A REVIEW OF THE INFLUENCE OF E-COMMERCE FOR THE FAMILY ECONOMIC ENHANCED TRANSACTION

Abstract

The family is a microeconomic unit of the larger society where family members engage in economic activities such as sales and purchases of goods and services. Technological advancements have significantly altered the techniques of family economics in recent times and enhanced transaction. This paper concentrates on the deployment of digital resources for family economics and transactions. It critically reviews the concept of e-commerce, the evolution, types, benefits, challenges and the influence of e-commerce on families. E-commerce, the activity of buying and selling goods and services online over the internet dates back to the early 1970s; expanded market, cost savings and competitive pricing, others include personalized shopping experience, improved efficiency and streamlined operations, enhanced customer engagement and feedback,  there are basically four types of e-commerce which are Peer-to-peer (P2P) which is a platform where a buyer and the seller interact with each other without the involvement of a middle person; Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C), which is a type of platform where the consumer trades goods and services directly with another consumer online; Business-to-Business (B2B), this is an online transaction between two business owners; and Business-to-Consumer (B2C), this is an online business between the consumer and the business owner. The methodology used in this research was a review of secondary data. The benefits of e-commerce are convenience and accessibility, global reach and expanded market, cost savings and competitive pricing, others include personalized shopping experience, improved efficiency and streamlined operations, enhanced customer engagement and feedback, consumer behaviour and decision making. The paper also identified some of the challenges of e-commerce as security and privacy concerns, logistics and fulfilment, building customer trust, regulatory compliance, competitive landscape and technological infrastructure. The influence of e-commerce on families are many and varied. They include convenience and time savings, cost savings and discounts, expanded product accessibility: convenience for busy parents, enhanced product research and decision-making and improved access for remote or limited mobility families. E-commerce is therefore a valuable digital resource for family economics for sustainable development.