This topic reminds me of another discussion topic from one of my fall classes last year. The discussion topic asked whether robots will eventually replace humans. In my response, I argued that it is ultimately up to the people to learn and adapt new generations of skills to keep up with the everchanging world of technologies. After all, it is just human nature for us to explore shortcut solutions to our problems and exploit them to our greatest advantage. This is by no means strictly limited to computers but the broader technological advances as a whole.

However, it is also important to note that technological advancements are not the only factors pushing us towards a digital life. What is happening around the world also affects us in a similar fashion. For instance, before the pandemic, mobile wallets were not widely accepted by some merchants, especially at gas pumps. However, fast-forwarding to 2022, almost three years into the pandemic, I have witnessed first-hand that majority of the gas station near my house have entirely done away with their card readers and instead implemented mobile wallet tap to pay machines.

Another good indicator was when I was working during the peak surge of the early pandemic months. I worked at an e-commerce company at that time that conducted most of its business through its website. We have initially anticipated a sharp decline in orders due to the uncertainty surrounding the colossal influx of unemployment statistics. But the market has proven us wrong because 2020 was one of the most prosperous years over all other years in the past nearly 30 years in business. Not only our e-commerce sector boomed and thrived, but our electronic retail sector also saw a massive increase in revenue, and that growth was primarily due to the increase of people buying products at online retailers such as Amazon, BestBuy, and Micro Center. To make an even more compelling argument for this influx of growth, one of our long-term vendors, Fry’s Electronics, went out of business just a little bit over a year ago. Although Fry’s Electronics suffered other issues with its supply chains, it is still worth noting that its failure to adapt to the e-commerce business models was the final straw that broke the camel’s back that led to its demise.

So this leads to my conclusion of the day, will the expanded e-commerce replace person-to-person transactions? My answer is a solid yes because this is precisely what the market has been shifting toward for the past decade, and it will continue to shift at an even faster pace in the foreseeable future, especially in the age of pandemics. As a frequent online shopper myself, I am convinced that this shift in the market will benefit me. That is, provided that there are no monopolies and that there is fair rivalry and competition in this entire e-commerce ecosystem. And, yes, I am speaking to you two, Amazon and Walmart.