A Brief Introduction to E-commerce

by Polina
(London)

What is ecommerce?

E-commerce is the shortened version of electronic commerce and refers 'to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecommerce.

As the internet has grown in popularity over recent decades, with the volume of electronic trade increasing drastically. The term can also refer to a broader spectrum of things, including the development, marketing delivering and servicing of the online process rather than simply buying and selling goods or services.

E-commerce does not just cover business to consumer/customer (B2C) activities, it also B2B (business to business). More sites like these are appearing as the demand for product comes from the far east. Products or services can be put out to tender, with a variety of companies giving their best price in order to gain the contract. This is has become more popular than ever in recent years.

Types of E-commerce

There are a variety of types of e-commerce, with businesses, there are usually two different type. There is the pure click companies and the brick and click companies.

Usually, if you are starting your own online business, you will likely be a pure click company. This is where your only presence in the marketplace is online and you have had no previous existence as a firm. Good customer service is vital in these companies as the bad word can spread across the web quickly with the amount of information that is accessible to potential customers.

The brick and click companies are traditionally companies who own both a shop (brick) as well as an online store (click). Strong performance from online retailers has turned the head of many skeptical traditional brick businesses, who were wary of upsetting the various distribution channels and outlets which they had already established good relations with.

A Short History Of Ecommerce
• Michael Aldrich was the first person to invent online shopping in the late 70s (1979).
• Tesco were one of the first business to customer online shopping presences, established in 1984.
• 1985 saw Nissan UK sell cars and finance with credit checking to online customers.
• 1995 saw the launch of Amazon by Jeff Bezos.
• Paypal is acquired by eBay for a reported $1.5 billion in 2002, while a year later in 2003, Amazon posts its first yearly profit.
• 2010 – Google reportedly offer $6 billion for Groupon, rejected for plans of an IPO mid-2011.
• 2011 – US eCommerce and online retail sales are projected to reach close to $200 billion, up 12% on 2010.

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