top spot with the biggest social buyer audience among platforms if Marketplace was excluded from social commerce data, according to third-party research cited in EMARKETER’s Social Commerce Forecast 2023 report. 

Facebook Shops

Unlike the peer-to-peer nature of Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Shops enables businesses to set up digital storefronts, where customers can explore and purchase products without leaving the platform. 

The storefront functionality allows richer product catalogs, visuals, and descriptions. For immersive, customizable experiences, businesses can also showcase featured products, seasonal collections and launches, promotions, and bundles.

Instagram Shopping

In 2024, Instagram will see 46.8 million US social buyers, per EMARKETER’s September 2023 forecast.

At its core is Instagram Shopping, which allows businesses to tag products in their posts and stories. When users click on a tagged item, they can view product details, prices, and a direct link to make a purchase.

Instagram and Facebook parent Meta is mandating all Meta Shops in the US to use Checkout on Facebook and Instagram in 2024. While frustrations have arisen regarding the in-app checkout tool’s effectiveness among both sellers and buyers, Meta is pushing forward as a way to compensate for the losses incurred due to iOS 14.5 changes, which reduced access to tracking data for advertisers and publishers. By making Checkout mandatory, Meta aims to boost adoption, particularly on Instagram, which plays a vital role in social commerce strategies. This move will also limit consumers’ options, as they won’t have the choice to complete their purchases on a retailer’s website.

TikTok Shop

With its Gen Z stronghold, the TikTok user base alone—which passed 100 million in the US in 2023 (102.3 million), according to EMARKETER’s May 2023 forecast—is enough to make it a competitive social commerce platform. We predict TikTok will reach 107.8 million users in 2024. In 2023, 35.3 million of those users were social buyers; during that time, TikTok gained more shoppers (11.6 million) than the net increase of Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest combined (6.4 million), per a September 2023 EMARKETER forecast. We predict TikTok will continue adding social buyers in 2024, reaching 40.7 million. 

However, uncertainty looms over the viability of the platform’s integrated commerce solution, TikTok Shop , given the slow adoption by US merchants, lukewarm reception to live shopping, and a potential nationwide ban.

TikTok Shop enables brands and creators to offer products directly to their viewers. Starting from short videos or livestreams, TikTok Shop aims to own the full buyer journey. A standout feature is the ability for users to consolidate products from various brands into a single cart and finalize their purchase without navigating away from the app.

The shopping service’s US journey seems to have encountered early turbulence:

• TikTok Shop was projected to lose more than $500 million in the US in 2023, per The Information, due to major investments—in its staff, building out a fulfillment network, and seller incentivizations—that hadn’t paid off. 
• In the summer of 2023, US consumers were spending around $3 million to $4 million per day on TikTok. The platform expected that figure to exceed $10 million by the end of 2023.

Social commerce stats and growth 

Continued growth for social shopping is on the horizon, with sales growing well into the double digits through the end of EMARKETER’s forecast period in 2027. Although converting non-buyer social media users into buyers is becoming more challenging, the overall landscape remains robust. One significant trend is the increasing spending per buyer, which is expected to nearly double between 2023 and 2027, per an October 2023 EMARKETER forecast. This is expected to drive most of the sales growth, rather than the acquisition of new buyers.

Consumers aren’t sold yet on social commerce.

• Almost 4 in 10 shoppers hold back from shopping on social media over concerns about how platforms manage personal data, per a May 2023 PYMNTS.com survey.
• Younger consumers don’t want to use a social platform’s in-app checkout tools. In fact, about three-quarters of US social shoppers ages 16 to 24 prefer purchasing through established retailers that handle transactions, shipping, and delivery, per an October 2022 SimplicityDX survey.
• UK shoppers have reported counterfeit goods and poor shipping experiences on TikTok Shop, according to the Financial Times, which could trigger more apprehension in other markets. 

Still, social commerce is on an upward trajectory. 

