The (in)significance of domain names for e-commerce

40 THE (IN)SIGNIFICANCE OF DOMAIN NAMES FOR E-COMMERCE Radka MacG ego Pelikáno á Me opoli an Uni e si y P ague Dubečská 900/10, 100 31 P ague 10, Czech Republic macg eg[email p o ec ed] Abs ac The 21s cen u y socie y oge he wi h i s global ma ke elies hea ily on using in o ma ion and communica ion echnology and on employing e-comme ce. Well es ablished and ega ded academic and p ac ical opinion s eams p oclaim he hea y impo ance o e- comme ce on cu en business. No doub e-domicilia ion has a echnical signi icance. Howe e , he impac o he e bal ansc ip ion o an e-add ess, a domain name, o e- comme ce and i s success is ye ques ionable. This issue equi es in e disciplina y s udy and compa a i e analysis e lec ing business eali y, legal amewo k, beha iou pa e ns, consume choices, na ional pa icula i ies and indus y speci ics. This pape esea ches and summa izes he unde lying se ing, concep s, unc ions, and a emp s o analyze he ea u es, ole, and unc ion o domain names om a Czech, Eu opean, and e en global and supe - empo al pe spec i e and link i o he manne and success a e o e-comme ce. Va ious su eys, da a collec ion and case obse a ions a e linked o published opinions in o de o be compa ed, con as ed and i possible econciled. This leads o a numbe o conclusions e lec ing he ul ima e goal. This is o enhance awa eness abou di e ences in pe cep ion o a ious ypes o domains based on he o igins o business and cus ome s as well as in ol ed indus y b anches. F om bo h business and consume pe spec i es, he ecogni ion o he signi icance o domain names o e-comme ce and he in e ac ion be ween he business i sel , i s in ellec ual p ope y po olio, domain and domain name is on he ise. Keywo ds: Domain name; Top Le el Domain (TLD); In e ne ; e-Comme ce. In oduc ion Today, any success ul business conduc equi es using a ious app oaches, s a egies, and echniques. Wi h he ad en and inc easing use o he In e ne , he e- o m becomes mo e o less compulso y o businesses. Na u ally, businesses can, and p obably should, de elop o he o ms, including he main enance o b ick and mo a s o es. As a ailable da a and p o essional and semi-p o essional publica ions s ongly ad oca e and ad ise o acili a ion o online shopping, hen e-domicilia ion is mo e o less a mus . Ye wha is he ole and impo ance in labeling such an e-add ess? Do businesses need o jus ha e domain a ailabili y o do hey need o ha e a e y pa icula domain a ailabili y? I s ic ly sociological and echnical aspec s a e le aside, hen he ques ion o he (in)signi icance o domain names o e-comme ce can be app oached by combining a compa a i e, unc ion-sys ema ic, and na a i e analysis wi h a ouch o he Soc a ic me hod while add essing a se o c i ical opics and issues. The s a ing poin is he de e mina ion o In e ne , e-comme ce and hei impo ance (1.) ollowed by he desc ip ion o he na u e and unc ions o op le el domains and domain names (2.). Then can be sc u inized he po en ial o domain names o suppo o unde mine e-comme ce (3.). This in o ma ion and analysis is p ojec ed o he eal business scene y om he business (4.) as well as he consume s’ pe spec i e (5.) wi h a pa icula ocus on he Czech Republic. The eme ging signi icance o 41 domain names o e-comme ce is u he suppo ed by addi ional s a is ics and da a (6.). Na u ally, ecommenda ions and sugges ions o deepening and ex ending o he s udy in his ield a e o e ed as well. Thus he ul ima e conclusions a e jus a i s s ep on he way o place domain names whe e hey belong - in he e y hea o he e-comme ce. 1 The In e ne , e-comme ce and hei impo ance Today’s socie y, e y elian on in o ma ion echnologies, inc easingly s esses he co ec use o he In e ne o business conduc , globally [11]. The In e ne is a ne o ne s, p obably he mos impo an ne is he Wo ld Wide Web (www). The access o compu e s o o he in o ma ion echnology de ices is o ganized ia he hie a chy o domains [18]. In he i ual In e ne space he e a e la ge domains (TLDs) and each o hem is u he di ided in o sub- domains (second le el domains), sub-domains o sub-domains ( hi d le el domains), e