Saturday 19 September 2015

The Rise of E-Commerce



The Rise of E-Commerce




Bussinesses are growing and evolving dynamically. Setting a global footprint is now a challenge that must be achieved, in order to become successful. The world is becoming a smaller place. Traditional business models are now transforming themselves to mold and adapt to an e-commerce module.

Due to the increased popularity and accessibility of Internet, eCommerce businesses are proving to be profitable and viable. Direct interaction, lower costs and wider reach are the primary boosters of an e-commerce model.

Now, many businesses are marketing their goods through the means of e-commerce to consumers as well as other businesses. According to a survey, when compared, the transactions via ecommerce have shown a tremendous growth in the last couple of years.

Currently, the online sales industry is a $220 billion industry. However, by 2017, it is projected to rise up to $370 billion. Research says that the e-commerce industry grew from 10.4% from 007 to 2012 and it is further expected to grow by 8.8% annually by 2017.

Before buying a product online, people research the products. 61% of buyers, according to a survey, research the products on other sites before making the final purchase.
 

Adopting the e-Commerce model is not only beneficial to consumers but also to businesses. It increases the efficiency and flexibility of a company's internal operations, thereby enabling the company to work more closely with their suppliers and be more responsive to the needs of the customers.

Therefore, the benefits of e-commerce can be listed as below:

1.    Presents a Global Platform to the businesses.
2.    Presents a Larger Customer Base.
3.    Increased Popularity through Search Engine Marketing.
4.    Presents the ability to shop at any given hour and at any place.
5.    Reduces the Marketing &Advertising Costs.
6.    Gives a Collection of Customer Data to the company.

While e-commerce makes shopping simplified, its methods of payment are comparatively different from traditional commerce. Payment for goods bought online is meted out differently.
There are the traditional methods and the electronic payment methods.

Traditional Methods:

1.    Cash on Delivery- In this case, the payment is done once the purchase is delivered to the customer.
2.    Bank Payment- In this case, depositing cash in the account of the seller is the primary action, before delivering the good.

Electronic Payment Method
1.    Payment is made via debit and credit cards, ATMs, Store-value cards, e banking.
2.    Payment via e-cash, e-cheques, smart cards, encrypted credit cards. However, these forms of payment are not very popular in developing countries.

Therefore, it is now accepted that the future is in e-commerce. With the growth of accessibility via Internet, purchasing online is now a child's play.


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