Importance of E-Commerce Solution for Online Company

Simply put, E-Commerce is the conducting of business electronically, and includes activities such as buying and selling goods and services or exchanging information through established communications networks.

Prior to the 1980’s, the term E-Commerce was used to describe sending and receiving business communications by landline telephones, telex & telecopiers, fax machines and similar equipment. Once considered  leading edge E-Commerce technology,  these somewhat archaic tools have been replaced with an array of modern electronic E-Commerce devices, including Laptop & Tablet Computers, iPads, Smartphones, PDAs, and even Gaming Consoles.  

E-Commerce transactions fall under four major categories, the most common being Business to Consumer, or B2C, which involves sales to and purchases by the public. In terms of sales volume, the leading E-Commerce category is B2B, or Business to Business, with literally hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions annually. Examples of  B2B E-Commerce transactions are purchases and sales among manufacturers, distributors and retailers.  

Consumer to Business, or C2B, is E-Commerce involving consumers offering goods or services to businesses over the Internet, usually through an intermediary such as a broker or discount travel site. The fourth most common E-Commerce category is Consumer to Consumer, or C2C, which is online business conducted directly between consumers, such as buying or selling on eBay or through postings on Craigslist.

E-Commerce goes beyond selling online and exchanging information electronically. Some common E-Commerce applications include everyday activities like Online Bill Paying, Banking, Teleconferencing, Instant Messaging, and even marketing through Social Media Web Design such as Facebook and Twitter. Other E-Commerce uses are document transfer, data storage , downloading and purchasing movies and books, searching and paying for travel reservations online, data storage & retrieval, membership and license renewals, credit and employment applications – the list is almost endless, and with exciting new applications being introduced daily, the potential of E-Commerce is limited only by the imagination.

Much to the discomfort of retail property owners and developers, the increasingly popular E-Commerce methods of selling to consumers through the Internet have resulted in traditional “Bricks and Mortar” establishments rapidly being replaced by “virtual” shops and malls. Sometimes called “E-Malls”, potential customers can access these online stores any hour of the day wherever an Internet connection is available. 

Conventional retailers are realizing the importance of also maintaining an E-Commerce site. Once hesitant to make the transition  from traditional methods of doing business to E-Commerce, companies and consumers alike are becoming increasingly more comfortable shopping online, and the trend is expected to continue. Easily outpacing conventional sales outlets, E-Commerce, although still in its infancy, is here stay.