On-line brings us together and tears us apart

Digital transformation continues. The understanding of everything is perceivably changing, and everything is starting to happen in a new way. On-line is an unfamiliar word only for people who use the telephone only for conversations, and the computer is a box whose mystery has not fascinated them yet. If we are not on-line, we do not exist. That is why “on-line” brings us together, and “on-line” tears us apart.

Trade with a New Face

On-line, as if with a magic wand, changed our understanding of trade and shopping. This phenomenon also transforms the behaviour of consumers, and the work of traders themselves. Customers become more and more informed, they compare, observe, order and return when they are not satisfied. With a telephone in their hand, they buy both airline tickets and holiday packages, as well as food, clothes, furniture, and everything. They have wide access where national borders and markets do not matter. At the same time, traders have to compete with each other, offering products and services through new technologies. On-line trade is in its victorious advance, which has stirred the entire traditional trade.

The Drive of Change

If you want to sell, focus on on-line trade, even if you have a huge store chain in the real world - this is the advice to all who think that trade can be a means for livelihood or good profit. In China, even basic necessities are largely bought on-line, which is a sign that eventually this will become a practice in Bulgaria, too. Convenience, speed, unlimited variety are the drive of e-trade. Its share in Bulgaria is still small, but it is increasing rapidly.

Integration

Anyone who offers you a free on-line service will be able to make money through you by including integration functions for e-trade. This allows users to search and share brands and products directly in the respective application or platform they use. Thus, e-trade also changes its appearance. The advantage of making purchases on-line through a mobile application for free calls, for example, over the use of on-line shops is that it all happens at one place - from searching, sharing and discussing the purchase to the direct communication with the brand and the choice of a purchase. It is becoming a practice for applications to offer goods, of which users can choose, share them and discuss them in the chat, and finally, to go to the site or the trader’s application, where they can finalise their purchase.

Working from a Distance

Even hiring people happens in a new way. A good example is the Upwork on-line platform that connects employers with the right person for them. Services for more than USD 1 billion annually are exchanged through it. The range of activities is broad - IT, design, accounting, marketing and almost everything that can be done from a distance. At the same time, the company has... more than12 million professionals and 5 million employers. It was established in 2015 after the merger of two platforms for freelancers - Elance and oDesk. A sophisticated algorithm for a more detailed profile of the specialists is used.

All-Consuming Platforms

The Internet is becoming more and more complex and the answer to what is "web" is becoming more and more difficult. Facebook takes over the web in such a way that if you want your publication to be read, you need to publish it there. But Facebook also shows existing sites inside its own application. The website of the future will be something embedded in another application. This trend is already happening in China, where there are huge platforms, such as the popular WeChat social network. When a user sells and buys products, they use a site, but it is displayed inside WeChat itself. Users no longer care whether they have a website in front of them, if through the platform they are using, they have specific access to everything they need. 

Change is a constant process.