Semester – III

COURSE-7: E Commerce and Web Designing

UNIT-1: Basics and Definitions

E-Commerce:
Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services via the internet, and the transfer of money and
data to complete the sales. It’s also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce.

Working of ecommerce;
The process of buying and selling goods and services online typically consists of the exchange of data or
currency to process a transaction involving more than one entity or individual.
E-commerce allows a customer to place an order via online stores, websites, or social channels. After the
customer places an order, the order details are relayed to a central backend system – an e-commerce
platform, which facilitates or performs several tasks, including:
 Receiving the order
 Updating stock or inventory levels and confirming if there’s sufficient stock
 Processing the payment for the order
 Confirming adequate funds were received to fulfill the order
 Notifying the customer that the order was successfully processed
 Notifying the shipping department for the order to be shipped to the customer, or access to the
service to be granted

Adv./Benefits of e-commerce and the disadvantages of electronic commerce

1. Convenience & accessibility. E-commerce can occur 24/7; for this reason, it provides customers with
the best in both convenience and accessibility. They can find what they need, when they need it, and
directly from their mobile or desktop devices. This level of convenience and access translates into
sales and revenue opportunity round the clock for electronic commerce businesses.
2. Increased selection of products. Retail brands have the flexibility to offer a wider selection of
products through their online store online compared to their physical brick-and-mortar stores. Many
retail brands also offer consumers access to exclusive inventory and promotional offers that aren’t
available elsewhere.
3. Lower start-up cost. Compared to traditional retail stores, pure-play e-commerce businesses can
avoid a lot of upfront start-up costs associated with running physical stores such as rent, inventory,
and in-store headcount. However, they can have warehouse costs and shipping costs.
4. International or cross-border sales opportunities. As long as a customers can place an order online
and the e-commerce store can capture the revenue from the sale, then ship the product or service to
the customer’s location, online stores aren’t limited by geographic location as brick-and-mortar
stores are. An ecommerce store allows your business to reach more customers, globally —
maximizing selling potential.
5. Easily retarget customers online. E-commerce stores regularly use retargeting as a way to attract
and retain existing customers, or acquire new look-a-like customers. With retargeting, you can either
target your existing customers, or your most profitable customers with products that are similar to
the ones they love, or complement their past purchases.
6. Scalability with lower operational costs: As the customer base grows, brick-and-mortar retail
operations are forced to either relocate to a larger location or expand their physical store footprint,
 all of which comes with significant costs. In contrast, an e-commerce platform can be equipped to
handle high traffic volume and sales spikes, enabling an e-commerce businesses to scale with
increased inventory and order fulfillment.
7. Delivery personalized experiences. E-commerce businesses can personalize everything from onsite
search to dynamic pricing and curated product recommendations. With an AI-powered e-commerce
platform, you can upsell, cross-sell, and present products that customers are most likely to be
interested in, thereby increasing revenue-per-customer
8. Access to new technologies: With progressive enhancements to e-commerce platforms and
technologies, you can always find ways to streamline your e-commerce business operations to save
time and money. In contrast, there are limitations to what technology can do to streamline physical
stores. Electronic commerce has the upper hand in its ability to leverage technology to streamline
operations, market products, improve team collaboration, and provide faster customer service.

An ecommerce business has disadvantages, which include:

1. Limited interactions with customers. If customers have questions or an issue with a product they
purchased, they can visit a physical store and speak directly with a store manager or customer-
service rep to address their issue by returning or replacing the product. Ecommerce business are
can’t provide direct in-person customer service and support. Some e-commerce websites employ
online chat or click-to-call features to reach a live person, but it’s not a standard practice.
2. No ability to try-and-buy. Visual representation of products on e-commerce stores using images or
video cannot deliver the full experience a physical store is able to provide its customers. For example,
at a departmental or a footwear store you have the ability to try it and then buy it.
3. Lack of instant gratification. With e-commerce, you must wait for the product to be shipped to you.
While e-commerce businesses like Amazon have made significant investments to improve last-mile
delivery by offering same-day delivery for some of its products, they can’t offer the instant
gratification physical stores provide customers.
4. Unreliable technology and security breaches. E-commerce businesses are susceptible to website
crashes, or websites needing to be taken down, especially in the event of a security breach
compromising personal customer data. This leads to loss of sales and revenue while the electronic
commerce store is down.
5. Stiff competition. Due to low barrier to entry and low start-up costs, competitors can easily enter the
market selling the same or competing products at lower costs, thereby cutting into your margins and
revenue. As a result, e-commerce business must be hyper-diligent in their marketing strategies to
remain competitive.
Top examples of e-commerce companies
E-commerce accounts for trillions of dollars in sales every year. Today it’s almost inconceivable that a
company wouldn’t be using a digital space to drive sales and bottom lines.
Here are some examples of global e-commerce companies in 2024:
 Amazon
 Alibaba
 Prosus
 Booking.com
 Uber

E-COMMERCE WITH THE “5-C-MODEL”

