Key Features an E-Commerce Website - Assignment Example

ESSAY: E-COMMERCE; Key features an e-commerce website and Roles of m-Commerce within the sales process for a retail organization trading online. Course: Tutor: Institution: Date: Background Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) is the form of business that involves the trading of products and services online using computer networks. It also encompasses any form of commercial transaction involving the transfer of information across the internet. Electronic business draws on numerous technologies. These includes electronic stores exchange, inventory network management, mobile commerce, stock administration systems, internet marketing automated data collection and electronic data interchange (EDI) (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.55). It covers a scope of distinctive sorts of organizations, from purchaser based retail destinations, closeout or music locales, to business trades exchanging merchandise and administrations between companies (Strader & Mennecke 2003, p. 45). It is right now a standout amongst the most critical parts of the Internet to emerge. E-commerce permits shoppers to trade products and services electronically with no hindrances of time or separation. Proper implementation of E-commerce often leads to efficiency and faster ways of transacting businesses. Such example is the Business to Business (B2B) that involves the electronic transactions between Businesses rather than between a business and a consumer (Niranjanamurthy et al., 2013, p. 2361). This form of transaction often deals with numerous other businesses as suppliers or consumers. Using the E-commerce, it becomes very efficient to transact and enjoy the competitive advantages which otherwise are not possible under the traditional transaction methods. The emergence of the E-commerce has created electronic marketplaces that bring together suppliers and the potential customers to engage in mutually beneficial businesses (Chavie 2014, p. 25). The process of making an effective online store can be troublesome if one is uninformed of e-commerce standards and what e-commerce should accomplish for your online business within a specific period. Looking into and understanding the rules needed to appropriately actualize an e-strategy for success is a significant part of getting to be fruitful with online store building which results in more sales and engagement by subscribers (Swilley 2007, p. 50). Question One Key Features that will drive sales and engagement on an e-commerce website Flexible Shipping Options Commencing on e-commerce, an individual should identify that product which consumers are having difficulty in obtaining from the physical shopping malls and the departmental stores. Also, some commodities are very expensive to ship and, therefore; there is a need for a website that is catchy and attracts a crowd to the site (Key 2009, p.45). When the prospective customers see from the website that the goods are frequently being bought, they will also shop, and this will increase the company’s sales. The website should provide a variety of shipping options that prospective customer’s desires and the choices should also be able to handle much shipping situations that ranges from simple instances to very complex situations. For example, it is noted that dog food is very expensive to ship, therefore, the need to have an e-commerce website that have shopping cart capabilities (Brandimarte 2011, p.36). Flexible shipping choices will improve sales for the business because it makes the products available to prospective customers on demand and they can obtain the goods easily by making orders online without necessarily having to incur the transport and other after-service costs. The comments and feedbacks received from the customers improve the engagement between the users and the company (Strader & Mennecke 2003, p. 47). Shopping Cart Checkout A study by the Baymard Institute discovered that about 67.45% of shopping carts are abandoned by esteemed customers before they shopping are completed during checkout. This often occurs due to unclear and proper guidelines on shopping carts and checkout (Huang 2008, p. 48). It also indicates lack of engagement between the users and the business, hence there is lack of persuasion to the customers to complete their purchases either through some form of discount offers or to give the prospective customers free shipping. This form of persuasions improves the sales of the business and customer engagement can be enhanced (Niranjanamurthy et al., 2013, p. 2363). Proper e-commerce website should, therefore, provide its prospective customers with the convenience and efficient free shopping carts that are highly integrated. The website should also have a secure checkout experience that will make the customers complete their shopping in case of any breakdown or crushing of their computers. To avoid instances of abandoned carts and unfinished online shopping, the business should create a recovery email in their website that encourages customers to return to their carts and finish their shopping (Darie & Watson 2004, p.50). For effectiveness, the website should create automatic shopping cart software immediately an individual creates a store with the business, hence enabling faster transactions. These features on the website will greatly improve the