Marketing - Ways in Which E-Commerce Is Practiced - Assignment Example

? E-commerce E-commerce New technologies have introduced innovations and ways of conducting businesses. E-commerce is oneof those innovations (Tuten, 2010). It is a practice that involves transaction and facilitation of businesses through the Internet. The popular ways in which e-commerce is practiced is all about buying and selling of products online. However, there are other activities, which revolve around e-commerce (Langer, 2002). This means that all the transactions in e-commerce are conducted electronically. There are numerous speculations suggesting that e-commerce is the best thing that ever happened, however, some scholars seem to differ with this statement (Microsoft Corporation, 1999). This paper will look at both sides of the situations and some of the e-commerce platforms that are available. Online Shopping It is one of the popular means of e-commerce across the globe. The sellers usually create an online storefront, which is equivalent to a retail shop. The buyers will then have to buy products by clicking on to the things they want (Langer, 2002). One of the pioneer online shops is Amazon.com. It is still one of the famous online destinations around the world. Electronic Payment It is vital for one to understand that goods that are usually bought online are usually paid for by online payment (Microsoft Corporation, 2000). They usually use payment gateways and payment processors. This method of payment has been referred to be convenient as the mailing and writing of checks has been reduced or discarded (Meier & Stormer, 2009). It has also ensured that there is safety among payment where notes are usually involved. Online Auctions One of the famous online auctions is the eBay. The physical auctions are nowadays predated by the online auctions. However, the online auction targets a large market clientele of sellers and buyers (Langer, 2002). The online auction has been reported to usually give rise to ridiculous pricing of products. This has made them to have many customers as they find it interesting and challenging when compared to the regular storefront shopping. Internet Banking This practice has reduced the number of people congesting the banking halls as people can transact all the banking operation in their own comfort (Singleton, 2001). Online banks give room for wire transfer, exchange and buying of products through the Internet. Online ticketing This includes movie, train, air and sporting tickets, which are purchased online. The booking process makes it easy for buyers as they will not scramble for them at the shops or at the gates of the event (Meier & Stormer, 2009). Many people hate the idea of queuing and this gives them the opportunity of avoiding it. The classification of e-commerce is based on the type of individuals participating in the process. The first type is known as the business to business type of transaction. This involves the parties that are organizations or businesses (Risdahl, 2007). They include traders, retailers and manufacturers. The other type is business to consumers. This type of transaction is available around businesses that normally sell their products online to the end users or consumers (Langer, 2002). Finally, the other type of e-commerce is referred to as consumer-to-consumer type of transaction. This idea has been adopted from the earliest means of trade of butter where people exchange goods for goods (Raisch, 2001). The process allows individuals to exchange properties that they do not want with those that they need online. Advantages of E-commerce The Internet has been realized to be a market that has booming business (Drapkin, Lowy & Marovitz, 2001). Technological advancements have made it easy for many people can access the Internet. This means that there is a lot of exposure and many people can now access to e-commerce activities (VanHoose, 2011). Individuals are striving to ascertain that they utilize the Internet in the conduction of their daily affairs. Therefore, this means that more people are exposed to online businesses and activities, which include e-commerce activities (Meier & Stormer, 2009). Companies have not been left out as they have ensured that a majority of their products are found online in order to attain maximum profits (Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, 2000a). The best way that this has been achieved is through encouraging their websites to be user friendly which encourages visitors to look at more products online (Plant, 2000). There is a belief that companies that cannot offer e-commerce services are not able to deliver satisfactory products and services. E-commerce web development has increased drastically as companies are working hard to ascertain that they meet the business requirements, which are on the rise. Companies are encouraged to develop an e-commerce website in order to reach out to many potential customers who are situated all over the world (Langer, 2002). They are encouraged to take advantage of the upheaval that is brought by e-commerce in the process of buying and selling of products around the world. There are certain reasons why businesses are encouraged to go online as they do their businesses. They include: Exposure Due to the number of people visiting the Internet every day, there is a higher possibility that more than a million potential customers will see the products that are placed online (Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, 2000b). For instance, the companies, which have their products on their showrooms and shops situated in the city, will be known and appreciated by the people in the city only (Singleton, 2001). On the contrary, the products that are placed and demonstrated on websites will be attached to many people looking for a similar product online (May, 2000). This increases the chance of having more customers all over the world than being confined only in one particular region. Time and convenience One critical factor of development is time. Customers might not be in a position of visiting shops all the time as they might be busy, held up or far from the shop at tat particular moment (Hanke, 2009). However, online stores offer individuals the mandate of visiting the site throughout and at the convenient time that suits them. All the electronic stores work 24 hours per day, which makes customers buy products at any time, and they will not be governed by the time zones they might be in the world (Nudelman, 2011). Moreover, the sellers will not have waste a lot of time explaining their products as all the information will be shown clearly