ECommerce Defined

At its heart, eCommerce is simply the selling or buying of services or products using the Internet or computerized networks. Today, eCommerce has grown tremendously, mainly due to the enormous popularity of the Internet. Other developments like electronic fund transfers, internet marketing, supply chain management, online transaction process, inventory management systems, electronic data interchange and automated data collections have increased the ability of the consumer to make many of their purchases online.

Originally used solely for business-to-business transactions, eCommerce was originally developed in the early 1970’s. As ATM’s, credit cards and even telephone banking increased in popularity, eCommerce began to focus on the common consumer. Today, it is possible to purchase everything from cars to jewelry from the comfort of your home.

Some people believe that eCommerce is much more encompassing than financial purchases. In fact, the concept that any electronic exchange between a consumer or third party and a business can be thought of as eCommerce is growing in popularity. Under this idea requests for information, customer service complaints and more could all be considered eCommerce.

ECommerce can be divided into ‘buy-side’ and ‘sell-side’ eCommerce. The Buy-side is self-explanatory; it is the purchase portion of the equation. The Sell-side eCommerce can be divided into four main categories.

1. Service Sites – These sites typically offer customer service, Ezine, and sales leads to consumers. These are quickly becoming popular as a way for consumers to quickly obtain help and information about products and services.
2. Shopping sites – These are the websites that allow consumers to purchase products online. Popular sites include retail and travel sites.

It is important to distinguish between eCommerce and business. EBusiness is the process by which businesses are transformed by using technology available on the Internet. EBusiness is a large part of what makes eCommerce possible. Integrating websites, EFT’s and online customer service sites are all excellent examples of eBusiness. These processes, once put in place, allow a ‘brick and mortar’ business to flourish in the world of eCommerce. In some instance, the term eBusiness may be used to describe businesses that operate solely online. Amazon.com is the most well known example of an eBusiness.

Over time, technology will continue to develop, allowing for more and more businesses to begin conducting business over the Internet. It is entirely possible that, eventually, we will purchase everything we need online – even groceries (available already). Most eCommerce authorities only see growth in the future for eCommerce. The main obstacle to universal use and acceptance of ecommerce is the fear of identity theft and secure transactions.  The technology presently exists to prevent identity theft and maximize secure transactions.   While not flawless, maybe never flawless, ecommerce software has developed to the point where it is mostly accepted as safe and secure.

Are you offering your products for sale on the internet yet? Contact us, we are Ecommerce Experts and we know we can help.