• US retail social commerce sales will pass the $100 billion milestone in 2025, representing a 22.4% growth from the year prior, per EMARKETER’s September 2023 forecast. 
• In 2024, there will be 110.4 million US social buyers, accounting for 42.0% of all internet users and nearly half (50.3%) of all social media users.  
• US social commerce sales will claim 6.6% of total ecommerce sales in 2024.
• For now, most social commerce transactions take place off platform, by clicking links to retailer product pages. 

The rise in new buyers is only marginally ahead of the growth in the total social media user population, resulting in a relatively consistent percentage of users engaging in purchasing activities, holding steady at around 50% through 2027, per a September 2023 forecast.

Marketing strategies for social commerce 

User-generated content (UGC) and influencer marketing are two effective strategies that brands can harness to connect with consumers authentically.

UGC is generally created by consumers, showcasing their experiences without direct brand involvement, whereas influencer marketing involves brand collaboration and incentives to ensure the content aligns with the correct messaging and goals.  

User-generated content 

UGC is a powerful tool that taps into authenticity and trust. Forty-six percent of US consumers are more likely to trust a brand if an online content creator they trust has reviewed it, according to a November 2022 Deloitte survey. Encouraging users to create and share content featuring their experiences with products or services cultivates a sense of community and credibility. 

Brands can initiate UGC campaigns, prompting customers to share testimonials, unboxing videos, or creative uses of their purchases. By showcasing real-life experiences, UGC bolsters brand authenticity, fosters engagement, and influences potential buyers’ perceptions positively. Additionally, reposting and engaging with UGC amplifies brand reach while nurturing a loyal and involved customer base.

Influencer marketing

From large, well-known influencers with massive followings to micro-influencers with niche communities, choosing the right person to vouch for your brand can bolster your social commerce investments. 

Collaborating with influencers allows brands to tap into their audience and leverage their credibility. Influencers create engaging content, seamlessly integrating product endorsements or reviews into their posts, stories, or videos. These endorsements often resonate deeply with their audience, establishing trust and driving purchasing decisions. 

Social commerce trends in 2024 and beyond 

Tech innovations, immersive experiences, and retailer collaborations will present new opportunities in the social commerce space.

AI integration 

Social platforms are taking advantage of AI to enhance the user experience and streamline product discovery. TikTok’s product identification feature, now in its testing phase, uses AI to suggest similar or relevant items available on its ecommerce marketplace. This new shoppable feature to non-shopping content is TikTok’s attempt at fully embedding commerce into the in-app experience.

In-person events 

Events help bridge the gap between the real world and social media, and can help drive user engagement and sales. The Pinterest Predicts pop-up event held in New York City in December 2023 brought to life its anticipated trends, allowing users to draw inspiration for the year ahead and, more importantly, shop. 

Retailer partnerships 

Retailers are also getting behind social commerce, partnering with streaming platforms to have their products in front of new audiences. Walmart’s holiday-themed romantic comedy “Add to Heart” is its first shoppable video series. Available on Roku, TikTok, and YouTube, the 23-part series integrates 330 shoppable products throughout its plot, creating a new avenue for Walmart to connect with consumers through content. 

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Power Online Stores with an Ecommerce Tech Stack Built for Success

Learn more about our modern, flexible ecommerce platform.

Broadly, ecommerce tech stacks aren’t too dissimilar from other industries. Ecommerce stores and businesses such as financial services or healthcare all share the common need to have digital tools that help run the company.

What makes the typical ecommerce tech stack unique, however, is the complexity of connected systems and the speed of business. 

An online store has to interconnect payments with fulfillment with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to create a holistic customer experience . On top of that, the tech stack has to be flexible and malleable enough to enable the company to shift focus on a dime.

Globally, the number of online buyers is more than 2.6 billion people . That’s a lot of different users with different needs putting pressure on your tech stack. 

With careful planning and research, a company can build a tech stack prepared for the challenges that come with ecommerce web development .

Key factors for an ecommerce tech stack

Supporting ecommerce stores is big business, with countless providers in the ecommerce industry offering everything from end-to-end solutions to specific functionality for niche markets. 

Sorting through all of the apps and plugins and retailers can be challenging, but following these criteria can help steer businesses in the right direction.