in the website (Langer, 2002). All customers will have their own time of reading about the product making the sellers have an easy time of not explaining the same thing to different people. This makes it easy for numerous transactions to take place at a particular time. Cost Effective The setup and maintenance of stores located in prime areas is usually expensive. One will have to pay for the overhead expenses and hire more workforces and personnel. The same applies to the setting of stores in different countries in order to sell the same products. If one compares this with e-commerce, they would realize that it is cheaper and easier to have everything online (Singleton, 2001). One will not have to set up different shops on different countries. They will also not have the expenses of hiring sales people and the people who would explain how the product works as all the information would be given in the online store. In addition, advertisement of products in the Internet is easier and cheap as compared to audio-visual media like televisions and radios as used by the stores. Customers looking for the same product would have the chance of finding the product easily immediately they type the name of the product (Ross, 2000). There are websites which have placed videos for their products on the online stores. The customer would have to push the play button to know more about the product. This makes it easy for customers to comprehend the product in depth. Working with the customer Online shopping or e-commerce enables companies to be able to receive first hand feedback from their customers. This enables them to know the manner in which this technology hampers or enables customers to be satisfied with the product. This can be in terms of delays, distortion or even wrong information about the product (Meier & Stormer, 2009). Companies will use the information to upgrade their services, which will turn out to increase the revenues for the business. Disadvantages of E-commerce Despite all the beneficial factors, some issues that arise in the use of e-commerce play a crucial role in making the concept to be disadvantageous to companies. Lack of Personal Touch Sellers in online businesses do not have that personal relationship with their customers and sometimes makes them not to value them. This makes customers feel less assured, and they might not be satisfied with the services rendered (Ross, 2000). Others do not like the idea of clicking to buy the idea of purchases. They always want to be served by human beings to ask questions and raise compliant in person. E-commerce Delays Goods Reports have it usually takes a long period for goods to be delivered to the buyer. This usually happens to clients who might be in a different country from that of the company (Risdahl, 2007). Even to those that come from the same region are always required to wait more than 24 hours after the purchase has been made. It is said that if the product being purchased online is for immediate use, then one should go for retail shops in the streets (Singleton, 2001). However, it is usually a different case with digital products, which would require one to download immediately. They include music files and e-books that are readily available. Many Goods Cannot be Purchased Online E-commerce might be convenient in many ways; however, there are certain goods that cannot be bought online. These goods can be classified under two groups, which are odd sized and perishable goods (Hanke, 2009). Ordering things that are likely to spoil on the way cannot be ordered on line unless the company is willing to incur losses due to shipping and transportation. On the other hand, goods which are bulk or big in size cannot be shipped due to logistical issues such as returning or repairing. Lack of Experiencing Products Products such as clothes and garments which are sold online cannot to be felt physically. The buyer will not be able to feel the texture or the garment. The same applies to shoes that one cannot fit or even perfume that one will not be able to smell the scent. There are numerous customers who want to have firsthand experience with products they are about to buy (Ross, 2000). Example, people who buy electronics such as home theatres will have to sit in the middle of the set up in the store to feel the impact of the sound. Such products will have to be bought by their brands, as the majority of the users might be convenient and conversant with them. Security One of the biggest problems associated with e-commerce is insecurity. There are a lot of fraudsters who have emerged with the increase of e-commerce (Fazlollahi, 2002). When one is making online transactions, the main medium to be applicable is normally credit and debit card information and the mailing address (Singleton, 2001). Through the e-commerce websites, individuals might be able to acquire crucial information, which might lead to identity theft or credit card fraud (LexisNexis & Thomson, 2000). On the other hand, the Internet has not regulated the number e-commerce website. This has given room for many people to open their own websites of which others might be fake ones, and people might lose their money. Conclusion It is true to say that technology has made the world to be a global village. The same applies to the business world where everyone can now acquire products from any part of the world. This can be attributed to e-commerce which has ensured that people can now purchase properties online from any part of the world. E-commerce is not applicable to purchases only but also in the transaction of money (Nudelman, 2011). People have nowadays realized the convenient ways in which e-commerce can be used in doing businesses and a majority of people use it (E-commerce Innovation Centre, 2003). Many companies have also managed to parade their products in their websites, and they do not use the Internet for advertisements only but also for selling their products (Karat, Blom & Karat, 2004). However, with all the buzz about the conveniences accustomed to e-commerce, one must not overlook the disadvantages that accompany the practice. Therefore, one is required to make the right choices. This is applicable to the sellers and buyers. References Drapkin, M., Lowy, J., & Marovitz, D. (2001). 3 Clicks away: Advice from the trenches of e-commerce. New York: John Wiley. E-commerce Innovation Centre. (2003). E-commerce in Welsh SMEs: The state of the nation report. Cardiff: E-commerce Innovation Centre. Fazlollahi, B. (2002). Strategies for e-commerce success. Hershey, PA: IRM Press. Hanke, M. (2009). 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