Another approach to define and explain, what E-Commerce is, comes from the so-called 5-C-model. It
defines E-Commerce by five activity domains whose denominations start with the letter “C”:
Commerce
• In the electronic marketplaces there is a matching of customers and suppliers, an establishing of the
transaction terms, and the facilitation of exchange transactions.
• With the broad move to the Web-enabled enterprise systems with relatively uniform capabilities as
compared to the legacy systems, a universal supply-chain linkage has been created.
Collaboration
• The Web is a vast nexus, or network, of relationships among firms and individuals.
• More or less formal collaborations are created or emerge on the Web to bring together individuals
engaged in knowledge work in a manner that limits the constraints of space, time, national boundaries, and
organizational affiliation
Communication
• As an interactive medium, the Web has given rise to a multiplicity of media products.
• The rapidly growing M-Commerce (see below) enables connectivity in context, with location-sensitive
products and advertising.
• In the communications domain, the Web also serves as a distribution channel for digital products.
Connection
• Common software development platforms, many of them in the open-source domain, enable a wide
spectrum of firms to avail themselves of the benefits of the already developed software, which is, moreover,
compatible with that of their trading and collaborating partners.
• The Internet, as a network of networks that is easy to join and out of which it is relatively easy to carve out
virtual private networks, is the universal telecommunications network, now widely expanding in the mobile
domain
Computation
• Internet infrastructure enables large-scale sharing of computational and storage resources, thus leading to
the implementation of the decades-old idea of utility computing.
ADDITIONAL TERMS
M-Commerce (Mobile Commerce) M-Commerce (Mohapatra 2013, pp. 81–82) is commonly understood as
the usage of mobile devices for business purposes, especially mobile phones and PDA’s (Personal Digital
Assistants).

Main features of M-Commerce are:

• Location independence of (mobile) customers, • High availability of services through well established
mobile phone networks, • Increasing computing power of mobile devices, • Interactivity of mobile devices
(voice and data transfer), • Security (when using mobile phone networks), • Localization of customers
through cell structure, • Accessibility of customers, • Potential of personalized services/offers. E-
Procurement (Electronic Procurement) In general, E-Procurement (Chakravarty 2014, p. 115) is the
automation of an organization’s
procurement processes using Web-based applications. It enables widely dispersed customers and suppliers
to interact and execute purchase transactions. Each step in the procurement process is captured
electronically, and all transaction data is routed automatically, reducing time and cost of procurement.
Properly deployed, E-Procurement can deliver tremendous value to enterprises in different ways. In a
narrower sense E-Procurement is seen as the ordering of MRO goods (MRO =
Maintenance/Repair/Operations) on the basis of Web-based application systems directly by the demand
carrier to reduce process costs in the area of so-called C-articles (C-articles represent a small portion of the
total financial procurement volume, but cause a significant portion of the procurement costs)
Every sales process at the same time is a procurement process or a buying process – from the point of view
of the (potential) customer. Sales processes are driven by the supplier. Procurement processes are driven by
the customer. However the exchange of goods or services has to be managed. Thus we will consider E-
Procurement as a specific view onto E-Commerce. E-Government (Electronic Government) The big
encyclopaedia Wikipedia says (search as of October 26, 2015) (Xu 2014, pp. 102–105): “E-Government (short
for electronic government, also known as e-gov, Internet government, digital government, online
government, or connected government) consists of the digital interactions between citizens and their
government (C2G), between governments and government agencies (G2G), between government and
citizens (G2C), between government and employees (G2E), and between government and
businesses/commerce (G2B). This digital interaction includes all levels of government (city, state/province,
national, and international), governance, information and communication technology (ICT), and business
process re-engineering (BPR).” E-Administration (Electronic Administration) “E-administration refers to those
mechanisms which convert the paper processes in a traditional office into electronic processes, with the goal
to create a paperless office. Its objective is to get total transparency and accountability within any
organization.” (Wikipedia 2015) E-Democracy (Electronic Democracy) “E-Democracy incorporates 21st-
century information and communications technology to promote democracy. That means a form of
government in which all adult citizens are presumed to be eligible to participate equally in the proposal,
development, and creation of laws.” (Wikipedia 2015)
Ecommerce Business Models
i. Business-to-Business (B2B)
ii. Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
iii. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
iv. Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
v. Business to Government (B2G)
vi. Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C)
Simply,
A few common business models are:
 B2C: Businesses sell to individual consumers, sometimes called the “end customer.”
 B2B: Businesses sell to other businesses. Often the buyer resells products to the consumer.
 C2B: Consumers sell to businesses. C2B businesses allow customers to sell to other companies.
 C2C: Consumers sell to other consumers. Businesses create online shopping destinations to connect
customers.
 B2G: Businesses sell to governments or government agencies.
 C2G: Consumers sell to governments or government agencies.
 G2B: Governments or government agencies sell to businesses.
 G2C: Governments or government agencies sell to consumers.

The 6 Main Types of eCommerce Models

eCommerce business models and concepts are businesses' strategies to sell products online. There are
several ways startups operate to sell their goods and services, and it's important to adopt a model that best
promotes your business.