c. [10]. Technically, he In e ne is a global, wo ldwide and ee connec ion o ne wo k kno s h ough compu e ne wo ks. These kno s a e pe sonal compu e s designa ed o access o he In e ne , se e compu e s o hos ing si es and e en In e ne si es, websi es, as such. Each kno has i s own unique nume ic code add ess de e mined by p o ocols - T ansmission Con ol P o ocol (TCP) an In e ne P o ocol (IP), i.e. TCP/IP and he Domain Name Sys em (DNS) allows he use and con e sion o a e bal ansc ip ion o a domain IP nume ic code add ess. Cu en ly, wo p o ocols and hei combina ion a e used – IP 4, IP 6 and IP 6 Dual. The use o a nume ic code e sion o an e-add ess is mos imp ac ical and no e y consume iendly. The e o e, DNS o e s a con e sion sys em ansla ing he nume ic code e sion o an e- add ess, in o a e bal e sion, a domain name. A se o p ima acia meaningless numbe s is con e ed in o a se o le e s and numbe s able o ha e a meaning and hus easy o memo ize. Business is conduc ed wi hin he global and uni ied, o a leas s anda dized and p o ocol- o ma ed, In e ne space dis ibu ion. As a esul , e-p esen a ion, e-ma ke ing and e-shopping a e now i al hallma ks o cu en businesses. A b oad de ini ion o elec onic business, e- business, would be conduc ing business wi h he assis ance o elecommunica ion and elecommunica ion-based ools [4]. Elec onic comme ce, e-comme ce, is gene ally known as one a he undamen al phase o le el o elec onic business, e-business, which en ails elec onic sales. Thus, e-comme ce in ol es an exchange o da a ela ed o o de ing, selling and gene ally comple ing business ansac ions inc easingly impo an o conduc ing business. The olume o business ansac ions ia he In e ne has apidly inc eased while he alue o goods, se ices, and in o ma ion exchanged h ough he In e ne appea s o be annually doubling o e en ipling [20]. The po en ial o e-comme ce o acili a e ope a ions, inc ease e enue, and lowe he cos and consequen ly s imula e s ong economic g ow h is g ea [13]. Thus, i ’s e y ins uc i e o s udy e-business, o see and judge i s basic le els: www p esen a ion, e-comme ce, in eg a ed se ices o e-comme ce and e-business conduc . E- comme ce can eally impac ac ual esul s o a business and de ini ely should be conside ed when add essing cu en c i ical business issues. Today’s business should mas e “e” o ma , aking ad an age o connec ing he business s a egy wi h new echnological elemen s. No ably, mos Czech businesses ecognize he e-manda e and can be designa ed e-businesses wi h an e-p esence, ye o en hey emain only a a basic le el, no o e ing in eg a ed se ices o e-comme ce no achie ing e-business conduc . They do no ha e a ai h ul e-clien ele, ul ima ely he e-comme ce cons i u es only o e one qua e o hei o al sales [2]. 2 The na u e and unc ions o op le el domain and domain names E e y In e ne domain is unique and e e y domain name mus be di e en om e e y o he one. The longs anding p ac ice o domain name egis ies is based on he accep ance and 42 p ocessing o domain name applica ions on a i s -come, i s -se ed basis wi hou any deep (o e en a all) conside a ion o he legi imacy o he applican o ile such an applica ion [1]. A domain name is a unique ansla ion o a nume ic code add ess pu suan o IP 4, IP 6 o IP 6 Dual. I is mainly a unique designa ion o an IP esou ce in e bal o m, i.e. a e bal ID o a pe sonal compu e , se e compu e o websi e, wi h a clea and p e-de e mined ee s uc u e, wi h a se e al le e s o ma ion sepa a ed a leas by one do . The sequences o a domain name goes om mos speci ic o mos gene al, i.e. he i s le e s in he o ma ion, placed le mos , conce n a conc e e compu e and he las le e s o ma ion, a he e y igh , conce ns a la ge g oup o compu e s, ne wo ks and websi es – a op-le el domain (TLD). T adi ionally, TLDs a e g ouped and ca ego ized in o wo ypes – gene ic (in e na ional) TLDs (gTLDs) and coun y code, na ional, TLDs (ccTLD). The ending abb e ia ion o a gTLD will indica e he o ien a ion and specializa ion o lowe le el domains appe aining o his gTLD, such as „.com“, „.o g“, „.ne “, „.edu“. Howe e , i he conce ned pa y p e e s a classi ica