Low personal touch

Despite being technologically sophisticated, e-business is unable to reproduce the warmth and personal rapport that flow naturally from face-to-face dealings. When a customer shops online, the whole exchange is mediated by screens and networks, and the human element of a transaction is stripped away.

• Why the warmth is missing: Interpersonal interaction depends on tone, expression and the trust that a buyer and seller build in person. Online, there is no salesperson to greet the customer, read their mood or reassure them, so the dealing tends to feel impersonal and mechanical. …