E-commerce

== =Introduction=

toc As the Internet and World Wide Web become commonly use in every household in recent years, it is obvious that e-commerce, a branch of technology and business are incredibility rising. There are more and more E-commerce sites available on the Internet, including the few famous sites such as [|Amazon], eBay, and [|Dell]. Many major industries have noticed the significant rise of the Internet, so they started selling products through their websites and even have delivery services for customers. Therefore, it is possible to buy everything through the Internet nowadays. You can buy your computer from Dell’s website, do your grocery shopping through Loblaws’s website, buy your clothes through major clothing industries like Guess or Bluenotes, and even buy your books and electronic products through Future Shop or Best Buy. But industries often perform delivery with extra charge, or simply include the charge on the price listed. E-commerce had become more popular globally, and there are some issues, challenges, and opportunities that need to be identified using the e-commerce sites. There are some aspects for successful globalized e-commerce sites, in which they have multi-lingual support, multi-language customer care, international shipping, and other aspects. Also, this essay would talk about how e-commerce transactions works along with the changes and the benefits that have received by using the e-commerce sites.

=Everyday Issues with E-commerce=

Although e-commerce is quite convenient, there are some issues that keep consumers away for online shopping. Online fraud will be the most common issue for e-commerce. From conducted researches, it was found that online credit card scams are 12 times higher than if a consumer purchase the product in the store. As a result, consumers lack the confidence to shop online. Harris Interactive says that approximate 70 percent of consumers worry about the transaction being insecure online, and this lead to a $15 billion drop in online purchasing. Online commerce sites should be really careful about the security of the transactions. Protect online privacy is a big challenge for the commerce site. When you purchase on the Internet, first thing you need to do is to create an account using your credit card number, address, name, birthday, and basically all your information. Many consumers would fear that their private information would be given out to strangers without any sign, and this would lead to consumers unwilling to give out information on the Internet. The sites should post a privacy statement that clearly states how personal information will be used and whether the information is going to be used beyond the transaction. One of the surveys says consumers will leave the sites if the privacy policy is unclear. A successful website should provide secure transaction for the consumers and protect consumer privacy.

A variety of demographics are resistant to change or prefer to safeguard their personal information. Although it seems hard to find fault in such a marvellous technology, there is a significant market segment that is resistant to accept everything digital, with good reason. Many people are quite hesitant about revealing personal credit information, to a company that exists in a non-physical environment, in exchange for physical goods. For example, internet statistics show that key segments of the population are still either not participating in e-commerce or resistant to join the online community at all. “Globally, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of respondents say they are concerned about online security, especially the potential misuse of their credit cards”[1]However, many of these fears and misinterpretations are without warrant and are based solely on rumour and media exploitation. “Only 1 percent of adults surveyed say they have been the victim of online fraud and just 6 percent say they know of someone who has been”[2] Consequently, e-commerce expansion has suffered, thereby limiting its appeal to those who view the security technology trustworthy and reliable. A major challenge to toppling this myth has been assuring users that their most private information will not be used by any third party to target them with malicious or frivolous content.

=Benefits from E-commerce=

Many people doubt e-commerce benefits from developing countries. In fact, there are several advantages. Firstly e-commerce lowers the cost for people who wish to become an online merchant. A modest investment in personal computer and internet connection cost can start a business online.Through the World Wide Web, you can access e-commerce sites from different countries. For a global e-commerce site, there are concerns about language barrier, tariff of the country on shipments, currency rate, and other many concerns. Dell computer corp. is a good example of a successful global e-commerce business. David Dix, the Global Internet PR manager says that when Dell computers went global, they tripled its sales on the Internet to 18 millions every single day. There are some aspects of the global e-commerce sites, in which they have to convert their sites to fit local languages, provide multi-language customer service, convert their sites to fit culturally relevant content, and provide currency checkers for selling products oversea. As e-commerce is accessible on a global scale, it can surely attract more international customers to the site. The IDC report pointed out that there are about 57 million web users just in Japan alone. According to Forrester, Japan could possibly produce a revenue of $1.6 trillion for the online shopping. Think about how many people are in the world? The global nature of e-commerce can definitely create a new economy.

More Advantages are
E-commerce also makes findings a lot quicker and easier as say the shop is far away from your house you can check if the product is available before you go and see it. access and availability are two main benefits. For suppliers, it's easier to source products from a wider base and as mentioned, for a cheaper cost Saves cost in other administrative processes such as invoices can be sent online saving mass amounts of paper it makes your business seem bigger than you really are because your market increases the ability to reply to customers and answer queries quicker and cheaper via email definetely helps in sustaining the market and its customers

Disadvantages
It is hard to ensure that people will visit your site because there are millions of sites out there-more difficult to reach the market directly Most people tend to prefer shopping because they can physically try on everything and know exactly what it looks like or touch or feel the product. the social and voyeuristic aspect of shopping is more popular than E commerce hence one may not profit from E commerce The risk of fraud is always there, as online shopping can be dangerous and hence if people dont trust or are apprehensive of sending out credit card information, etc.. they may not shop online for less developed countries access to internet is either nil or slow, so not everyone has equal access to the benefits of E commerce. Those companies may not be able to publicise or advertise themselves as much as those who have the money and the infrastructure in their residing countries to do so. (Dr Ecommerce, 1999)

Transactions through Online E-commerce
Transactions through the web is quite different but somehow similar to shopping in the store. There are transactions still being made by using bankcards, credit cards, or master cards, but you are not holding the card to do the purchase. Paypal is an example of the web commercial transaction system. You apply an account using your email and enter both your banking and credit card information. You can use Paypal to send and receive money. Paypal checks the bankcard information by depositing little amount of money to your bank and tell you to enter the amount of money they deposited. I used Paypal before and I think it is quite secure and convenient.

