The term "e-commerce" is probably one of the most mentioned words in recent years as it marks the landscape of the retail industry in recent decades. But what exactly is e-commerce? Take a look below and see if you can understand the gist of it.
What is E-Commerce?
The word "e-commerce" actually refers to "electronic commerce", meaning all kinds of transaction made for business or commercial purpose through an online channel. By the means of online channels, it includes different mediums like company websites and mobile applications. Via these channels, a transaction can be completed directly between a business and a consumer (B2C). Of course, it is very common nowadays that transactions could also be made between consumers (C2C) through various online shopping and trading platforms as well.
Why is it So Popular?
Convenience. Unlike traditional commerce, e-commerce does not require you to visit a store physically as it can all be done online. Taking advantage of the Internet, e-commerce allows consumers to browse and shop without the constraints of time and location. So, you can basically check out the latest sneakers with just a click on your laptop or any other mobile devices, and you no longer have to worry about the opening hour of the store down the street and sweat about the crowd during weekends.
Variety. With the nature of intangibility, online stores would not have to worry about the limitation of space anymore as they can showcase their full selection of products without fearing its inventory space in their physical stores. Also, customers from around the world could access the products that are not available in their origin country or region, thus gaining a wider exposure to small businesses and allowing more choices other than typical chains or mainstream brand names.
Data. In the eyes of businesses, e-commerce substantially supported their marketing strategy-making process. In the digital world, mostly all forms of action can be tracked and transformed into data that can be stored and analysed. Every click, every view and even your browsing time are all data that businesses could record and make use of. These data are valuable to businesses since they can shape up their websites and promotional channels based on these digital footprints, then reform the webpage that you are scrolling through into something specialised for you as it aims to create the best browsing experience for all their customers.
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