Here are six different ecommerce business models and strategies suitable for getting your online selling
started:
 Business-to-business (B2B)
 Business-to-customer (B2C)
 Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
 Business-to-administration (B2A)
 Consumer-to-business (C2B)
 Consumer-to-administration (C2A)
1. Business-to-business (B2B)
The Business-to-business model of ecommerce means selling goods and offering services to other
businesses. In this model, your audience is usually companies who use your products or sell directly to the
final consumer.

B2B requires lots of investing and huge capital as you'll be selling in large quantities. Software ecommerce
giants, including HubSpot, Salesforce, Survey Monkey, etc., commonly utilize the model.

You can choose the B2B model if your business involves marketing to other businesses and you have the
budget to maintain a bulk supply of goods.
2. Business-to-customer (B2C)
If your business aims to sell directly to the end users, then the ecommerce B2C business model is your best
bet. This is a business model e-commerce utilizes most often.

The business-to-consumer model is the most common ecommerce model, and it is simply selling directly to
consumers online. Companies such as Alibaba, Amazon, and Walmart practice the B2C model.

You need to set up an online store and display the products you sell on the website. Then buyers browse
through your site to place orders; you'll receive the orders, package the products, and deliver them.

With the B2C ecommerce business model, you can sell to people worldwide, and it doesn't require as much
capital as B2B.
3. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
The consumer-to-consumer model is an emerging ecommerce business model involving buying and selling
between consumers using third-party platforms.
You might want to sell a new or used product by listing it on a third-party platform, such as OLX, Craigslist, or
eBay. Potential buyers will check and contact you to buy. This is simply how the C2C ecommerce model
works.

The third-party platforms will only charge a small amount as a commission for using their website.
4. Business-to-administration (B2A)
Business-to-administration (B2A), also referred to as Business-to-Government (B2G), is a type of ecommerce
business model involving companies and government agencies or public administrations. B2A companies are
new ecommerce business models.

The B2A model enables companies or manufacturers to sell their services or products to government
agencies by signing a long-term contract. For example, a Saas company can sign a contract with the
government to help maintain the state's military-grade web communications portal.

B2A strategies are good business models for ecommerce SaaS companies and other startups that render
services to the government.
5. Consumer-to-business (C2B)
For freelancers and work-from-home individuals looking to offer their services to companies, the customer-
to-business ecommerce model is a perfect choice.

C2B is a business model that helps businesses reach talents who can offer solutions or quality services. For
instance, Upwork is a marketplace that connects freelancers and companies. The services offered include
content writing, copywriting, graphic designing, web development, UI/UX designing, consulting, and many
more.

The ecommerce model is slowly gaining popularity, and it helps individual customers set their prices and
work with companies worldwide from the comfort of their homes.
6. Consumer-to-administration (C2A)
Customer-to-administration, popularly known as customer-to-government, is another business model of
ecommerce very similar to B2A. This is one of the most challenging business models ecommerce can offer.

In C2A, a customer conducts transactions directly with government agencies by providing something of
value via online means. This can be paying taxes, water, electrical bills, or something as simple as providing
feedback on a government website.
Advantages of E-commerce
There are many advantages to e-commerce, including:
 Increases Sales and Revenue
E-commerce always helps to increase sales and revenue as it widens the market by reaching out to new
customers. It also allows businesses to offer discounts and incentives that are not possible in a physical
store. There are also many opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling.
 Reduces Costs
E-commerce also helps reduce business costs as it eliminates the need for a physical store and sales staff. It
also reduces inventory costs and transportation costs. There are also many opportunities for cost-saving
through online auctions and supply chains.
 Eliminates Geographic Barriers
E-commerce also eliminates geographic barriers, as customers can buy goods and services from anywhere in
the world. This allows businesses to sell to new markets and expand their customer base. It may also help to
reduce the cost of doing business.
 Improves Customer services
This is because e-commerce allows businesses to offer 24/11 customer service, which is not possible in a
physical store. It also allows customers to compare prices and products from different retailers easily.
Sometimes there are also additional services, such as customer reviews and ratings, that are not available in
a physical store.
 Increases Efficiency
Efficiency is increased as orders can be placed and processed quickly and easily through an e-commerce
website. This eliminates the need for paperwork and reduces the chances of human error. It also allows
businesses to track inventory levels and sales trends in real-time.

Disadvantages of E-commerce
However, there are also some disadvantages to e-commerce, including:
 Lack of Social Interaction
One disadvantage is that there is a lack of social interaction, as people cannot see or touch the product
before they buy it. This may lead to dissatisfaction with the purchase if the product is not what was
expected.
 Security Risks
Another disadvantage is that there are security risks, as sensitive financial information can be stolen by
hackers. This can result in loss of money and identity theft. There may also be risks involved with buying and
selling products online, as there is no guarantee of product quality or authenticity.
 Difficulties with Returns
Another disadvantage is that it can be difficult to return products that have been bought online. This is
because businesses often require the product to be returned in its original packaging, which may not be
possible if the product has been used. There may also be shipping costs involved in returning the product.
 Lack of Trust
There may be a lack of trust among consumers when it comes to buying goods and services online. This is
because they may be afraid of being scammed or not receiving the product that they ordered.
Web 2.0:

Technical and Economic challenges: