1. eC “critical mass”

2. The Internet began in the United States, while the Web was more of an international effort. Electronic Commerce, however, has been fundamentally an American phenomenon. By most accounts, the U.S. economy accounts for approximately 95% of total world-wide on-line eCommerce ( although the figure is slowly dropping as the level of use in other regions gradually grows).

3. What are the factors that enabled and shaped the U.S. experience? Many of the following observations could be true in other locations as well, but the convergence of most or all of these points greatly influenced the U.S. experience.

4. A robust economic system that encourages competition and rewards innovation and efficiency;

5. A comprehensive infrastructure for energy, communications, and transport;

6. Ubiquitous computing devices, combined with cheap and readily accessible Internet access;

7. The existence of a “consumer culture” combined with sophisticated alternatives for personal credit and payment processing;

8. Order fulfillment systems that enable rapid delivery to almost any location in the country.

9. A basic pre-requisite is the presence of a strong economic system with known (and consistent) guidelines for participation. The U.S. does have a large economy, one based upon competitive capitalism that theoretically rewards innovation and efficiency.

10. There are enormous incentives for companies to adopt technologies that improve their performance, perhaps through the reduction of inventories, the minimization of product development cycles, quicker response time, etc. Information technology is widely believed to have made such contributions, and many companies are prepared to make IT investments routinely.