ion pu suan o he coun y o o igin mo e han he classi ica ion acco ding o he specializa ion, hen i can op o a sub-domain wi hin a TLD o a pa icula s a e – ccTLD, acco ding ISO 3166, e.g. „.cz“, „.de“ o „.uk“. In 2012, he namespace consis ed o 22 gTLDs, 250 ccTLDs and 30 in e na ional ccTLDs, each ope a ed on a di e en model [12]. Ye due o he launch o he possibly e olu iona y p ojec o new gTLDs ailo ed on demand, i.e. allowing c ea i e TLDs o anyone sa is ying he equi emen s and paying he USD 185 000 ee, he scene y has been g ea ly modi ied in he las mon hs [21]. Ob iously, DNS and domain names we e launched p ima ily due o a echnical need. Howe e , in he cou se o ime i has become clea ha he i ual and in angible domain name is no a me e acili a ing ins umen wi hou alue o jus wi h a nominal alue. Domain names ha e he po en ial o pe o m a mul i ude o unc ions wi h an impac on e-comme ce. P ima ily, a domain name is a consume iendly e bal ansc ip o an o iginal nume ic code gene a ed based on he used IP wi h a a he weak pe se impac on e-comme ce. Secondly, he domain name is simila o a business billboa d [19] and hus i can be an add ess de ice, and also a ma ke ing de ice and as such has a no iceable impac on e-comme ce. Thi dly, he domain name somewha o e laps wi h he adema k. The adema k is a collec ion o cus ome s’ pe cep ions associa ing he sou ce and he p oduc wi h he pu pose o dis inguish he goods and se ices om one sou ce, o s i e o cus ome loyal y, and o a ac new cus ome s [6]. The closeness o he domain name o he adema k leads o he po en ial o a domain name o mee he amous six c i e ia by Kelle (memo able, meaning ul, popula , po able, adap able, and p o ec ion po en ial) [9] and become an ins umen linking in o ma ion and emo ions, hus in luencing e-comme ce. Fou hly, he domain name is a key wo d e e ence and he de elopmen o b owse and sea ch engines along wi h he possibili y o a ange o a op placing gi es a new dimension o his o iginally o e looked aspec . E e y domain name has a p e-do pa e e ing o he sub-domain and pos -do pa e e ing o he TLD. In o he wo ds, he e-add ess consis s o a nume ic o wo d e e ence poin ing o he ele an TLD (a p e-se ew le e s behind he do ) and sub-domains (a c ea i e conglome a e o le e s be o e he do ). The key du y o he pos -do pa o a domain name is iden i ying he pe inen TLD as a small sphe e wi hin he bigge In e ne sphe e. All domains egis e ed unde a TLD a e labeled by domain names wi h he same ew le e s a e he do . Each TLD has i s own egime wi h ad an ages and disad an ages, so he e is no clea bes TLD o business conduc and he selec ion o he TLD ma e s o business. The (in)signi icance o he wo ding o he pa o he domain name poin ing o sub-domains wi hin a ce ain TLD appea s o be a guable and complex. Unlike he pos -do pa indica ing he pe inen TLD and i s egime, he p e-do pa does no imply a ce ain amewo k. 43 The signi icance o domain name wo ding o e-comme ce is e en mo e ques ionable. I has no ye been es ablished whe he he p e-do pa o a domain name and/o he pos -do pa o domain name and/o he domain name as such in i s en i e y ha e di ec o indi ec impac s on he e-comme ce. In addi ion, he ole and unc ions o domain names ha e changed simila ly o hose o a adema k and i can be sugges ed ha a domain name can ha e a symbolic meaning. Thusly, u he s udies, esea ches, and analyses in his espec should be conduc ed. 3 Economic and legal aspec s o he domain name’s po en ial impac on e- comme ce The e-s a us and e-ac i i y o a business can be examined while ocusing ei he on o m ( he e-domicilia ion o he business pe se – i s domain name) o on con en ( he subs ance o he www pages and hei unc ions). Domain names ha e become aluable in o ma ion commodi ies, gene a ing dispu es, e en posi i e law s a s o ecognize i , a emp ing o egula e i [14]. These a emp s a e mo e on he le el o na ional law a he han in e na ional law, he lead aken in he USA, he EU, and Finland. Thus he backbone o he egula o y amewo k o domain names consis s o in a- ela ed and p e- o ma ed P i a e law con ac s [10]. The Czech e-codi ica ion o he P i a e law