E-commerce is one of the biggest brands of the 21st century. By allowing anyone with a credit card to purchase any product - at any time - with the click of a mouse, e-commerce has opened up a world full of opportunities for small business owners and Shopaholics. But e-commerce is not without its apparent flaws. It has the advantage of speed, product variety, and great startup for e-commerce businesses, but product quality, bad companies, and hackers are its main weaknesses. When you break down e-commerce into its simple components, you'll discover that speed is the fundamental requirement of all sites - and the reason why so many people are attracted to it. Consider, for example, the typical choice a vacation shopper has. Christmas is coming later this month and they need to buy gifts for their friends and maybe an outfit or two for their loved ones. They have the choice of walking through the freezing cold and driving to the mall, browsing the shelves and clothing racks, waiting in line at the checkout, and then going home. Or, they could run a Google Shopping search for clothing and gifts and check out in about a minute. The speed of e-commerce gives the customer a sense of control. Why should they go to the nearest clothing store when they can buy their outfits online? And all these outfits can be purchased in seconds. They can shop their entire Christmas list on one web page. There's no need to wait in line at the store or brave snow and ice. All they have to do is visit an online catalog and browse the item of their choice. Then, it’s shipped to them within days – and without them leaving the comfort of their home. The usual purchasing process that...... middle of paper ...... in case they are, surely another website will have the same item available. According to Roos (2010), “no store, no matter how big, can match the Internet in terms of variety (p. 2).” ReferenceBiegelman, M. (2009). Handbook on Identity Theft: Detection, Prevention and Security. (p. 378). Wiley. Bustos, L. (2009). Every Second Counts: How Website Performance Affects Buyer Behavior. Retrieved from http://www.getelastic.com/performance/Milutinovic, V. (2002). E-business and e-challenges. (p. 360). IOS Press. Roos, D. (2010). Advantages of e-commerce. Retrieved from http://money.howstuffworks.com/advantages-e-commerce.htmSingh, V. (2009). Internet and email hacking. (p. 225). GlobalMedia. The importance of speed in online shopping. (August 17, 2010). Retrieved from http://ignitecommerce.com/2010/08/17/the-importance-of-speed-in-online-shopping/