A perfect market
October 30, 2011
From The Economist print edition

E-commerce is coming of age, says Paul Markillie, but not in the way predicted in the bubble years
When the technology bubble burst in 2000, the crazy valuations for online companies vanished with it, and many businesses folded. The survivors plugged on as best they could, encouraged by the growing number of internet users. Now valuations are rising again and some of the dotcoms are making real profits, but the business world has become much more cautious about the internet?ˉs potential. The funny thing is that the wild predictions made at the height of the boom?anamely, that vast chunks of the world economy would move into cyberspace?aare, in one way or another, coming true.
The raw numbers tell only part of the story. According to America?ˉs Department of Commerce, online retail sales in the world?ˉs biggest market last year rose by 26%, to $55 billion. That sounds a lot of money, but it amounts to only 1.6% of total retail sales. The vast majority of people still buy most things in the good old ?°bricks-and-mortar?± world.
But the commerce department?ˉs figures deal with only part of the retail industry. For instance, they exclude online travel services, one of the most successful and fastest-growing sectors of e-commerce. InterActiveCorp (IAC), the owner of expedia.com and hotels.com, alone sold $10 billion-worth of travel last year?aand it has plenty of competition, not least from airlines, hotels and car-rental companies, all of which increasingly sell online.



μ±2000?ê?????Y?-±?·￠ê±￡?±?ê@@′×÷μ?í?é?1???o??ó??????·￠á?￡??ú?àμ?í?é??3ò×ò2±??èá÷2ú?￡?ùoóóàéúí?é?1????Tò?2?????éì??￡?o??úó?è?????μ??￥áaí?ó??§?ú?¤à?×??????￡???ú￡???í?é?1???μ??à??ó?óD?ùìá??á?￡?2￠?òoü?à.com1???μ?è·ò2ò??aê?ó?à?á?￡?μ?1¤éì???1ê??÷é÷μ??à???￥áaí?μ??±?ü?￡??1üè?′?￡?óDè?ò?′óμ¨μ??¤??￡oêà??é?′óá??-???Tí·2??????áò??3??·?ê?ò?ê|μ????????￡
?Yéì??2?2?íêè?í3??±í?÷￡?è￥?êí?é?á?ê??????óá?26%￡?′?μ?550òú?à?a?￡?aìy?eà′μ?è·ê?ò???oü′óμ?êy??￡?μ??a???àμ±óúè??òá?ê?òμ×ü??μ?1.6%?￡′ó2?·?μ?3é?ê??·???òàè??°1?óúμ??°×?+?ì?yíá?±￡¨bricks-and-mortar￡?μ?êà??à???·??￡
??êμéì??2?1?2?μ?êy×???é??°2?·?2úòμ?￡àyè?￡???êy×???è?°üà¨á?í?é???ó?·t??￡??aò?μ?×óéì????×?3é1|ò2ê???3¤×??ìμ?DDòμ??ò??￡IAC (InterActiveCorp)￡?expedia.com oí hotels.comá?????μ?óμóD??￡?è￥?ê???üò??ò?íóD100òú?à?aμ?óa(chǎn)òμ??￡?°üà¨o???òμ?￠±?1Yòμ?￠3?×a3μ1????ú?úμ??o?ù??ê?è￥?êí?é?óa(chǎn)òμ×ü??ò2óD′ó·ù?êéy￡?μ??aD?í?é?óa(chǎn)òμ???êéyμ??óòμ?úéì??2?μ?êy×??D2￠?′μ?μ?ì????￡