E- commerce

E-commerce is short for ‘electronic commerce’. 

It means buying and selling goods using the Internet.

Using E-commerce gives businesses access to customers all over the word.

This is known as ‘The global market’ which is reached by means of a website.

Think of examples of websites you or your family frequently use to make purchases.

•  Customers need to own or have access to a computer and be on-line and know how to use the Internet. •  It is not easy to assess the quality and suitability of many products on the screen. • Inconvenience of returning unwanted goods. •   Customers usually have to have a credit card to make Internet purchases •  Security risks of buying on-line

•  Customers have a huge range of goods to choose from •  They can ‘shop around’ the ‘web’ for the best bargain •  Internet prices are often lower than in shops •  Customers can shop from the comfort of their own home ’24/7’

•  Access to the global market means the business will be better known •  A business using e-commerce can get ahead of its rivals •  Increased sales, leading to increased profit •  Savings on expensive showrooms •  Reduced advertising costs •  Increased sales leads to ‘economies of scale’ •  Business is open 24/7

•Being part of the global market means the business is in competition with lots of others •  Designing and keeping the website up-to-date is expensive and requires specialists •  Market research needs to be very detailed to meet the needs of customers in such a wide market •  Packing and distribution of products can be very costly and involve long distances •  Not all the businesses target customers have access to the internet.