What is E-Commerce ? E-commerce is a term emerged from the merger of commerce and information technology where e stands for electronic. E-commerce is basically business conducted with the help of electronic media. Applications • Internet Bookshops Books arranged category wise- have cover page, description, number of pages, discounts and reviews of other customers Searching by book title, author name or publication name possible Sites can record customer interest and inform about new arrivals to attract and retain their interest Purchasing of books without physically checking Shipped to customer with little or no damage • Examples: www.amazon.com, shopping.indiatimes.com, www.buybooksindia.com, www.bookshopofindia.com Applications • Electronic Newspaper Newspaper in digital form Gives up-to-date news on the issues happening worldwide Browser can be set to select the news as per the interest of the reader Removes hassle of printing and reduces cost Applications • Online Auctions Auction – process of buying and selling products or services by offering the customers to bid the price and selling the product to the highest bidder Provide platform to seller and bidder To sell product – one needs to register with the site ; to keep track of items sold/ bided, bid wins, bidder feedback Digital picture should be uploaded for bid products • Examples: www.ebay.com, www.onlineauction.com, ww.mybids.in, www.ubid.com Applications • Marketing and Selling View catalog and put in shopping cart – amazon.com Airline companies, Indian railways – www.irctc.co.in – info related to various trains, ticket booking and payment online • Popular marketing and selling sites: www.homeshop18.com, www.flipkart.com, www.makemytrip.com Applications • Online Billing Companies send their bills for services to customers on Internet Paid through credit card or net banking – electricity bills • Information Services Latest information provided by educational institutes – examination results Notices or reminders sent – payment or expiration Online or downloadable forms Applications • Support Services Online complaint registration Customer can also track the status of their complaint placed online Guidance to installation, configuration or use Download recent updates of software or hardware drivers Applications • Net Banking Leading banks provide services without additional cost Allows balance inquiry, statement of accounts, transfer of funds, status of transaction, pay various bills online (except withdrawal) Aids in online purchase, online ticket booking Traditional Commerce v/s E-Commerce Traditional Commerce E-Commerce • Operates within a • Advertising of the product certain period of time or is done electronically during business hours • Customers can browse • No sharing of through products information with catalogue and available competitors offers • Hiring of sales persons, • E-payment system sales manager and • Goods delivered within few many more days • Location renting or • Reduces per transaction purchasing, cost advertising, inventory, • Reduces time taken to shipping of products perform overall transaction E-Commerce in India Internet has reached rural parts in India Growth of technology facilitators – Internet connections, broadband and 3G services, laptops, smartphones, tablets and dongles Wider product range Busy lifestyle, traffic congestion Lower price Second hand goods availability E-Commerce in India Penetration of E-commerce slower than other countries but fast catching up with online popular stores like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon India, Jabong Retailers have started offering cash-on- delivery option – expensive from retailer’s point of view, easy from consumer point of view Industry experts are optimistic about the future potential of E-commerce industry in India Benefits of E-Commerce • Delays in communication is avoided by performing transactions online • Lower cost - Business conducted in cost- effective manner, documentation reduces, inventory reduces • Improved and better customer services - Updated information provided – leads to customer satisfaction • 24x7 services • No boundaries or geographical limitation - Global market – selling and purchasing Benefits of E-Commerce • Variety of choices, faster delivery • Online share trading – transparent process • Online booking – saves time • Online forms – saves time, cost, validation of information immediately • Urban as well as rural population is benefited Benefits Of E-Commerce
Benefits to vendor Benefits to consumer
Vendor is able to Consumer gets
sell more products more options of due to international more vendors and market products Limitations of E-Commerce • Resistance to change • Initial cost high - Investment in hardware, software, training – extra cost • Security and Internet connection - Business dependent on Internet – business risk • Privacy and Lack of trust • Customers do not get the feel • Perishable products not preferred to be purchased online Limitations of E-Commerce • Privacy of customer information • Credit card frauds • Business frauds like non-delivery of goods, sub-standard good • Lack of regular updates or providing timely information by organisations Elements Of E-Commerce Place To Sell A Product It is website containing a list of products or services that rare of sale .E.g. Amazon.Com A service or a product Features of the service or a product are shown on a web page. Way to attract customer Vendors attract customers by offering them discounts or free gifts. A way to accept order E-commerce site contains a shopping cart where items to be purchased are put. A way to accept payment Credit cards, smart cards and e -cheque are used as a media for electronic fund transfer. Transportation of product to customer E commerce companies have chain of suppliers located in different cities. Legal Issues in E-Commerce Legal framework to resolve issues of intellectual property rights, copyrights, privacy, disputes among the parties provided ; building customer confidence Business to Customer (B2C) In this model the person doing business on internet( I.e the merchant) directly deals with the end customer who pays for the product through electronic fund transfer. Shortens the distribution channel, reducing the price and delivery time. Eg. Amazon.com, fabmart.com, flipkart.com, rediff.com Business to Business (B2B) In this model, the transaction occurs between two business organization where the product is traded for business use. Here the no. of transaction are limited but the volume of each transaction is large. Effective media for managing telemarketing, supply chain, procurement, just-in-time delivery, online services. Eg. Commodity.com, tradeindia.com Customer to Customer (C2C) In this model the transaction occurs between two customers with the help of a mediator (i.e website/ business house) the customer should be a registered user of the website. Business house charges them based on the transactions. Eg. Ebay.com, OLX.com, Quikr.com Customer to Business (C2B) Involves reverse auctions where consumers determine the prices of the products or services. Helps reducing the bargaining time while increasing flexibility for both consumer and company. Consumer decide what they are willing to pay and business decides whether to accept it or not. Eg. Bidstall.com, JeetLe.in Government to Business (G2B) Part of e-governance initiatives by Govt. to help business community regarding business policies, approvals, rules and regulations – online forms. Eg. Incometaxindia.gov.in Government to Citizen (G2C) Part of e-governance where focus is on providing better services to the individual citizens. Information regarding various Govt. departments, welfare schemes, birth/death certificates etc. Eg. gswan.gov.in (GSWAN – Gujarat State Wide Area Network) Government to Government (G2G) Refers to online non-commercial communication between the Government agencies, organizations and departments with other Government agencies, organizations and departments. This reduces IT costs, streamline procedures and improve efficiency.
