E-Commerce

This is the process used to distribute, buy, sell, market good and services, and transfer of funds through electronic communications or networks. And the transaction is always made online eg. buying books online, withdraw money from ATM, paying bills such as tax and paying utility bills online.


E-commerce


Forms of E-Commerce;

  • Business to Consumer (B2C)
This deals with business and consumers or customers such as buying the online book for self-use.
  • Business to Business (B2B)
This deals with two people doing business of which one business buys supplies (product to resale) from another.
  • Business to Government (B2G)
Here business is conducted electronically with the government.


E-commerce activities are done through IT facilities, computers, mobile phones etc. Its also important to note that mobile phones as one of IT facilities used mostly by majority of people in the world. Mobile phone is more personal and convenient to use and hence it has attracted E-commerce. The device is used to carry out electronic ticketing, online shopping, payments for goods and services, financial transactions, banking, weather updates, and theatre programmes.

IT facilities are used to process information such as typing, storage, and sharing; accounting and bookkeeping, inventory management, communication, display of goods and service, marketing research, customer relationship management, developing and managing business networks, banking, e-payment, advertising and direct marketing.

In order to effectively distribute, market and sell goods or services online, one needs certain features only found on E-commerce sites. Features may include a shopping cart, ability to process credit cards, online product catalogue, automated inventory system, databases, bulk email programme, statistics tracking and other non-computer technologies such as product warehousing and shipping transportation.

E-commerce basically began in 1994 when Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com out of his own garage. Ever since that time, increasing number of stores and other business have been launched eg. eBay, Dell, Wal-Mart etc. Millions of consumers/customers worldwide are actively shopping and buying goods and services through Web-based stores or retailers. The statistics shows online revenue have been increasing year after year, good sign for a future business prospect.