e-commerce

Y-Negocios

2022

We explain what e-commerce or electronic commerce is and its characteristics. In addition, we tell you how the internet revolutionized commerce.

The e-commerce It is one of the economic activities with the greatest impact in the world.

What is the e-commerce?

Electronic commerce, sometimes called e-commerce (of English electronic commerce), Consists of the purchase and sale of goods and services via websites or online digital platforms, such as social networks and the Applications for smartphone. It is one of the economic activities with the greatest impact in the entire world since the popularization of Internet in the mid 1990s.

Originally the term e-commerce (it is written in italics as it is an anglicism) was used for the exchange of data electronically for commercial purposes, but currently also encompasses the exchange of goods and services through digital media, especially those that link the traditional banking system (bank accounts, credit and debit cards) with new digital platforms and methodologies ( applications, payments through QR code, among others).

The success of electronic commerce in the world has been immensely recognized. In 2020, some $4.2 trillion was billed through online media. e-commerce, and that trend is considered upward. Only in Latin America, electronic commerce showed a growth of 36.7% in that year. This new commercial reality has had a major impact on the advertising world and even on everyday reality.

Features of the e-commerce

Broadly speaking, electronic commerce is characterized by the following:

  • It involves the purchase and sale of goods and services, through computer systems and electronic devices connected to the Internet. This purchase and sale covers both physical goods and digital goods.
  • It can be retail or wholesale, and can be adapted to different audiences, environments and needs.
  • Use the email and other forms of advertising online far above traditional advertising media.
  • Allows mobility of client and the internationalization of transactions in a simple and efficient way. In addition, it expands the shopping hours to 24 hours a day.
  • The term is also used e-commerce as a generic name for web pages through which a store or a business offers its products to the public online, whether or not it also sells them in a physical store.

The internet revolution in commerce

The invention of the internet brought about an important change in almost all areas of contemporary life, but its impact on the trade it was particularly large. Initially, companies took advantage of the possibility of massive email communication to resume a practice that had fallen into disuse in many places: catalog sales. The catalog was sent by email, or a link to the online catalog, and the customer could buy through a phone call or by mail.

But soon the option of incorporating these digital catalogs into a web portal through which the customer could buy directly, without the need for further paperwork, became a reality. Thus, the purchase was no longer in the physical store, which the customer must attend, but in his computer personal, in the comfort of your home or work. An idea that grew even more when the shopping environment was reduced to a tablets or even to the smartphone.

A new shopping modality was then inaugurated, and required the updating and in some cases modernization of the mail and parcel systems in order to distribute the large number of objects purchased online. At the same time, this new system required the incorporation of the traditional banking system to online payment platforms, generally through credit and debit cards, while at the same time promoting new ways of financing non banking.

In summary, the worldwide implementation of the e-commerce, hand in hand with globalization, prompted a rapid change in structures that greatly speeded up purchase-sale transactions, the circulation of money and the creation of new and more complex markets.

Types of electronic commerce

There are different ways to classify the e-commerce. For example, if we look at the type of product offered, we can distinguish between service platforms (digital or not), physical goods platforms and digital goods platforms (mostly software).

However, the most useful way to organize electronic commerce is according to the type of organization or entity that participates in its processes or transactions. In that case you can talk about:

  • business-to-business (B2B). A business-to-business model involves transactions between companies or businesses connected through the net.
  • business-to-consumer (B2C). A "business to customer" model involves transactions between a company or business and its clientele, usually through official sales portals.
  • consumer to business (C2B). A "client to business" model involves transactions originating in the interest of the client, who turns to the company to satisfy a need.
  • Consumer-to-consumer (C2C). A "client to client" model involves transactions between two individuals whose relationship can be facilitated by the service provider company, or direct without involving intermediaries.

Advantages and disadvantages of electronic commerce

The e-commerce It allows operations to be carried out from any geographical location.

The advantages and disadvantages of electronic commerce include the following:

Advantages of e-commerce Disadvantages of e-commerce
Greater margin of supply and therefore greater opportunities for the consumer to obtain what he wants at an acceptable cost. It requires a public with minimal digital education and stable internet access, which can be difficult in certain regions.
Convenience in the acquisition of goods by the consumer, who does not have to leave home or who buys from his smartphone. It requires from traditional companies an investment in web platforms and jobs that did not exist before (such as community manager Y content creator).
It allows direct communication between customers and the company, and facilitates new marketing strategies. It may favor large e-commerce chains over small local businesses.
It reduces operational costs for all parties involved and reduces the time spent on the transaction.
It facilitates access to information by all those involved.
It allows operations to be carried out from any geographical location.

Examples of e-commerce

Some of the best known platforms e-commerce in the world are:

  • Amazon.com. It is an American retail sales and service company. computing in the cloud, founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. It has more than a million employees worldwide and is considered one of the pioneers of the online business area.
  • eBay. It is an auction and electronic commerce portal founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, considered one of the pioneers of the e-commerce. With a worldwide area of ​​operation and more than 13,300 employees, it is a mandatory reference in the area.
  • Free market.It is a multinational company of Argentine origin, founded in 1999 by Marcos Galperin and with operations headquarters in almost all of Latin America. It is dedicated to mediating between online sellers and buyers, to whom it offers its own credit and transaction system called MercadoPago. It is a good example of marketplace digital.
  • PayPal. It is an American company with a global reach that offers its users an electronic system of payments and money transfers. With a PayPal account, Internet users can buy goods and services, receive payments and make donations, all without the need for a bank or physical money.

What is a marketplace?

A marketplace it is not dedicated exclusively to a brand or a company.

It is known as marketplace (in English: “market”) to a trading platform e-commerce that houses a set of different vendors, in the form of a catalog or online shopping mall. The marketplaces stand out from the shops on-line in that they are not dedicated exclusively to a brand or a company, but rather offer the user the possibility, precisely, of feeling in a digital market. Payments and shipments made through a marketplace They usually charge brokerage fees.

What is needed to create a e-commerce?

To create a e-commerce is required:

  • Create an identity. The first step is to choose the name of our e-commerce, design a logo and buy a domain (address urls). Then we must hire a hosting, that is, a file storage service to house the contents of the online store. From these four elements, an image can be created and begin to "exist" on the internet.
  • Establish a content management system (SGC). To be able to manage the contents of the store on-line, it takes a Content Management System (CMS), that is, a digital tool that allows you to communicate with the hosting and implement a web design, that is, organize and build the online store. A specialist in web design is usually hired to obtain a functional and visually attractive portal at the same time.
  • give shape to e-commerce. Once the templates and store formats are done on-line, we must upload the photographs of our products, descriptive texts and everything else that is needed so that the customer can find his way around the store and know what he can buy and what options are available to him. The originality and creativity They will be great allies at this stage.
  • Establish the means of payment. Since the idea of ​​the store is to sell, the site will need to offer one or more payment methods to carry out online transactions. The more and more diverse options a virtual store has, the more attractive it will be for its clientele. It is convenient to explore the different intermediary options in this regard, since many charge commissions and are governed by particular rules.
  • Design a strategy for marketing. Just like companies in the physical world, a e-commerce you need to make yourself known to attract your potential clientele, and on the internet there are many ways to do it. Ideally, you would define a strategy informed of marketing and have the help of professionals, in order to take advantage of the resources in the best possible way and capture the attention of the largest number of users.
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