In the past 15 years, the United Kingdom & the European Union have Essay

In the past 15 years, the United Kingdom & the European Union have created a legal and regulatory system that encourages the ad - Essay Example For the first time in history, contracts can be routinely entered by parties who have never met, who have had no prior relationship, who do not know each other and who may often be located in different legal jurisdictions. When internet shopping was first introduced in the mid-90’s, these facts represented major hurdles to consumer confidence towards online retailers. Indeed, in a traditional shopping experience, the consumer is located on the premises of the retailer, can see the goods and services provided to others and can interact with staff and other shoppers during the process of making a shopping decision. Moreover, in the event of a problem with the goods or services purchased, the consumer can return to the premises and interact with the service desk, or even alert friends, family, the local authorities or perhaps the media in the event of unresolved issues. This level of extensive horizontal interaction and recourses is not only required to make the retailer more per sonable to the shopper and thereby secure, establish and propagate the business’s goodwill, it was also the key ingredient missing from online shopping in it’s early years, some of which is addressed by the United Kingdom’s e-commerce laws. The requirement for online businesses to provide their geographical address, contact information, business registration information and supervising regulatory or professional bodies (Business Link, n.d.) addresses many of these concerns, but above all gives the consumer i) the possibility to recognize, report and avoid recidivist fraudulent businesses, ii) the peace of mind that not only are the regulatory authorities watching, but iii) fraudulent businesses can be found out and prosecuted if needed. All these benefits synergize to bolster consumer confidence. As rapid technological advancements over the past decade have made powerful and versatile electronic devices accessible to the general public, the computer and electron ic gadget culture has secured a foothold in all spheres of society. An extensive online culture has developed with social media, virtual friends, digital media and electronic hobbies of all kinds, and every single one of these phenomena has almost completely replaced their offline counterpart (CBC, 2011), especially in the younger generations that have grown-up with ready access to this culture. It was inevitable that this cultural shift would also transform other aspects of daily life, from becoming one of the leading causes of motor vehicle collisions to being able to do all banking, shopping and business meetings in the palm of one’s hand, wherever a wireless internet connection is available. As a direct result of consumer confidence bolstered by the regulatory framework, the United Kingdom has become one of the leading electronic economies of the world, both in terms of proportion of retail sales and amount spent per capita (Robinson, 2010). Just as the younger generation in the 80’s was a force pushing home entertainment systems and gaming consoles into every home and the younger generation in the 90’s pushed personal computers, high-speed internet and digital media into every household, the current