Ecommerce refers to electronic commerce, which includes all commercial activity related to trade in electronic goods and services. Ecommerce is simply the act of selling or buying of goods over the Internet or on online virtual services. There are many types of ecommerce including sale and purchase of items by a consumer or group of consumers and sale and purchase of items by a business or organization through online transactions. Online auctions are also considered as ecommerce activities.
The most popular example of ecommerce includes online auctions like eBay, wherein buyers and sellers place bids on goods. In this type of ecommerce, there is no physical presence of the seller at the auction site. Instead, the buyer bids for a particular item using electronic commerce bidding process, and if his bid wins, he will be contacted by the seller to receive the goods. Similarly, in a business environment, the sale and purchase of goods through ecommerce involve the establishment of a business model transactions. For instance, if a company buys raw materials from a supplier, the company places orders with the supplier who will deliver the ordered materials to the company’s production site.
Ecommerce has made it very easy for people to conduct business throughout the globe and these transactions have become the latest trend in the business world. Another interesting aspect of ecommerce is that, it helps to increase the productivity and makes conducting business smoother. It can reduce costs and increase revenues. Hence, the introduction of ecommerce platform has revolutionized the way businesses were conducted in the past.
Online auction websites like Zappos and eBay have created a revolutionary way of selling products and services to customers all over the world. Both of these companies have experienced explosive growths in their business because of ecommerce. A lot of entrepreneurs have been drawn into the online retailing business as a result of these auction sites and as a result of the popularity of these sites. Today, there are thousands of websites that allow consumers and merchants to conduct business through auctions. However, most of these online stores are operated by eBay and Amazon.
There is another major benefit of ecommerce and that is, it provides a platform for entrepreneurs to increase their revenues. This has been possible only because of the huge increase in online retailing activities. Since ecommerce is an internet-based transaction, it increases the chances of online sales. Therefore, it has been able to transform the retail industry and have helped many retailers to improve their profitability.
In the past, people used to make purchases through the traditional marketplaces like the supermarkets, departmental stores and physical shops. However, with ecommerce, people can purchase goods and services from other places via online transactions. Furthermore, the role of the retailer has also increased and he or she can carry out e-business transactions like online marketing, product promotion and other such tasks. These days, people have the option of buying goods and services through online transactions as they can perform these activities right from their personal computers. Therefore, you must adopt ecommerce and see how it can improve your business operations.