E-Commerce: A Revolution in the Way We Do Business

There is no finish line… –Nike Corporate Motto

v Financial business transaction that occurs over an electronic network v Sometimes called e-business What is electronic commerce (e-commerce)?

M-commerce E-commerce that takes place using mobile devices How are e-commerce transactions conducted? v Primarily through desktop computers v Wirelessly using handheld Web-enabled devices

What is a bricks-and-mortar business? v Company with a physical location, such as Wal-Mart or Kmart

What is a clicks-and-mortar business? v Company with a bricks-and-mortar location as well as an online presence v Some companies have online presence without physical locations E*Trade and Amazon.com

What is an electronic storefront? v Web site where e- retailer displays its products v Shopping cart allows customer to collect purchases v Also called online catalog add to cart

What is a shopping bot? v Web site that searches for the best price on a specific product v Also called a shopbot

What is business-to-consumer (B-to-C or B2C) e-commerce? v Sale of products or services from a business to the general public

What is consumer-to-consumer (C-to-C or C2C) e-commerce? v Individuals using Internet to sell products to other individuals Online auction, such as eBay

What is business-to-business (B-to-B or B2B) e-commerce? v Sale and exchange of products and service between businesses v Many businesses engage in both B2B and B2C v Supply chain creates and distributes products

E-Commerce Stats

What is business-to-employee (B-to-E or B2E) e-commerce? v Sale and exchange of products and service between a business and its employees v Usually through an intranet

What are some advantages of e-commerce? Global market 24/7 Businesses have access to 459 million people with Internet access Lower operating costs Customers can conduct price comparisons easily Feedback can be immediate Changing information can be available quickly FAQ (frequently asked questions) pages can provide easy access to customer support Ability to gather customer information, analyze it, and react New and traditional approaches to generating revenue Manufacturers can buy and sell directly, avoiding the cost of the middleman Distribution costs for information reduced or eliminated Options to create a paperless environment

Revenue Streams v Sales v Subscriptions v Banner ads v Pop ups v Web searches Paid listings Paid inclusion Search engine optimization

16 Building Traffic v The 3Cs Approach Content, community, and commerce v Keywords and Search Engines Choose name and product names that best describe business purpose and features Select descriptive domain names Business-related keywords can be listed in the HTML meta tag

17 Building Traffic (continued) v Marketing Online advertising methods include banner ads, pop-up ads, and Offline advertising methods include magazines, newspapers, radio, and television

18 Electronic Payment Systems v Electronic cash (e-cash or digital cash) Provides a private and secure method of transferring funds PayPal –Best-known e-cash provider v E-cash benefits Privacy - hides account information from vendors Convenient if seller cannot process a credit card v Smartcards Credit cards with embedded microchips

Ecommerce Spending Trends v At the end of 2008, worldwide e-commerce is expected to exceed $470 brillion. v By 2010: - 71% of US consumers will use the Internet to shop - 50% of ALL retail sales will be influenced by the Internet

Consumer Concerns v A recent poll of Americans Found that 13% had no fears about E-Commerce 53% had concerns of privacy and security 20% cited the inability to inspect products closely over the Internet 3% do not like to wait for delivery

Limitations v Bandwidth or data capacity v Comfort Factor v Security v Privacy

What factors lead to customer loyalty? v Best storefronts are efficient and easy to use v Customers who must wait more than eight seconds for a page to download usually will click to another site

Fun thought… v People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.