Continental Who's Who

Online Adaptation

In the last decade, business has completely changed-evolving faster than ever recorded. Due to the introduction and gradual imposition of online commerce, bright young minds are now a necessity to survive in the corporate world. Without stating any absolutes, the business owners and decision makers that have passed their prime are having a massive amount of difficulty adjusting their business models. The technological storm that has reshaped business is sure to separate the up and coming from the come and gone.

While the internet was created nearly a third of a century ago, online shopping did not take off until the late nineties. At this point, the idea still seemed completely experimental to executives and shareholders, and served more as a gimmick of a selling point than a legitimate venue. The serious online purchases began when fashion retailers seemed to realize they had more products than they could fill a store with. They arrived at the conclusion of allowing consumers to order any in-stock factory items online, which could be delivered to the store in the style, color, and specified size with the click of a button. This still only attracted a small demographic of shoppers, as the internet didn’t become commonly used until the twenty first century.  Until the year 2000, more than half of the world had   never heard of the internet.

With a status this low, corporate heads left the marketing and retail processes to the physical and feasible locations, like billboards and shopping centers, respectively. By 2005, the interest was being introduced in most national public schools and workplaces. As computers were finally becoming recognized for their potential usefulness in commerce, the users were becoming   infatuated with the internet superhighway.  Perhaps it was the introduction of computers at an age of mental development in high school, or a simply coincidental turn of events, but the newly certified, up and coming MBA graduates all seemed to ambush the internet market between 2005 and 2010. Two years after this malicious change in business, there were companies becoming established specifically through the internet medium.

These slow rising entities now compose some of America’s most wealthy corporations, with names like Google, eBay, and Yahoo! These online companies were clearly onto something, and the former kings of commerce raced to adapt. While most quit after one or more failed attempts to infuse the internet, others did a smooth job of adapting. A specific example of this successful adaptation is the internet-based pizza business. This service of deliver and product of fast and delicious Italian cuisine can now be ordered through the internet. Customers found this to be innovative and fun to use. This exemplified the industry’s quick thinking and ability to suit an unpredictable market. On the opposite side of the spectrum, shopping supercenters and grocery stores did a poor job of adapting to fit the advantages of the internet. They are unable to provide delivery or exclusive online products, making their websites essentially null in purpose.  For all business owners and investors in the modern era, it is important to remember that the internet was created and populated with commerce extremely recently. This could foreshadow the sporadic behavior of the online market, which could change in format, usability, or any other virtual features in a matter of years.

Young executives must have an adjustable and flexible business model to be ready for any curveballs that the marketing world may throw in the near future. Online commerce presents a problem for outdated executives, especially in terms of communication. As new online traditions are founded and new technology is developed, there starts to be an assumption of the knowledge that comes from the creators of the products or additions. For example, a computer program now assumes that the customer understands the basic functions of the machine. Technologies that were completely unknown a mere century ago are now controlling the way business is done. This applies more to the internet than anything else. The online world is still being constantly construed, forcing business owners to immediately adapt to achieve success.