Not everyone has the resources of Amazon. Your tech stack could include just a handful of ecommerce solutions — or dozens. You should set a firm budget that takes into account your current financial situation and future projections. 

Striking the best balance on pricing and the return on investment of what you spend on technology is key.

Compatibility.

In a perfect world, all systems work seamlessly all the time. Of course, that’s not true. However, you can tip the scales in your favor by building an ecosystem designed with API integration in mind. 

Work with ecommerce brands and products that you know work well together. Only add new systems when you’re comfortable and know they’re compatible.

Customer support.

Related to the above, compatibility isn’t always perfect and sometimes you’ll need help to integrate and maintain systems. Third-party vendors with a history of good support should get additional consideration.

Ease-of-use.

You can expect some level of a learning curve, but products that don’t require special skills to work with should be preferred. Installation and management should be user-friendly and those working with the tool regularly should be able to “master” the product relatively quickly.

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Building a successful ecommerce tech stack

With the sheer number of options in the market, it’s not easy to get the right tech stack for your specific business needs. Following this process will at least provide some clarity.

Determine the most important items.

What are your goals as a company? What are you selling? Who is your target audience?

Understanding who you are and what you need most will help guide your decision making. If you’re shipping large items, having a robust logistics system is vital. If you’re storing sensitive information, there may be some additional security considerations.

Ensure tech stack compatibility.

In theory, most products should work together in a modern IT ecosystem, but that’s just a theory thus far. Do your homework before committing to a solution and ensure that different systems will be able to work with one another.

Look for modular architecture.

Modular architecture breaks down complex IT systems into smaller, manageable, and interchangeable modules, with each fulfilling a specific function. This is common practice in modern IT ecosystems that enhances reliability and scalability.

Components of a strong ecommerce tech stack

Ecommerce hosting platforms. .

Ecommerce platforms — such as BigCommerce —  are the backbone of your operation and keep your online store open at all times. Whether open source or SaaS, these hosting vendors provide the server-side power and storage to keep your site online and accessible.

Ecommerce marketing tools. 

Ecommerce marketing is becoming more complex as omnichannel approaches have become the norm. Having a tool that enables you to control sales channels such as social media or email helps streamline marketing operations and provides consistent messaging.

CRM tools. 

CRM solutions help you understand your customers better and provide insights on why they make their decisions. Many also allow you to create specific workflows to better attract specific segments.

Shopping cart tools. 

A good ecommerce experience ends with a frictionless checkout experience. Having a shopping cart that is secure and processes multiple payment methods can help increase conversion rates.

Ecommerce website development.

As the name suggests, a website development tool enables you to build your ecommerce platform from the ground up, and may include functions such as a content management system. These are especially popular with new businesses or startups.

Payment gateways. 

A good payment processing solution is simple and makes checking out easy. These are merchant services that process credit card payments and should be thought of as an unofficial digital cash register. PayPal is a payment gateway example .

Inventory management. 

The bigger you get, the more difficult it will be to manage your supply chain. Most efficient commerce platforms automate this process with a best-in-class solution that combines sales and customer data. Check out Feedonomics here .

Customer service software. 

Only stores should be open 24/7, which means you may receive customer service requests at all hours. Using a customer service service helps with automation and keeps customers coming back.

Chat software for ecommerce websites.

Often called conversational commerce, chat software allows you to have a real-time human touch — without necessarily having a human. This added level of customer service increases customer satisfaction.

Shipping software.

The final part of the fulfillment process is one of the most complicated parts of running an ecommerce business. Automating as much of your shipping operations reduces errors and complexity and gets products to customers quicker.

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The final word

Building an online storefront is complicated and full of opportunities for errors. However, having a back-end built with your specific needs in mind will set you up for success. 

With careful thought and planning, you can build an ecosystem that supports a strong back-end that will power an effective frontend that leads to ecommerce success.

FAQs about ecommerce tech

What is the difference between a tech stack and a service, what are the benefits of using a technology stack, which tech stack is best for ecommerce, browse additional resources.