US Ecommerce Inhibitors
1. The current economic downturn, plus geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the US in September of 2001.
2. Skepticism in the US business community that has resulted from the rise and fall of the dotcoms
3. The US’s laggard position in the diffusion of wireless technology
4. Data and transaction security issues as businesses invest more of their strategy in Ecommerce
5. Lack of standard platforms and infrastructure to enable B2B Systems Integration
National Environment
In assessment of the business environment in the United States, it is clear that its demographics, economy and infrastructure establish it as the business frontrunner. It has consistently set the pace for the rest of the world in the past and is expected to do so in the foreseeable future. We have seen this trend continue into the evolution of the digital economy, as US businesses begin to shift their focus to Ecommerce.
Demographics
Demographically, the Unites States has consistently been and continues to be positioned well for future commerce growth. The US is the world’s third largest country in population (behind China, and India), with about 273 million people in year 2000. It is the world’s wealthiest country in terms of Gross Domestic Product, at USD 10.2 trillion as of early 2001. As shown in Table 1, the US can be compared with the aggregate of the OECD.1 The US represents less than one fourth of the OECD member population but well over one third of GDP. The US GDP per capita is about 1.5 times higher than that of the OECD country average. The US had significantly lower unemployment and inflation than did the average of OECD countries, and its GDP growth between 1995-1999 is substantially higher. In demographics and wealth distribution, however, the US was closer to the OECD average. The US has a less egalitarian income distribution, with significantly more of its wealth held by the wealthiest people. In the past, this is skewed distribution of wealth has created a phenomenon known as the by the US Government as the ‘Digital Divide’, which has created a large technology gap between the affluent and less affluent population. However, this divide is actively being narrowed at present by the implementation of significant government funding for technology in schools, more widespread availability of affordable Internet access in American homes and the downward trend in personal computer prices.
1 The OECD consists of 33 member nations that promote policies designed to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment, a rising standard of living, financial stability, and the expansion of world trade on a multilateral and non-discriminatory basis. Current members include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
