e-commerce

(noun)

Commercial activity conducted via the Internet.

Related Terms

Examples of e-commerce in the following topics:

  • B2C Channels

    • The other main channel for business-to-consumer selling is e-commerce, or commercial activity conducted via the Internet.
    • Business-to-consumer e-commerce reduces transaction costs by increasing consumer access to information and allowing them to find the most competitive price for a product or service.
    • Examples of e-commerce stores are amazon.com, walmart.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

  • B2B Channels

    • B2B describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer.
    • Like Business-to-consumer marketing, business to business also employs different channels, such as e-commerce or physical stores.
    • One of the major differences between business-to-business (B2B) transactions and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions is the type of online (e-commerce) interaction.
    • This is also reflective of the types of products and services offered in a B2B e-commerce setting, which includes logistics, outsourcing, solutions software, and content management software.

  • Making Appropriate Changes to Product, Placement, Promotion, and Pricing

    • Both small and major brands offer e-commerce websites that allow web users to browse products and share their 'wish lists' or purchases with friends across social media websites.
    • Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer , allows third-party merchants to advertise their goods on the company's e-commerce site.
    • Content published by social media users can also feed into various communication channels (e.g. crowdsourcing ideas for a television commercial) and used to further expand a brand's reach and presence.

  • Reminding and Retaining Customers

    • E-commerce sites help customers select and prioritize choices by organizing items based on past online behavior and purchases.

  • Marketing Orientation

    • With the widespread adoption of Internet technology, e-commerce, and social media technologies, the customer has clearly become the driving force behind contemporary business strategies.

  • Effects of Technology on Services

    • Pay Pal, the online payment service owned and operated by eBay clearly illustrates how technology has streamlined and improved commerce.
    • Technologies such as mobile commerce,electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, e-mail, mobile applications, social media, telephones and automated data collection systems are commonplace and the new normal for the business world.
    • Electronic commerce usually accesses the World Wide Web at least once in a transaction's life-cycle, although it is more likely to be used multiple times and via multiple channels during the process.
    • Contemporary electronic commerce involves everything from ordering "digital" content for immediate online consumption, ordering conventional goods and services, and "meta" services to facilitate other types of electronic commerce.
    • Data integrity and security are very hot and pressing issues for electronic commerce.

  • Organizational Online Buying

    • Business to business commerce, manufacturers, wholesale-retail relationships, suppliers, vendors; all cogs in in the wheel of industry, were among the first to embrace online services and reap the rewards.
    • Electronic commerce methods enable companies to link their internal and external data processing systems more efficiently and flexibly, to work more closely with suppliers and partners, and to better satisfy the needs and expectations of their customers.
    • E-business software solutions allow the integration of "intra" and "inter" firm business processes.
    • E-business can be conducted using the Web, the Internet, intranets or extranets which are extensions of a company's internal system or intranet, with use extended to outside organizations, partners, vendors and suppliers
    • Describe how electronic commerce has helped streamline B2B and B2C marketing strategies

  • Alternative Arrangements

    • Consumer-to-consumer commerce is the completion of transactions between private individuals or consumers.
    • Craigslist and eBay usually involve consumer-to-consumer transactions.

  • Customer Concerns

    • The Internet era has presented challenges in maintaining and enhancing the personal customer experience, while making use of the efficiencies of online commerce.
    • Merging this data with customer service Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) also helps direct the company's attention to areas where customer feedback can make a positive impact (e.g., cost savings, service improvement) on the overall organization.

  • Relationship Building with Various Stakeholders

    • Examples include school board members, environmental organizations, elected officials and chamber of commerce representatives.