Introduction to computer The hierarchical view of an organization Prof.Dr: Mohamed Assal

Overview The Internet and World Wide Web have greatly affected the way most of us live and do business. In addition to using the Web to look up information, communicate with others, and be entertained, many consumers like to use the Web today to purchase goods and services. Consequently, it is common today for businesses to offer goods and services online.

What’s electronic commerce? E-commerce is the term used to describe conducting business transactions (purchasing, selling and paying )via communications technology. It was originally performed via private networks (banks) Today, e-commerce is most often performed via commercial web sites( dot-coms ). These web sites typically have a .com top-level domain in the URLs(www.amazon.com). Many businesses today have both an online store and a brick-and-mortar store (a physical store).

What’s electronic commerce? Both computers and mobile devices are frequently used for e-commerce. In addition to buying conventional goods and services online, mobile devices can be used to buy fast food, pay for a cab or parking, buy theater tickets, or send money to other individuals while you are on the go.

E-commerce business models The policies, operations, and technologies used by a business help to define its business model. In essence, a company’s business model describes how the company generates revenue. One way e-commerce business models can be defined is by the types of entities (such as businesses, consumers, or the government) selling and buying the goods or services.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Model The B2C model was one of the first major types of e-commerce business models found on the Web: Product-oriented B2C sites (such as Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Overstock.com, and BestBuy.com) sell a wide variety of goods, including clothing, electronics, medicine, flowers, books, sports equipment, toys, movies, and office supplies. Service-oriented B2C sites include tax preparation, video-on-demand (VOD), travel agency, distance learning, and music subscription services.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Model

Business-to-Business (B2B) Model The B2B model includes any type of e-commerce transaction taking place between two businesses. Possibilities include businesses buying goods and services needed for their operations, as well as purchasing manufacturing supplies and raw goods. Initially, B2C was expected to be the most prominent type of e-commerce business model; however, revenues from the B2B model are now expected to far surpass the B2C marketplace.

Business-to-Business (B2B) Model this site sells printers to businesses.

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) Business Model The consumer-to-consumer (C2C) model sometimes referred to as the person-to person (P2P) model involves individuals selling directly to other individuals. Typically, C2C transactions are carried out via intermediary Web sites set up to facilitate this, such as online classified ad sites like (Craigslist) and online auction sites like (eBay). In fact, with millions of products up for auction at any time, eBay is one of the largest C2C e-commerce sites today.

Business-to-Government (B2G) Model The business-to-government (B2G) model includes transactions between businesses and local, state, and federal governments. Many B2G e-commerce sites specialize in selling products and services to government agencies. Other B2G activities (which can be thought of as G2B activities because the government is providing services to businesses) involve businesses paying government taxes and fees online.

Advantages & Disadvantages of E-Commerce

Mobile commerce While activities such as online shopping and online banking can be carried out today via a mobile device, new options are becoming available to make these transactions easier, as well as to simplify other m-commerce activities such as transferring funds between individuals.

Mobile commerce For instance, Visa is developing a new electronic payments system that will include a digital wallet (to store payment account information for both online and offline purchases), support for near-field communication (NFC) (to enable phones with built-in NFC capabilities to make offline purchases by just waving the phone in front of a Visa pay Wave terminal).

Electronic Financial Transactions Successfully performing electronic financial transactions is the cornerstone of any e- commerce site. Therefore, a business should give careful thought to which payment options it will offer and how it will process payments securely and accurately. The payment options used with an e-commerce site typically depend on the type of site (business model) it is and the types of customers involved.

Electronic Financial Transactions For B2C sites, the options include standard credit cards and debit cards, and online payment services and other forms of digital cash. For B2B sites may need to consider additional payment options, such as purchase orders. The available payment options are usually displayed on an e-commerce site’s order form or checkout page Order forms should always be set up as secure Web pages.

Electronic Financial Transactions

Credit and Debit Card Processing Credit card processing is the first thing that comes to mind when considering online payments. Although some people are hesitant to submit their credit card information via a Web page, credit cards are by far the most common payment method used for online purchases. And, though it is possible to run an online business without accepting credit cards, it is essential for most B2C e-commerce sites.

Online Payment Services One of the most widely used is PayPal an online payment service that allows individuals to transfer money easily from their online payment account to someone else’s. Online payment services are often used to pay for online auction purchases, but other e-commerce sites can accept PayPal payments as well. Other forms of these services are digital gift certificates, digital gift cards, and digital coupons.

Social Commerce In addition to impacting our personal lives, social networking sites, such as Facebook, are also impacting our online shopping experience. Posts by individuals about buying products or planning to go to an event may influence their friends’ purchases. Facebook’s “Like” button can increase sales. In the world of e-commerce, the ability of an individual to personalize a shopping experience based on friends’ “recommendations” or “Likes” can be a huge competitive advantage.

Social Commerce

Review Questions What’s e-commerce? Mention e-commerce models. Discuss in detail B2B business model. Discuss in detail B2C business model. List the advantages of e-commerce for business. List the advantages of e-commerce for customer. List the disadvantages of e-commerce for business. List the disadvantages of e-commerce for customer. What’s mobile commerce? What’s social commerce?