Introduction

E-commerce is growing steadily today despite the setbacks of the “new economy”. As consumers become accustomed to this type of market mediation, new ways of configuring trade appear. In the received view of e-commerce, on-line consumption seems to be a process compacted in time and space, condensed into the interval of an Internet session and focused on the space of a computer screen. A consumer seeking a particular good such as a tour can compare the offers of several agencies by consulting them either individually or simultaneously on the same screen, via several navigation windows opened at the same time. In the same way he or she can explore different ways of purchasing products, for example by buying an air ticket either directly from an airline or from a last-minute travel discounter or, alternatively, on specialized auction sites. In the “bricks and mortar” world of shops, agencies and counters, this type of exploration requires the customer to visit different places and often involves significant amounts of time and preparation. The “search costs” limit the scope of the exploration, making visits to distant points of sale an exception. The telephone and call centers facilitate this type of exploration without allowing the same kind of focusing as with e-commerce where everything can happen simultaneously on the same screen.

In this chapter we consider the effects of e-commerce on consumption practices when such an activity (consuming), and related courses of action (exploring the offer), and operations (web surfing routines) can all be performed on a single screen within the same connected session.