U-commerce: a Conceptual Extension of E- and M-commerce

This article elaborates and extends several new concepts that lay the foundation for thinking about next-generation commerce—so-called ultimate commerce, or simply u-commerce. U-commerce extends traditional commerce to a world of ubiquitous networks and universal devices, a world in which users can access networks at any time from any place, using a range of devices to invoke unique and personalized services. Specifically, four constructs are discussed that form the fundamental dimensions of u-commerce: ubiquity, uniqueness, universality, and unison. It is proposed that future developments of information systems will be framed by these constructs.