There is been some shifting for e-commerce industries in the last five years. Five years ago, there were not as many people using the web as now. People could not accept the idea of shopping through the Internet. They thought giving out information through the Internet was not secure enough. Although there are still people that think it is not secure, but more people are willing to use the web to purchase. As more people consume on the Internet, there are more competitors entering into the business. The products online are relatively cheap compared to stores. The companies are willing to ship internationally with quicker delivery. There are more global e-commerce sites being built. The sites provide more information about their products and provide more secure online transaction services. They also produce insurance if you get scammed from the site. As a result, there are more online locations with more choices, and I could decide on a product with better features at a more competitive price. As the web provides more information on products, I could have more confidence to purchase the product and more understanding on how to use the product easily.

Web purchasing has become more common nowadays, but issues and challenges such as online fraud, secure transaction, and online privacy are waiting to be overcome. If the problems are overcomed, consumers would have more confidence to spend their money on the web; in turns, could bring a lot of opportunities to the e-commerce economy. As e-commerce goes global, there will be an increasing amount of consumers, creating a new economy for the e-commerce, where everybody could benefit from the changes of e-commerce.

=E-Commerce and M-Commerce=

The revelations of E-Commerce has had on today's business world is astounding. However, something relatively new and emerging is M-Commerce. Essentially it is e-commerce in the sense that transactions are facilitated through the internet however instead with a desktop you are using a portable wireless device. E-commerce has given birth to M-Commerce.

=E-Commerce Business Models=

E-commerce models originate from two different sources; traditional business models and those developed solely for the internet. Out of the traditional commerce models, the //mail-order model// like Dell.com allows it to sell goods to customers who order it online. This model transcends from traditional retail stores as it allows international access to customers who cannot access the store in their countries, and can be considered the same as traditional stores except for with internet access allowing them functions such as browsing and bagging items. A //subscription based// //model// is one that provides access to a product, service or software for a limited amount of time, such as Anti virus programs, or digital products such as music. The //direct marketing model// works by sending unsolicited and junk E-mail called spam to mass E-mail addresses with the hope that customers will reply and purchase their products. This is a very unreliable form of E-business as consumers are wary of such marketers and scams. The //free trial// //model// allows customers a free trial of software for a limited time, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. The //digital delivery// //model// provides users digital products online, as opposed to those who get goods delivered physically by ordering online. =E-Commerce Software=

What is it?
E-Commerce Software provides an individual with all the equipment to design and organize an online business. This software is geared towards providing the customers of the online site with the most satisfactory experience.

Features
There are many different types of E-Commerce softwares some geared towards a beginning business and others to a more advanced company. These softwares range from out of the box storefronts for small businesses to fully customized solution for high volume enterprises. Some of the typical features of a E-Commerce software includes:
 * storefront design tools
 * integration with backend inventory control
 * accounting, sales and purchasing
 * web-based reporting
 * robust authentication features to ensure secure financial transactions and customer privacy

Getting A Business Started
For many businesses that are just starting up it can be very hectic and complicated in managing all the facets of the company before officially opening up. An out of the box E-Commerce software provides a quick and easy scheme towards building up a company more efficiently. Some features offered from out of the box software include: All these tools allow for a business to make strides in a positive direction and be up and running in a matter of days
 * Web-based storefront design tools
 * shopping cart templates
 * UPS, FedEx and USPS compatability
 * built-in support for secure transactions

=Online Retail User Experience Benchmarks 2004=

Key findings:

• More than half of all products are not found by keyword searches return even though products can be found by link navigation. By making improvements to internal search, the average retailers should potentially double keyword-driven sales overnight.

• Lack of standardisation. Customers can expect a markedly different experience depending on which site they visit, which is very confusing for novice e-shoppers.

• The three critical areas of focus in terms of site and revenue optimisation are: Search, Support and Promotion. All retailers can make vast improvements in these areas to help inform users so they feel comfortable about buying products online.

• Promotion and persuasion leads to increased spend. Retailers are largely ignoring deep promotions such as bundles, special offers and Amazon-style free shipping. Consumers can be persuaded to buy more products.

• Users can be categorised in the following ways: tracker, hunter or explorer. Our research shows that all customer types can be catered for with interactive product guides, advanced filtering options for search results and online customer service tools.

• Half of the sites we looked at do not adopt liquid page layouts, meaning web users need to scroll to view content even though there is about 20% extra page width unused. This is essential reading for all online retailers. Non-subscribers can download the sample for a look at the sort of data and comparisons featured within the report.


 * For the whole article please refer to [|e-consultancy]

=External Links=

Food for Thought: ECommerce

=Works Cited=

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[1] http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_2001_Oct_1/ai_79052828 [2] http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_2001_Oct_1/ai_79052828

Image: Dr Ecommerce, 1999-2001, http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ecommerce/drecommerce/answers/000256.html
 * "Ecommerce," Sincro. [|]