What is E-Commerce? This lesson we look at what E-commerce is. Open up Microsoft Word as we will be doing some research during the presentation. Also, take notes. Ajarn David1

What is e-commerce? E-commerce is a way for any size of organisation to do business over the internet, selling products or services, taking payments and providing customer support. Put simply, e-commerce is a way of doing business over the internet. It can be used to sell products – both physical and digital – and some services, and it can be used by every size of organisation from a sole trader to a multi-national corporation. It is, however, important to remember that e-commerce is not just about buying and selling, but about the whole process of finding and relating to customers – before, during and after the sale. Ajarn David2

E-commerce websites An e-commerce business is usually based on a website on which products or services are displayed, and from which they can be selected and bought. These websites are sometimes custom- built by e-commerce web designers, although this can be an expensive option. As an alternative, there are free or low-cost ready-made e- commerce websites which can be downloaded and tailored to suit the needs of the vendor, or ‘merchant’. An even lower-cost option is a ‘storefront’ which can be bought or rented as part of an online market or virtual department store. Mini Task: Search online and find the names of 3 E-commerce websites - 5 minutes Ajarn David3

‘Clicks and mortar’ Some e-commerce businesses only trade online, whereas others have premises from which products can be bought by walk-in customers. The former business model is known as ‘pure-click’ e-commerce, the latter as ‘clicks and bricks’ or ‘clicks and mortar’. Almost all major retailers are now ‘clicks and mortar’, with e-commerce operating alongside high-street outlets. Mini Task: Find one example of each business model online. Also define what a ‘bricks and mortar’ business model is. - 5 minutes Ajarn David4

E-commerce and payments E-commerce customers usually want to pay for products or services using credit or debit cards. Providing this kind of facility should be straightforward for existing businesses, but new e- commerce ventures without a track record may find it difficult to do so. – Why? In this case, internet payment processing services such as PayPal are available. These are easy to set up and are widely used, but they cost more than directly accepting debit or credit cards. Mini Task: Find two more examples of payment processing services online. Name the company. – 5 mins Ajarn David5

Types of products sold through e-commerce Digital products such as computer software, music and video, and premium website content are usually delivered electronically by downloading.website content However, most e-commerce involves selling physical products which need to be transported from the merchant to the customer. Efficient packaging, transport and delivery of products are an important aspect of e-commerce, particularly for delicate or expensive products. Mini Task: Find the names e-commerce sites that deal with each of the products in the first paragraph. - 5 minutes Ajarn David6

E-commerce and customer service Customer support is vitally important to successful e-commerce. Internet users expect to find information easily and have queries answered quickly, and tend to move on to a different site if this isn’t the case. After the sale, any issues must be dealt with efficiently. Efficient selling and good support are two key elements in building lasting customer relationships. The most successful e- businesses are those which have a customer base which feels valued, and which is rewarded for loyalty. Ajarn David7

Other E-commerce Online Auctions When you think online auction, you think eBay. Physical auctions predate online auctions, but the Internet made auctions accessible to a large number of buyers and sellers. Online auctions are an efficient mechanism for price discovery. Many buyers find the auction shopping mechanism much interesting than regular storefront shopping. Internet Banking Today it is possible for you to perform the entire gamut of banking operations without visiting a physical bank branch. Interfacing of websites with bank accounts, and by extension credit cards, was the biggest driver of ecommerce. Online Ticketing Air tickets, movie tickets, train tickets, play tickets, tickets to sporting events, and just about any kind of tickets can be booked online. Online ticketing does away with the need to queue up at ticket counters. Ajarn David8

Video -What are the benefits of E-commerce? - Where is the biggest market in the world for e-commerce? Ajarn David9

Task In groups of 2, work together to make a poster highlighting what we have learned today about E-commerce. Use Microsoft Publisher to create your poster. Use a template of your choice. Highlight what we have learned. Insert some logos of well known e-commerce websites that the online shopper is likely to use. Make a brief note under each logo about what type of business it is i.e. ‘clicks and mortar’. Please type both names on the poster. me your work before the end of class. Ajarn David10