changes he de ini ion o a hing (as opposed o a pe son), modi ies he each o owne ship igh s, and i (de ini ely) places he p o ec ion o and agains domain names in he ield o law agains un ai compe i ion [19]. The uniqueness and implied iden i ica ion ole gi e an impo and hea y po en ial o domain names. The e a e no wo iden ical domain names wi hin he In e ne and he e a e no wo un ela ed pa ies using a domain name. Uniqueness doesn’ imply business success, a he a chance o build i . S a emen s like The domain name egis a ion is he mos c ucial ask amongs o he asks o you o conduc you business online [5] co ec ly implies selec ing and egis e ing a domain name is he s a ing poin , bu o e es ima es i s u u e impac . The echnical and economic conclusi eness o domain names clashes agains legal posi i ism. Expe s ha e unsuccess ully ied o pu a domain name wi hin con en ional ca ego ies o asse s p o ec ed by law. Some o hem e en el ha domain names a en’ classic immo able- mo able asse s no in ellec ual p ope y asse s and so don’ ha e he objec i e igh p o ec ion egime – in em (such as owne ship igh s) and can a mos be co e ed by he subjec i e and eely nego ia ed igh p o ec ion egime – in pe sonam (such as claims om a con ac ). In addi ion, he e is an opinion s eam ying a i icially o sepa a e he insepa able, he angible and in angible aspec s and elemen s o cu en eali y and c ea e a special In e ne law o hese issues, p obably including as well domain names. Ye , a e b oad legal and philosophical analyses, i ul ima ely leads o an admission despi e he subs an ial changes in con empo a y socie y by he In e ne ha he undamen s o law do no need o be e ised [14]. F om a p ac ical angle, inac ion, i no denial, in ecognizing domain names’ po en ial impac and impo ance con adic s he p ac ical eali y o cu en socie y. The lessening o he ole, unc ions, and impo ance o a domain name may be econciled wi h some a chaic app oaches o business, bu de ini ely no wi h economic p emises and social manda es o he 21s cen u y. I is poin less o excessi ely dwell o e he classi ica ion o domain names wi hin con en ional law ca ego ies. Ra he , he obse a ion o he cu en modus i endi should be honou ed. The e is solid e idence ha he domain name has he po en ial o ha e a signi ican alue and o be a apidly g owing economic commodi y and a aluable elemen o en e p ise wi h a possible ai ma ke alue exceeding millions o EUR and USD [10]. 44 4 Domain names es ablished impac on e-comme ce om he businesses pe spec i e C ea ing and main aining a domain labeled by a domain name is a long p ocess equi ing ime, e o and expense. Despi e ce ain echnical limi a ions due o he IP unc ionali y and equi ed uniqueness o a domain name, he e emains much space o disc e ion and o one’s own pe sonal p e e ence mani es a ion. Businesses a e awa e ha hei domain names a e hei unique and hope ully longs anding no only add esses, bu as well e e ences. This is ins umen al o hei sel -p esen a ion and o a ac ing and main aining he clien ele. Due o he i ually and in angibili y o e-comme ce, an es ablished “gua an eed” ma king can be c i ical, o a leas businesses appea o belie e in i . Almos all businesses in he EU and in he USA ha e es ablished hei e-p esence on he In e ne and ha e a leas one domain name. Ge man businesses, in pa icula , pe cei e hei domain name as a key o hei iden i y, hus hei domain names mi o hei business name, i.e. he business designa ion egis e ed wi hin he Comme cial Regis e is o en copied in o he domain name [15], as shown in Fig. 1. Sou ce: [15] Fig. 1: Composi ion o he p e-do pa o a domain name S a is ics om business and indus y suppo gene al conclusions o he link be ween domain name and business name. O he ac o s able o become a pa o a domain name o shape i a e he designa ion o he business key p oduc and key adema k. Less in luence is held by indica ing he line o business, he business associa ion membe ship o jus c ea i i y leading o ancy labeling [15]. Combining hese elemen s, e.g. business name plus T ade Ma k (TM), is a he a e, pe haps due o he desi e o keep he name “sho &swee ” and hus consume