E-commerce: The future of market or commerce

What is E-commerce?


Image result for E commerceE-commerce or Electronic-commerce refers to the exchange of goods and services online by apps and websites. E-commerce is the future of markets or commerce. 


Related imageE-commerce is one of the fastest-growing industries in the global economy. As an estimate, it increases 23% per year. And it is projected to be $27 trillion industry by the end of this decade.


How it rose up?

According to the 2016 census 50% of the world"s population on the internet and it is increasing at a very high speed. As internet users are increasing the businesses are also coming on the internet.


Types of E-commerce models
It can be classified into four models

1. Business to Business

This is Business to Business transactions. Here the companies are doing business with each other. The final consumer is not involved. So the online transactions only involve the manufactures, wholesalers, retailers, etc.

2. Business to Consumer

Business to Consumer. Here the company will sell their goods and/or services directly to the consumer. The consumer can browse their websites and look at products, pictures, read reviews. Then they place their order and the company ships the goods directly to them. Popular examples are Amazon, Flipkart, Jabong, etc.
3. Consumer to Consumer
Consumer to consumer, where the consumers are in direct contact with each other. No company is involved. It helps people sell their personal goods and assets directly to an interested party. Usually, goods traded are cars, bikes, electronics etc. OLX, Quikr etc follow this model.
4. Consumer to Business
This is the reverse of B2C, it is a consumer to business. So the consumer provides a good or some service to the company. Say for example an IT freelancer who demos and sells his software to a company. This would be a C2B transaction.


Advantages of E-commerce

Related image

  • E-commerce provides sellers with a global reach.
  • E-commerce will substantially lower the transaction cost.
  • This allows companies to enjoy a much higher margin of profit.
  • Electronic commerce will substantially lower the transaction cost. 
  • It eliminates many fixed costs of maintaining brick and mortar shops. 
  • It provides quick delivery of goods with very little effort on part of the customer. 
  •  It also saves time, energy and effort for both the consumers and the company.
  • A customer can shop 24×7


Disadvantages of E-Commerce

  • The start-up costs of the e-commerce portal are very high. 
  • The setup of the hardware and the software, the training cost of employees, the constant maintenance and upkeep are all quite expensive.
  • Although it may seem like a sure thing, the e-commerce industry has a high risk of failure.
  • Security is another area of concern.
  • Then there are also fulfillment problems. Even after the order is placed there can be problems with shipping, delivery, mix-ups, etc.
How to Earn from E-commerce?
There are many ways to earn from E-commerce. Example-
  • By making an online store.
  • By blogging
  • Invest in a good PIM software solution
  • Invest in search marketing.
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Social website marketing
  • And many other ways are there.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Diwali : A festival or threat to nature ?