As technology continues to drive evolution in the market place new forms of commerce are being born. In the wake of E-commerce we are now seeing the combination of almost every letter of the alphabet with commerce. The letters V, I, P, T, U and M have joined forces to become voice commerce, internet commerce, proximity commerce, ultimate or ubiquitous commerce, television commerce and mobile commerce.
One trend that seeks to further tap into our impulsive human nature has become known as T-Commerce, or television commerce. Shopping channels and paid advertisements have been around for more than 20 years, but until now we have always had to pick up the phone and talk to someone to make a purchase. Researchers have found this to be a deterrent for some even when they have a strong need or desire for the advertised product. T-commerce allows viewers to purchase items displayed on their television with a press of a button. In some countries such as Taiwan, this has become a multi-billion dollar industry with revenues exceeding all television channels combined.
The technology combines your TV with the internet via a set-top box (STB). The box decodes any interactive features available on a certain program. If you happen to become interested in a particular product your favorite actor or actress is using, navigation with your television remote takes you to more detailed information and even enables you to make a purchase. Other features found in STB’s are hard drives, DVD recording, video on demand, and VoIP support. They also allow for interaction with television games shows, and online auctions.
With increasing demand for this service security requires greater consideration. Although the integrated nature of the systems security is fairly high, there are always risks. The main concerns facing STB developers are compromised credit card information when using merchant services, breach of privacy, and cloned technology. Even though identity theft is the greatest fear among consumers shopping online many do very little or nothing at all in regards to computer security. The implementation of security features is much easier than on PC’s due to the proprietary technology used by STBs. Software could be updated automatically without subscribers even knowing making it nearly impossible for hackers to gain access to user accounts and transfer money to an offshore merchant account.
As markets continue to innovate there is no end to what is possible. Perhaps the day is near where getting people to the polling stations is no longer a problem and we can all vote from the comfort of our couches whilst watching the latest episode of “Lost”.
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