iendly. The domain name is a ag used o e-comme ce communica ion, bu he domain name po en ially can se e as an elemen in ma ke ing and ad e ising campaigns especially in ce ain businesses b anches, e.g. banking, inancial, insu ance, e c. [15] as shown below in Fig. 2. Sou ce: [15] Fig. 2: Use o domain names in ma ke ing and ad e ising 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Business name 34% P oduc Name 17% TM 14% Combina ion 7% O he s 28% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Ca indus y Fashion Pha maceu ical Jou nals T a eling TV Cleaning p odcu s Domain name in ad e ismen No domain name in ad e isemen 45 The collec ed da a sugges s a ious s a egic managemen s yles and di e en le els o employmen o domain names o business conduc . Some businesses make hei domain names an in eg al pa o hei business conduc and use i o e-comme ce ansac ions as well as o Public Rela ion pu poses, o he businesses a e mo e conse a i e and op only o he use o domain names as a designa ion o he pla o m o e-comme ce. Finally, he e a e businesses a oiding he In e ne , o a leas e-comme ce. Rega ding he i s g oup, businesses emb acing new echnologies and including domain names in hei business plans, s a egic and ope a ional managemen , one can discuss he manne o p ocessing. Ei he domain names a e c ea ed o i in o he s a egically planned ad e ising and ma ke ing endea o s o he pa icula business, o he domain name shapes he wo ding o ad e ising and ma ke ing. Na u ally, o he ac o s should be aken in o accoun , such as he possibili y o be ound h ough sea ch engines o he (in)app op ia eness o be p esen ed in he In e ne se ing. Howe e , ul ima ely businesses conside hei u no e , sales and p o i . In his espec , he Czech businesses clea ly inc ease hei e-comme ce, no lagging behind businesses om o he membe s s a es, as illus a ed by he da a om Eu os a . In o he wo ds, cu en ly o e 20% o sales o businesses wi h mo e han 10 employees a e done in he Czech Republic by e- comme ce and his exceeds e en he a e age o he en i e EU, which is jus 15% [22] as shown below in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Sou ce: [22] Fig. 3: E-sales by Czech businesses wi h mo e han 10 employees Sou ce: [22] Fig. 4: 2012 e-sales by businesses wi h o e 10 employees om selec ed EU membe s a es The g owing popula i y o e-comme ce in he Czech Republic is shown by he s ong Czech cus ome d i e o ind he bes (cheapes deal) on he In e ne and can be con as ed wi h an e- comme ce indi e ence in o he membe s a es accessing he EU in o a e 2004. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 CZ HU SL SK PL RO BU 24% 19% 13% 12% 10% 4% 3% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 46 Mos businesses know ha domain names in he en i e wo ding pe o m a ious unc ions and aid in hei e-comme ce. They know ha he pos -do pa o a domain name is mainly a egime indica o and sou ce o gene al o ien a ion, he p e-do pa has a s ong ma ke ing and sel -image po en ial o be expanded on. This common pe cep ion and awa eness by business is clea ly shown by p ices o ans e ing a numbe o domains and hei domain names belonging o he TLD Numbe 1 o business, TLD.com, which ha e se e al imes exceeded one million USD in ecen yea s [5]. Na u ally, his is jus he ip o he icebe g, and many deals and sales a e con iden ial, o a leas he amoun s o nego ia ed and paid p ices a e. Due o he i s -se ed concep o domain name egis a ion, businesses ha e o med se e al s a egies o add ess a si ua ion when hei a ou i e domain name is al eady aken and hey can’ o don’ wan o buy i o li iga e o i o agains i . To hese s a egies belong he hyphening, adding numbe s, o inco po a ing he pos do TLD e e ence pa in he wo ding o consume s [15]. This can be shown ia a hypo he ical case o a Telecom company om Ge many unable o o e hei p oduc s and se ices h ough elecom.com o elecom.de, and so mo ing o -e-l-e-c-o-m.com o 123 elecom.com o ele.com. The le el o c ea i i y is high, bu he ul ima e judge is he consume who is inclined owa ds name simplici y. In sum, businesses do ca e and expend much ime and e o o ph ase he p e-do pa o hei domain name and o igh o i and agains i , hey de ini ely ecognize he business signi icance o he p e-do pa o hei domain name and a e p epa ed o pay o i . The e y wo ding depends upon he indus y in ol ed and gene ally ends o mi o he business name, o in ce ain cases, o e lec he line o p oduc ion o he e y p oduc . 