sales of the business as it will attract a large crowd to the site who are likely to make purchases due to the efficiency and good customer services. The features will also improve the engagement with the customers as there is immediate feedback on the customers’ complaints and comments (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.59). Powerful E-commerce Website Builder and Modern Templates and Storefronts Getting your store up and running is as essential as picking an outline topic, including your items, setting up delivery and selecting your favoured approach to acknowledge instalments. The kind of theme chosen should be very attractive and enticing to the customers thereby attracting huge traffic to the site. These clients are likely to make purchases hence increasing the company’s sales (Chavie 2014, p. 27). The website should also create a storefront for customers to modify as much or as meagre as the client would wish for, including the alternative for full CSS/HTML control and editing. These will drive engagement between the users hence efficiency in the business transactions (Swilley 2007, p. 55). In order for the business or company to also attract massive traffic to their website, they should browse an extensive mixture of cutting edge and extraordinary e-commerce layouts and shading palette mixes to outline the ideal search for your online store. These should be very easy to use without much complications or difficulty (Brandimarte 2011, p.39). The business can showcase emphasized items, order things for simple scanning, alter textual styles, and characterize photograph show alternatives to make a store youll be pleased to impart. When the site is very attractive and pleasing to the prospective customers, they will get engaged and attached to the site most of the time, and this increases their chances of making purchases or posting their demands. This will give the business the idea of market demands. Hence, they will know what to provide to improve their online sales (Key 2009, p.49). Powerful Filtered Product Search Give customers a quicker approach to discover precisely what they need. Make sure that on the website, there is provision that highlights the most applicable items that are available for the purchase and let your clients filter the outcomes by traits like value, color, and so on. Separated item inquiry helps you boost introduction over the greater part of your stock and make additionally purchasing opportunities (Niranjanamurthy et al., 2013, p. 2364). This kind of exposure to the filtered products by the business will help attract traffic to the site creating a high chance of increasing the sales of the business by attracting large number of customers due to the relevancy and uniqueness of the company products. Complete Mobile Store and Checkout The e-commerce website should be able to give customers a versatile experience that works each time from any gadget, having very minimal inconveniences. This guarantees individual’s online store and items load rapidly and shows flawlessly (Swilley 2007, p. 59). This kind of service will lure many prospective clients to the site, and they will be likely to make purchases for the displayed products due to their attractiveness. All e-commerce sites incorporate a free mobile shopping cart and secure checkout experience that is intended to work flawlessly on littler screens like mobile phones and tablets. These will improve the relationships between the clients and the business because the customers will be able to access the sites from the comfort of their homes in their phones and not necessarily must they have computers (Strader & Mennecke 2003, p. 60). This closeness, therefore, enhances engagement in the business as the customers’ specifications, comments, and complaints are met promptly by the management. Integration of an Instagram Recent studies on the effectiveness of Instagram on the e-commerce indicates that most brands of products in the online trade show 25% more engagement with their users than it is on other social networks. To improve that engagement and have an enormous traffic on the site, the e-commerce website must try to use appropriate filters, right hashtags and also the business should post their products and services on the site at the right times when many people are visiting the sites (Huang 2008, p. 49).Another unique way of engaging the customers is the use of pictures and photos of different clients who are using the company’s products in different places at different periods. This will entice the prospective customers who will have the desire to purchase the products their colleagues have bought (Chavie 2014, p. 29). By doing this, the company stands a higher chance of improving their sales when the customers make the purchases. To expand the sales more, the business, therefore, need to continue building the Instagram traffic and engage the clients more and more using different methods of attraction. Another big platform of attracting more people to the e-commerce site is by creating a Facebook page (Brandimarte 2011, p.44). Creating an attractive Facebook page will attract many people that use Facebook to like the page. When many individuals like the company’ page having their products and services on it, they will be enticed to visit the e-commerce website where through proper engagement with the business administration, they