The “internet society” implies the increasing dependency of society on the internet in its widest form. In the past twenty years, the utilisation of web-based services has become an essential part of daily life and business practices. Mobile devices enable people to easily communicate and share experiences through social media and other web-based applications, as well as purchase goods and services anytime and anywhere. Internet-derived applications and functions have shown to be able to replace products, and especially services, in a short time;
The individualisation of business and consumer preferences in the context of purchasing products has to be considered in combination with the rapid increase of electronic business. In 2012, nearly 75% of individuals aged 16-74 used the internet in the past 12 months and 60% of those internet users had shopped online. This marks a very significant increase since 2008, when only 32% of EU27 citizens had used the internet for online purchases (the respective percentage for 2013 is 47%).