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US business-to-business e-commerce will hit $2.7 trillion in 2004 and more than 90% of firms interviewed described plans to buy and sell on the Internet, according to a recent Forrester Research study.

The study, "e-Marketplaces Boost B2B Trade," reports that B2B growth will be accelerated by the development of e-Marketplaces - new models for conducting e-commerce - such as auctions, exchanges, aggregators and bid systems. By 2004, Forrester expects these e-Marketplaces to capture 53% of all online business trade. Hand in hand with this development in B2B, is the estimate that Internet sales (business to customer) will top $1.35 trillion in the US by the year 2003. (Source: Masha E. Geller, MediaPost http://www.mediapost.com )

Many netrepreneurs have already taken steps to hitch their wagon to this rising star and have said goodbye to the traditional shop front, and hello to the cybermall.

A cybermall can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can sell to customers in every country in the world - if they have an Internet connection. Nielsen/NetRatings figures show that more and more people are connecting to the Internet every month - in the US, 122.7 million people (aged 2 years and older) had access to the Internet in January 2000. This had increased to 123.6 million in the first week of March 2000.

With a world population of 6 billion, it's easy to see why businesses are excited by the prospect of cybermalls.

Instead of battling with the rising costs of rent, staff wages, advertising, packing and shipping, and dealing with the problems of tracking down stock and suppliers - this new development in e-commerce allows an individual to set up a complete web-based business in less than 48 hours and receive commissions of 3% to 25% on all sales made from the site.

One such cybermall is http://www.aShop4All.com. It aims to offer, "simply the best virtual one-stop shop," according to CEO, John Freeman. "We should have completed a women's forum, chat line and a consumer contest by the third week of March," he says. This will complement the wide range of cyber stores already part of the mall. "It's possible for customers to meet all their shopping needs from this one site," says Freeman, "from flowers and gifts, books and games, furniture and clothes to office supplies, financial services and banking, travel arrangements and auctions - there are even employment services at aShop4All.com."

The inspiration for this concept dates back to 1997, when Freeman's company was developing and producing bespoke software and building websites; this was followed by the development of software and hardware to upgrade computer systems for Y2K. These products were certified by the consultant laboratories to the UK Government, the State Pentagon and companies such as GEC Marconi.

"It was during this period of time that we realized that with the growth of the Internet and e-commerce, niche marketing on the Web would be very limited because of the volume of new users and websites being registered," says Freeman. "We could see that one-stop shopping sites would be the venue of choice for consumers. Everyone knows that the info on search engines is fragmented and the biggest complaint one hears is that it takes too long to find anything, with our concept, if you're looking for a golf ball you will have a number of outlets to choose from - our software enables comparisons to be made and the best buy found - the consumer is the big winner."

This view has been supported by recent reports into e-commerce with Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) stating that e-Marketplaces must evolve from today's isolated niche offerings to become highly interconnected one-stop shops - or suffer the consequences; and the National Retail Federation 2000 Conference in January this year highlighting the challenges and opportunities facing online retailers. More than 50% of major retailers are still unable to take online orders, according to findings presented.

This is where programs such as that offered by Freeman shine - entrepreneurs can acquire sophisticated marketplace software or entirely offload the building of their Web sites to an experienced e-commerce integrator like aShop4all.com and be at the forefront of e-commerce developments.

The Internet has achieved in marketing in just four years, what it took radio forty years and television fourteen years to achieve. Anyone can now be a part of the Internet explosion without being an expert, just by becoming an aShop4All partner. Americans spent 57.5 billion minutes online in January 2000 (according to a Media Metrix Top 50 At-Home and At-Work combined Digital Media and Web audience ratings report). The research firm says each person surveyed spent an average of 13.2 hours online during the month - that's a captive audience in anyone's language and justifies the enthusiasm of business people like Freeman. "A cybermall can be set up for as little as $300 - how many businesses require such a small capital outlay?" he says. "At aShop4All.com, we take care of all the details. The entire site is ready to start making money and is continuously updated with new products. It's an ideal way for people to start their e-commerce experience."

The last word belongs to Bill Gates, reported as saying, "By 2002 there will be two types of businesses - those on the Net and those out of business."

About the author: Jennifer Stewart offers home study tutorials, and professional writing and editing services from her website: http://www.write101.com .Subscribe to free, weekly Writing Tips: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@onelist.com