In present scenario E-Commerce is playing very essential role in the online
business. Although it is one of the best & cheapest intermediate for reaching out to
new customers in the online market, if e-commerce implemented effectively, it
also offers a smart way of doing online business & expanding it more.
An online business eCommerce podium is planned & implemented to make the
most of its reach to potential customers and provide them with a convenient,
satisfying & protected shopping experience.
Advantages of E-Commerce to the Online Business
E-Commerce helps to Increase the sales revenue to the business
Business people can spend less money and earn high profits with e-commerce
It is very Easier to scale up online
Easily we can track the segment of customers who are happy with purchasing
goods through online
Avoid losing sales to competitors who are online
Instantaneous global sales presence in quick time
We can Operate the business in 24 *7 basis
Easily we can increase our business customers
We set up shop anywhere in the world, self-governing of geographical
Inexpensive way to turn your Web site into a revenue center
Reduce Customer Support costs via e-mail marketing & customary newsletters
We can create customized mailing list
Easily we can drive free traffic to the website
Instantly we can develop our business across the internet by using various e-
commerce strategies
Customers can easily buy their products by using different payment gateways
Develop more shopping carts by using e-commerce
We can easily promote our business website by using various promotional
activities such as Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management,
Email Marketing, Social Media Optimization, Online Banner Advertisement,
Online Branding and Affiliate Management etc
B2C - business to consumer
In the Australian context B2C (business to consumer) trading activity has
been slow to take off as at first consumers had doubts about the security of
credit card transactions.
Initial B2C trading focused on music CDs, software and books - items which
were compact and easily shipped and where prices could be slashed once the
a good example of this. These products pushed the perimeters of the market
out for goods bought on-line.
Books and CDs are relatively generic products. A CD bought in the US will
have the same music and quality as one bought locally (the exception is the
cover art) and so there is no doubt in the consumers mind exactly what the
product is. This is not the case with clothing, where sizes can confuse the
purchase decision... and where tactile senses figure strongly in the
purchasing decision.
Ebay has really transform purchasing behaviour on the web. Many people
have made their first ecommerce transaction on Ebay. Many people sell on
Ebay too, given raise to the work-from-home/drop shipping model of
ecommerce.
Interestingly though B2C transactions of previously localised or hard to find
products can be extremely strong. If you have a unique product that is highly
relevant to a niche audience, you are likely to do very well on the web.
Although sales are increasing rapidly on the Internet, the volume of turnover
figures continue to fail short of industry estimates. But as retail web sites
become more navigable and privacy policies are displayed, more people will
B2B - business to business
On the Internet, B2B (business to business) is the exchange of products or
services between businesses rather than between businesses and consumers.
Although early interest centered on the growth of retailing on the Internet,
forecasts are that B2B revenue will far exceed B2C revenue in the near
future.
According to studies published in early 2000, the money volume of B2B
exceeds that of B2C by 10 to 1. Over the next five years, B2B is expected to
have a compound annual growth of 41%.
Payment Gateways
Both PayPal and Paymate offer credit card to bank account payments. Using
one of these services you can invoice a customer, they can pay on Paymate
and the funds will be deposited in your bank account ... less a transaction
fee.
Unlike a credit card merchant facility you will not have ongoing, minimum
monthly fees... and the transaction fee is better than what most card
companies offer small merchants. Additional these service are being backed
into other ecommerce sites and shopping carts. Ebay for example uses
The Rise and Rise of Auction Sites
Auction sites such as Ebay and TradeMe have done an enormous amount to
get ordinary people involved in online trading. Today many Ebay merchants
are establishing their own web sites to avoid Ebay and Pay Pal fees. They
have learnt about how to present their product in their Ebay store and what
issues are important to their customers in purchasing their product and now
they are ready to start their own web site.
Security
On the Internet, security is handled by passing "keys" between Internet
server and client browser. When entering a secure site your browser is
passed a public key by which transactions between you and the web server
are encrypted. The servers key is always kept private.
On your web site security can be handled two ways - depending on your
budget. You can "piggyback" on someone else's "key" or you can register
and pay for your own key or SSL certificate at Thwate or Verisign.
Generally today businesses who host web sites offer access to a secure
server and you can use their server and secure certificate for less than if you
However the person browsing your site will notice the URL change to one
they do not recognise - or trust. This may put your customers off (although
there is no evidence of this). Therefore one of the advantages of buying your
own key would be to have a URL for your secure pages that is consistent
with the rest of your site.
Presently, in Australia, Verisign may sell you a key for over $800 while
foreign ecommerce providers like Instant SSL can sell it for $150. Although
Verisign will argue that their key comes with a range of value add benefits,