are likely to make purchases. Making purchases from the e-commerce website will then drives the company’s sales curve positively (Swilley 2007, p. 68). Android and iPhone Apps The e-commerce website should have mobile applications which will make it very easy and efficient to manage the business online store from anywhere. This will make it possible for the organization to process and fulfil orders made by the clients on their demands and thereby facilitating trade (Chavie 2014, p. 30). These applications will also enable the business to offer personalized services to different customers and respond to customer inquiries from different diversity, and this encourages customer engagement with the administration building their trust with the organization. With the help of iPhone and Android apps, the e-business will be able to notify the prospective customers when new products have been shipped, check sales figures in real-time and then receive prompt notifications whenever a new order is placed on the website (Key 2009, p.50). Having these apps in the mobile phones will enable the customers access the business from anywhere, and the mobile phones are very portable (Strader & Mennecke 2003, p. 55). As the customers visit another social site such as the Twitter, they stand a high chance of getting lured to the e-commerce website which is facilitated by the use of the applications that are compatible with the Android gadgets. Visiting the e-website can increase the purchases which eventually drive sales upwards (Swilley 2007, p. 55). Question Two Role of mCommerce within the sales process for a retail organization trading online. M-commerce refers to the developing practice of leading budgetary and special exercises with the utilization of a wireless handheld gadget. The term m-commerce is short for mobile commerce, and perceives that the exchanges may be directed to utilizing phones, individual computerized aides and other hand held gadgets that have work with Internet access (Huang 2008, p. 55). Mobile e-business, m-commerce further portrays the developing pattern of utilizing systems that interface with wireless gadgets, for example, laptops, handheld PCs or cellular telephones to start or complete online electronic business exchanges. Mobile commerce includes all sort of electronic exchanges by the utilization of cell phone (Niranjanamurthy et al., 2013). Internet shopping or web retailing is a type of electronic business which permits shoppers to specifically purchase products or services from a dealer over the Internet utilizing a web browser from the comfort of their residences without necessarily having to go to the business premises or incur the transportation costs (Darie & Watson 2004, p.60). Some of the major factors that have led to the emergence and wide use of the m-Commerce in the online retail business includes; increased mobility of the cellphones, widespread of powerful mobile devices, retailers push to use mobile in the transactions and the service economy culture (Qinghe 2014, p.74). Other driving factors include the mobile work force, the handset culture and improvement of bandwidth in the mobile networks. The use of the m-Commerce is growing due to the rising insecurity in the online transactions during making payments, hence it provides an easier and cheaper way of making payments for the online purchases (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.65). According to the studies by the Internet Retailer, it is noted that retail sales using mobile commerce in the United States have increased by 101% in the year 2014 as compared to the statistics of 2013 this, therefore, emphasizes how vital role m-commerce is playing in the e-commerce. Examples of the roles of m-Commerce within the sales process for a retail organization trading online may be such as; Providing a Wider Search The use of mobile phones and tablets enables the customers to have a wider search for the online businesses with ease and from anywhere they are located. As a major aspect of this movement to mobile, new tools and administrations are taking computerized business outside of customary boulevards and permitting individuals to find rapidly and purchase items wherever they may be globally (Chavie 2014, p. 31) Vendors have the capacity to achieve clients past their store or on their site, and can drive them towards a sale. This stands a chance of changing the consumer’s shopping behavior and their tastes for products as they are accessed to variety of products in the global e-market for window shopping and this will eventually trigger their purchasing choices hence increasing the sales for the business (Swilley 2007, p. 55). Mobile applications such as Browsy, Pixbi and Soldsie have enabled prospective purchasers to identify and purchase items on their pages. Browsy app helps the customers create custom boards that acts as the user’s shopping cart and therefore facilitating easy purchase. Soldsie helps Instagram and Facebook users to accomplish their purchases by just making comments on the items that suites their tastes and preferences and this makes the sellers to upload the products for purchase (Qinghe 2014, p.65). Pixbi on the other hand, enables the buyers to view, share and purchase goods by tapping on the product that interest them and the app then recognizes the product then offers a check-out option after completion of the