E-COMMERCE MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYSIS

The use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and e-commerce in particular has often been cited as a significant factor in generating and sustaining economic growth. With the burst of the dot.com bubble in 2000, this exuberance was deflated and the pendulum swung the other way. Nevertheless, despite the fact that many of the early, exuberant and perhaps self-interested predictions of growth and impact have proven incorrect, there remains little argument that e-commerce is having, and will have, a significant transformative effect on economic and social activities and relationships throughout the world. These impacts present great opportunities, but also great challenges for all countries. An indispensable ingredient in addressing such challenges, and exploiting the opportunities, is reliable, consistent, internationally-comparable data. Initially, many countries were slow to establish e- commerce or even ICT measurement programs. Others may have been caught up in the enthusiasm and rushed to collect core numbers without considering how they would be used or how they could be compared internationally. In that regard, defining e-commerce ha