5 Domain names es ablished impac on e-comme ce om he consume ’s pe spec i e Empi ical esul s show ha he eadiness o use he In e ne highly depends on he ele ance o in o ma ion a ailable and ease o ope a ions. Thus, consume ’s in e es in e-comme ce chie ly depends upon hei le el o mas e ing In e ne use and hei indi idual e alua ions o he alue o goods, se ices, and p oduc s o e ed [17]. Consequen ly, consume s engage in e- comme ce when hey unde s and i and see i as a enue o ge a be e deal. Consume s’ beha iou and app ecia ion o domain names wi h espec o e-comme ce seems o show e en bigge di e ences han he a i ude by businesses. The pe cep ion and ac ing o consume s, as po en ial cus ome s, in his espec signi ican ly a ies upon he social g oup and coun y o o igin. E en wi hin he EU, we can obse e hese a ia ions and di e en pa e ns pop up, sugges ing ha no all consume s endo se he business sel -p oclama ion d i e h ough domain names mi o ing business names. F om an EU consume ’s iew, he wo big bene i s o e-comme ce o e adi ional shopping a e ela ed mo e o he p ocess han o he esul , i.e. home com o and abili y o shop any ime. Bu Czechs obse e o he gains, he chance o ge a cheape p ice, o mas e he iming o selec ion and pu chasing, la ge selec ion, and he abili y o iew eedback om o he buye s [20]. Maybe ‘b ick and mo a ’ o e p icing and poo cus ome ca e ha e no comple ely disappea ed om he Czech Republic, bu consume s don' wan o ole a e i , and gladly emb ace o he op ions, such as e-comme ce. The domain enue seems o help Czech cus ome s a oid a majo shopping annoyance, being dis u bed by ude shop assis an s. Though mos EU consume s s a on-line shopping by isi ing he www pages o he selec ed business indi idual o en i y, unde he domain name which p obably sounds like business name, Czech consume s go o “bes deals/ sale” using online compa a i e sea ch engines [2]. In he Czech epublic, o e 25% o sales come ia e-comme ce and mo e han 78% o businesses ha e (access o) he basic pla o m o e-business, he www pages. Ye Czech 47 businesses seem eluc an in he use o hei www pages, as less han hal o hem ha e on hei www pages hei p oduc s/se ices p ice lis , one hi d o hem accep online paymen by cus ome s and jus 6% o hem o e moni o ing he s a us o he o de placed by cus ome s [2], as shown below in Fig. 5. Sale po als like Vypkup o.cz o Sle oma .cz a e excep ions, con i ming he ule abou a weak eadiness o e-comme ce in he Czech Republic. Tha hal o he Czech adul popula ion explo es sale po als comes om he big d i e o Czech cus ome s o ge he bes p ices, seen as he lowes p ice, making concessions ega ding quali y and loyal y. Thus, he eage ness o Czech cus ome s owa ds domains o compa ing and sale po als can mean he insigni icance o domains o o he businesses pu suan o Czech cus ome s. Sou ce: [2] Fig. 5: Le el o e-business by Czech Businesses Ac ually, 49% o Czech consume s do e-comme ce mos ly sea ching h ough p ice compa ing pages and media and 92% o Czech consume s a leas some imes use hem. Czech consume s seem o ca e li le as o wha domain unde wha name hey inally land o make a pu chase. The wo ding o pa o a domain name is s ipped o a numbe o i s unc ions, “deg aded” o se e jus as an add ess whe e epo edly he goods o se ices can be bough o he lowes p ice. This is an ex eme example wi hin he EU consume basis, since he a e o consume s om he en i e EU using he p ice compa ing sea ch engines is only 27% [2]. This appa en disc epancy can be explained dispa a ely. Czech consume s a e open o make bigge concessions conce ning quali y e sus p ice in o de o each he cheapes p ice han consume s om he es o he EU. Conside ing unc ions o domain names, i is wo h no ing ha a e a huge campaign and hea y p omo ion, 60% o Czech consume s gi e occasional p io i y o goods ma ked wi h