Introduction to E-commerce: meaning and Definition.
Introduction
Internet has revolutionized the way business is conducted nowadays. Electronic networks allow people to transcend the barriers of time and distance and take advantages of global markets and business opportunities.
E-commerce has become a necessary component of business strategy, planning and economic development in the emerging global economy. The integration of information and communications technology in business has revolutionized relationships within organizations and those between and among organizations and individuals. the results of the use of information and communication Technology in business has enhanced productivity, encouraged greater customer participation, and enabled mass customization, besides reducing costs. Most major corporations and organizations have websites for e-commerce related activities and they want to maintain high availability of their web sites and satisfactory services to their users.
Meaning of E-Commerce
Electronic commerce consists of all business activities carried on with the use of electronic media, that is, computer network. It involves conducting business with the help of the electronic media, making use of the information technology such as electronic data interchange.
It Includes:
Business-to-Business
Business-to-consumer
Consumer-to-consumer transactions
that involve the buying and selling of goods and services, the transfer of funds, and even the exchange of ideas. Customers can purchase anything right from a shirt or a car from his home and gift it to someone sitting miles apart just by click of a mouse. Few direct benefits of e-commerce or some of the main reasons for the increase in electronic trading are:
- Cost Saving.
- Improvement in productivity.
- Better customer service.
- facilities distant trade with efficiency.
- Online shopping.
- Providing price comparison.
- transparent information regarding the product
- Opportunities for new business.
- Easy accessibility to the internet.
- Access to global markets for venders.
- Greater choice and potentially lower prices for purchasers.
- Lower inventory costs for venders.
- The ability to enter new markets more easily.
- Easy availability of all kinds of services.
Definition of E-Commerce:
E-Commerce means buying and selling products and/or services over the internet by means of computers sending and processing electronic transmissions to each other. E-Commerce is used everywhere in everyday life. It ranges from credit card authorization, travel reservations over a network, wire fund transfers across a globe, point of sale transactions in retailing, electronic banking, fund raising, political campaigning, and auctioneering, online education and training and soon.