transaction. As each of the three applications show, trade is moving far from the built structures of computerized shopping. The rising use of digital devices and services has changed how advanced business streams making customers find rapidly and purchase items on a more extensive mixture of stages brands and thereby giving them new chances to obtain their products from a variety of choices globally. This greatly improves the sales of the businesses (Brandimarte 2011, p.44). Reducing the Transaction Costs Through the help of m-Commerce, most companies and businesses can reach the consumers from wherever they are and create one-on-one marketing relationships with them where they could easily communicate directly to the esteemed customers. Most manufacturers having direct contacts with their customers can make direct sells to the clients that have already identified the products that they want to buy (Key 2009, p.45). This saves the companies the enormous costs of transporting commodities to the market before necessarily identifying the consumers who are already interested in the products. The use of mobile commerce, therefore, has made it easier for companies to transact their businesses with very minimal transaction costs (Qinghe 2014, p.74). M-commerce has also given the chance to the shoppers to compare prices from different and variety of sellers worldwide without incurring any cost of visiting the sellers’ premises. This also reduces the transaction costs that the buyers would incur when window shopping around to identify the vendor that offers the cheapest but high-quality product. Through the help of m-commerce, prospective customers are now able to search for products they need and the available costs from the comfort of their homes (Darie & Watson 2004, p.55). Streaming Business Processes and Operations A hearty mobile commerce motivation, including a completely coordinated mobile application, gives clients aggregate control over the purchase process. Engaged in the accommodation of cell phones or tablets, customers can schedule and track conveyances progressively, get item receipts and make payments straightforwardly from the field (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.45). This often happens efficiently with very minimal risks of damages and delays involved and also very minimal transport cost incurred in the delivery. For wholesalers, streamlined purchase methods decipher into better consumer loyalty and bigger request volumes and this stands a chance of increasing the company’s sales by a larger margin and also enlarge the customer base and scope of operation (Brandimarte 2011, p.50). This arises because the customers after the descent services will lure other customers to the company, thereby increasing the customer scope. By giving clients mobile organization toward oneself abilities, wholesalers can make a more effective order process by diminishing the trouble available in call centres and client administration staff (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.90). Examples of business processes being streamlined by the use of mobile commerce is the Allstate’s launch of mobile insurance claim payments that is aimed at streamlining the often tedious and long process of making insurance claim payments (Niranjanamurthy et al 2013, p. 220. This is viewed as increasing convenience most importantly during periods of extreme crisis. With the introduction of the service, customers are now able to make direct payments to insurer bank accounts with the help of e-payment from wherever they are (Qinghe 2014, p.66). Another of such streamlining strategies is the Micro Strategy application that was introduced by Coach to help him and the business in digitize and streamline his retail business. Using the microSrategy’s platform, the business owner can monitor and examine the sales from wherever he is. This makes the management able to track their inventories closely so as to identify when and what to introduce into their website to improve the sales volume. The method also minimizes risks and costs of hiring so many staff at the workplaces and based on the data information obtained from the MicroStrategy, Coach is able to make viable decisions on how to serve his customers best so as to increase the sales. Moreover, make more flexible his services suit the ever changing consumer tastes and demands (Chavie 2014, p. 34). Improve Service Delivery Administration request methodologies can be wasteful. In a common administration situation, experts get a predefined course or a rundown of administration calls that doesnt consider the retractions and postponements that happen for the duration of the day, bringing about squandered staff hours and client dissentions (Darie & Watson 2004, p.64).. Mobile service requests make a more light-footed and responsive administration process. Instead of working as indicated by a static day by day plan, experts land dynamic guidelines and position assignments taking into account their current areas and accessibility. Not all wholesalers and wholesalers are grasping mobile commerce advances at the same pace (Key 2009, p.55). Anyway taking into account the current inclination and practices of B2B clients overall commercial ventures, it is noted that organizations that are organizing the usage of mobile commerce techniques will be at the forefront in its usage, while those companies