The Difference Between Ecommerce and Brick-and-mortar Commerce
Ecommerce has become an industry term that refers to the business of buying and selling goods over the Internet or via online facilities. In ecommerce, the terms ‘online business’ and ‘retailer’ are used interchangeably. Ecommerce involves the trade of manufactured good, services, digital information and digital currencies such as PayPal and WorldPay. The first element in any ecommerce transaction is a market.
It’s easy to see why ecommerce has taken off. Ecommerce allows for a much wider range of consumers, products and services compared with traditional commerce. The global reach and convenience of ecommerce make it highly popular among all types of businesses. With so many different elements involved in electronic commerce (and, for that matter, all forms of commerce) it is no surprise that ecommerce is growing every day.
One way of getting started on the internet is through consumer e-commerce. Consumer e-commerce is where you buy or sell directly to the public using online tools such as websites, online stores or social networks. There are some consumer e-commerce platforms like Instgram and Facebook Connect. Other platforms like Gooter andshopify allow you to sell your products directly on your website, or you can sell your product through social media sites like Facebook and twitter. These platforms are popular because they are free for the consumer to use and provide easy access to a huge base of potential customers.
Many people get confused by the difference between online business model and ecommerce. An ecommerce business is basically a store front where you sell a product, rather than taking the order yourself. An online store is more like a shop; a store can be run either using a shopping cart program or without one. Most ecommerce business owners choose to have a shopping cart because it reduces errors and gives the online buyer more control over their order. However, some people prefer the “online store” because they think it is easier to start an online store with no previous experience of running an online store.
The difference between a consumer e-commerce store and a B2B e-commerce store is that the consumer store is intended to sell a product or service to a single customer at one time. B2B e-commerce stores are generally used to sell a service, like accounting, legal services, etc. Instead of selling directly to the customer, B2B e-commerce allows the business owner to sell their service or product to multiple customers at once. While this does not guarantee a huge sales increase, it does ensure that the service you are offering is of high quality and in demand, and your business will gain an edge over other companies who are selling the same service that you do.
Online business models are constantly changing and evolving. Ecommerce has been very successful because of its ability to appeal to a larger population, while maintaining a lower overhead than its brick-and-mortar counterparts. Online businesses have the potential to expand significantly given the right marketing strategies, which include an increase in traffic and the right product mix. A good Ecommerce system should be able to offer an extensive range of tools to help businesses succeed. Ecommerce is not an easy way to make money, but given the right marketing strategies, it can be extremely profitable for any business owner.
