eCommerce Basics

Although eCommerce has been around for a long time and remains the foundation on which most internet activity occurs, many people are still unfamiliar with some of the eCommerce basics. Because millions of people around the globe us this type of online service, both as a buyer and seller, and this being a multi-billion revenue stream, we felt it important to provide an overview of what eCommerce is, how it works, and what the future holds.

 

Although eCommerce has been around for a long time and remains the foundation on which most internet activity occurs, many people are still unfamiliar with some of the eCommerce basics. Because millions of people around the globe us this type of online service, both as a buyer and seller, and this being a multi-billion revenue stream, we felt it important to provide an overview of what eCommerce is, how it works, and what the future holds.

 

The easiest way to define eCommerce is an online storefront (website) through which products and/or services are sold around the world. For a time, eCommerce focused primarily on tangible items such as clothing, electronics, housewares, etc. but in recent years, this form of online selling has broadened to include virtually any type of business activity whereby a sales cycle is attached. For instance, financial advisors can sell information, knowledge, and services for financial planning, taxes, estates, wealth management, investments, and more.

 

eCommerce versus eBusiness

 

Now, one important thing to understand is that sometimes, people will refer to eCommerce as “eBusiness” and vice versa but the two terms are not interchangeable. The difference is that eBusiness is simply a company, regardless of size or industry that maintains a website through which potential and existing customers can learn about the company, executives and officers, company philosophy, etc. However, the difference is that with eCommerce, these same companies would also have something to sell, whether in the form of products and/or services.

 

Keep in mind that the possibilities associated with eCommerce are virtually endless although overall, this online solution has been categorized as having four, maybe five dimensions, which include the following.

 

Dimensions of eCommerce

 

The first dimension includes businesses, both activities and processes consisting of a life cycle:

 

• Sales and Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Product and Market Research
• Fulfillment
• Payment
• Customer Service and Support

 

Then for the second dimension, this would be focused on technologies, those designed to automate the life cycle:

 

• Website Design
• Website Hosting
• Network
• Website Monitoring and Tracking
• Online Security

 

For the third eCommerce dimension, this includes entities involved in making the site successful:

 

• Regulatory Agencies (government)
• Consumers and End-Users
• Corporations and Institutions
• Website Designer and Webmaster

 

The fourth dimension encompasses actual industries or sectors:

 

• eTailing
• eLearning (includes distance and online learning)
• Matchmaking and Dating Services
• Trading, Financial, and Investment Services

 

While some people consider eCommerce as having a fifth dimension, others do not but for those that do, this would cover market segments broken down by geography.

 

The benefits associated with eCommerce are varied, vast, and tremendous. For one thing, this technology makes it possible for people all over the world to buy and sell. Therefore, eCommerce is a highly efficient and readily available type of social media networking, making business transactions far more sophisticated and intelligent. With this solution, several specific areas provide benefits such as availability of global networking, which is the internet, digitalization of information, or sales, inventory, and fulfillment, among others, greater efficiency for capturing information, processing, storing, and facilitating business intelligence from data, and much more.

 

The truth is that no matter what product and/or service is being sold, eCommerce solutions are limited only by the company owner’s vision and creativity. In other words, there really are no limitations, making eCommerce the ideal tool for building and growing a successful business. Individuals that provide services or sell products from the home, small mom and pop shops selling handcrafted wares, and large corporations that sell valuable intelligence all benefit.

 

Considering how far eCommerce solutions have come, it is exciting to think what the next few years will hold as internet connections become faster and more stable and website designs more robust yet easy to navigate. For instance, some of the up and coming trends will be made possible because of EDI technical difficulties being overcome. However, the future of eCommerce includes standardization being developed specific to all eCommerce sites.

 

Additionally, thanks to broadband applications to include online gaming, video-on-demand, and others, the consumer market will be greatly impacted. For instance, rather than an eCommerce site merely telling potential customers about products and/or services being sold in words, the information would be in the form of multimedia applications that bring the message to life.