Price Waterhouse Predicts Explosive
E-Commerce Growth
[March 26, 1998] Price Waterhouse released its annual Technology
Forecast this week predicting a massive increase in business conducted
via the Internet.
The consulting firm's leading technology industry experts said explosive
growth in electronic commerce over the next three years will have a
significant impact on large and small businesses, workers, and
consumers.
"While Web sites dedicated to consumer sales gain most of the
publicity, the real growth is occurring in business-to-business electronic
commerce," explained Terry Retter, Director of Strategic Technology.
"Between 1996 and 1997, business-to-business trade doubled every
six months and this is accelerating to double every 3-4 months in 1998.
By 2002, the value of goods and services traded via the Internet will
increase to $434 billion."
Retter said the world-wide growth in e-commerce is being fueled by a
combination of increased Internet access, user confidence, better
payment systems, and rapidly improving Internet/Web security.
The value of consumer purchases via the Internet is expected to
increase nearly 1,800 percent between 1997 and 2002, from $5 billion
to $94 billion.
The 750-page study also presents a comprehensive overview of the
global information technology industry, including current and emerging
trends, and forecasts technology developments over the next three
years.
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