that overlook the importance of using mobile commerce in transactions are likely to miss out on the chance to interface with an expansive (and developing) fragment of the commercial center (Qinghe 2014, p.74). Those companies that embrace the use of the mobile commerce (M-Commerce) will improve on their methods of service delivery since due to their close contacts with the clients, they will be able to obtain viable feedbacks that they can improve on incase of defaults or failures (Darie & Watson 2004, p.62). This will also enable the companies to get information on the market demands and the type of products that the prospective customers need most going by the market structures. The overall effect of these is the increase sales volume to the business with minimal costs incurred (Swilley 2007, p. 66). Reduces Time is taken to Order The use of mobile phones in online transactions is noted to improve time management in between the transactions either between customers or the supplier and the buyer from different diversities (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.77). Using the traditional methods of trading, one had to go to the supplier’s premises to make an order then wait for the delivery of the product to the buyer’s premises. This often was very expensive and time-consuming and could discourage most prospective buyers. This form of transaction also limited customers on the variety of the products that are available in the market and the scope of operations (Key 2009, p.55). With the emergence and current use of mobile commerce in the online business, making orders for purchases has been made very efficient and very easy. The customers do not necessarily have to visit the suppliers’ premises but just by a click on the products website, a customer can make a purchase and the delivery of the product is also easier and at the purchaser’s door step (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.88). The time taken to make an order using the mobile phones is very minimal and can take just a few seconds to make an order for the desired product and also making payments for the commodities has been facilitated. This has saved the customers from the tedious and long queues at the banks in order to make payments for commodities (Qinghe 2014, p.77). Due to the minimal time taken in the sites when making orders for purchases, the prospective customers can therefore get time to make numerous orders as the websites also provides variety of products to choose hence the customers are not limited to a few products. This will improve the sale volume for the online retailers as many prospective customers can make purchases at the same time and also they take very short time than that taken using traditional methods (Huang 2008, p. 60). Competitive Pricing In m-commerce, the prospective customers are exposed to variety of suppliers that mostly deal in similar products and so providing a wide range of product choices since accessing them is very easy at the comfort of their homes and they need to have electricity always. Due to this, there is high competition among the suppliers who will tend to ensure they maintain their market scope and their customers (Reynonds & Stair 2013, p.66). This competition will then lead to price wars among the suppliers and eventually making most of them to lower the prices in order to attract customers to their website so that they can make purchases. Many customers will then be attracted to the sites with low prices of the products than the sites that have expensive products. Having many customers on the site of a retail business who are making purchases, increases increase chances of increasing sales by the retailers than raising the price of goods. This competitive pricing will, therefore, enhance service delivery and customer satisfaction by the retailers (Darie & Watson 2004, p.66). List of References Brandimarte, P 2011, Quantitative methods an introduction for business management. N.J.: Wiley, Hoboken Chavie, R 2014, Mobile Commerce: Can It Streamline Order Management For Distributors? The American Business Journal, Vol. 25, Issue 5, June 4, pp. 24-30 Darie, C., & Watson, K 2004, Beginning ASP.NET 1.1 e-commerce from novice to professional, Berkeley, Calif.: A press. Huang, W 2008, Global mobile commerce strategies, implementation, and case studies. Hershey: Information Science Reference, London. Accessed on 22 March 2015 from Key, P 2009, Handbook of Research on Mobile Marketing Management, IGI Global, Washington DC. Niranjanamurthy M., Kavyashree N, Jagannath, S., Dharmendra, C 2013, Analysis of E-Commerce and M-Commerce: Advantages, Limitations and Security issues, International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering Vol. 2, Issue 6, June, pp.2360-2370. Accessed on 22 March 2015 from Qinghe, Y 2014, The online shopping change the retail business model: A survey of the people uses online shopping in China. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 5, pp.77-110. Reynolds, G. & Stair, R 2013, Fundamentals of Information Systems, Cengage Learning Printers, New York. Strader, J. & Mennecke, B 2003, Mobile Commerce: Technology, Theory, and Applications, Idea Group Inc., London. Accessed on 22 March 2015 from Swilley, E 2007, An Empirical Examination of the Intent of Firms to Adopt Mobile Commerce as a Marketing Strategy, ProQuest Publishers, Oxford Read More