he adema k o quali y, i.e. Klasa o Czech made, while jus one i h o hem equen ly buy such p oduc s. The signi icance o such b anding inc eases wi h he age o consume s, bu in no one age g oup i becomes he c i ical ac o [6]. Czech consume s do ca e abou domain names, bu esea ch has no ye es ablished i . Pe haps hey eally don’ ca e abou domain names and don’ wish o spend ime checking indi idual domains o businesses, ex ac in o ma ion including da a abou p ice, and conduc a compa ison by hemsel es. The e is an issue o a lack o loyal y and espec on bo h sides. Pe chance he Czech businesses a e behind in hei use o domains and domain names. The e a e mo e ques ions han answe s, and aking in o conside a ion he impo ance o e- comme ce, i would be e y ins uc i e o iden i y he unde lying p oblems and add ess hem. Wi h consume s a ious iews on he impo and impac o he domain name on e-business, a s a emen abou he (in)signi icance o domain names o e-comme ce om he consume s pe spec i e should be di e si ied, i.e. a se o s a emen s and e alua ions should be p esen ed. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% www page e-p oduc lis e-paymen e-o de moni o ing 48 6 Domain names es ablished impac on e-comme ce – e idence by s a is ics Any in es iga ion conce ning an in angible and i ual asse , such as a domain name, and i s (in)signi icance o e-comme ce wi hin a pos mode n in o ma ion socie y should de ini ely en ail da a abou he cu en use o domain names. Thus, he abo e-de eloped p esen a ions abou he gene al signi icance o domain names o e-comme ce om he businesses' pe spec i e and he di e si ied (in)signi icance o domain names o e-comme ce om a consume pe spec i e should be comple ed by he objec i e da a abou domain name use. Fi s , i should be s essed ha mos domains and domain names a en’ used and so canno be signi ican o e-comme ce. Mo e han 50% o domain names a en’ used and don’ lead o a unc ional www page, a leas 90% o domain names ha e no po en ial o become an asse ha can be comme cialized a all and 99% o domain names canno be nego ia ed o signi ican amoun s [7], so only 1% o domain names a e able o be sold o la ge amoun s o money. A he same ime, i a domain name is no o sale o is no o sale o a lo o money, i s ill does no necessa ily mean ha i is wo hless and wi hou an impac on e-comme ce. Secondly, ega dless o he economic c isis, domain names auc ion and selling houses a e busy, he la ges one, Sedo, o e s o e 13 million domain names [7]. The e a e ins ances o he paymen o millions o USD and EUR o domain name ans e s, mos ly o domain names wi h he pos -do pa “.com”, bu his in o ma ion should be comple ed by lea ning o he impac o he ans e ed domain name on he e-comme ce o he ans e ee. Thi dly, domain names ac o in he e alua ion o he in ellec ual p ope y po olio o a business and i is a 'gi en' ha he alue o he in ellec ual p ope y cons i u es he bigges alue o an en e p ise. Ne e heless, he e is an ongoing deba e abou he objec i eness, co ec ness and exac i ude o hese expe app ecia ions. Fou hly, domain names a e close o adema ks which a e inhe en ly linked o he b and symbolism wi h unc ional and emo ional signi icance. [6] T ue, domain names se e o he unc ional pu poses, bu hey can be as well a sou ce, i no ins umen , o eassu ance ha he p oduc s o e ed and sold h ough such a domain name will mee some expec ed s anda ds. Fi hly, consume s inc easingly use e-comme ce, i is unlikely he end will change (Fig. 6). Sou ce: [20] Fig. 6: Cus ome s in en ion o use e-comme ce again Six hly, he numbe o TLDs and domain names g ow; hei use is expanding, aking a ious aces. As he e-business wo ld lexibly de elops o add ess consume ’s new needs and in e es s, he domain wo ld p omp ly ollows. The e a e s ong indica ions ha TLD.com has achie ed a s a egic ad an age, which compe i o s canno a ain [16], and should main ain i s leading posi ion as he bes gene al TLD o business conduc , including e-comme ce. Ye , 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Cus ome s in en ion o e-use e-comme ce 3% much less 7% p obably less 69% h same 17% p obably mo e 4% much mo e