Disadvantages of electronic commerce

Some businesses are less suitable for electronic commerce. Such businesses may be involved in the selling of items which are perishable or high-cost, or which require inspection before purchasing. Most of the disadvantages of electronic commerce today, however, stem from the newness and rapidly developing pace of the underlying technologies. These disadvantages will disappear as electronic commerce matures and becomes more available to and accepted by the general population.

(From: J. Ohene-Djan (2008). Electronic commerce. Goldsmiths. London University. P.14)

A business can face cultural and legal obstacles to conducting e-commerce.
A business can have trouble recruiting and retaining employees with the technological, design, and business process skills needed to create an effective e-commerce presence.
A business can reduce the costs of handling sales inquiries, providing price quotes, and determining product availability by using electronic commerce in its sales support and order-taking processes.
Difficulty of integrating existing databases and transaction-processing software designed for traditional commerce into the software that enables e-commerce.
E-commerce can make products and services available in remote areas.
E-commerce provides buyers with a wider range of choices than traditional commerce.
E-commerce provides buyers with an easy way to customize the level of detail in the information they obtain about a prospective purchase.
Electronic payments can be easier to audit and monitor than payments made by check, providing protection against fraud and theft losses.
Electronic payments of tax refunds, public retirement, and welfare support cost less to issue and arrive securely and quickly when transmitted over the Internet.
Return-on-investment is difficult to calculate.