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The Digital Economy

The digital economy is comprised of the billions of worldwide on-line business and financial transactions that occur daily. In today’s digital economy, the Internet and Electronic Commerce (EC) serve as the central hub by which all economic activity occurs.  This, in turn, enables the delivery of goods and services to be global in scope. The digital economy  is fast paced, immediate and available round the clock.  The digital economy has transformed the way businesses operate. This is evidenced by the importance of

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     * Business to Business EC

     * Business to Consumer EC

     * Consumer to Consumer EC

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The digital economy can be characterized by several important features including exchange efficiency, speed of delivery, personalization, mobility and virtual communication.  When comparing the digital economy to a traditional economy, there are some important differences.  In a traditional economy, there is a greater reliance on so-called bricks and mortar stores; specifically, department stores, traditional retail stores, shopping malls
and so forth. In contrast, the digital economy relies on the selling of goods and services via the Internet.  The products and services themselves, however, can be both physical (i.e., household goods, clothing, food etc.)
as well as digitally based (i.e., music and video streaming, on-line finance,  educational instruction etc.).  The digital economy has also changed the way consumers purchase goods and service by giving them more power
o comparative shop.  Methods of payment have also changed,  In a traditional economy, businesses (and organizations) accept cash, checks and credit cards as a method of payment.  In a digital economy, businesses (and organizations) will more typically accept credit cards, debit cards, mobile payments, digital wallets and varying degrees of crypto-currency exchange.  

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