 List as many websites as you can think of

 E-commerce is short for ‘electronic commerce’  It means buying and selling goods using the Internet.

 How many of the websites you thought of are owned by a business?  How many are e-commerce sites?  For each of the sites that aren’t e-commerce sites, what are the business using the site for?

 You need to be able to identify, describe and evaluate ways in which businesses use the internet, including informing customers about the business and its products, and enabling customers to place orders and pay for purchases

 How do businesses use the internet ◦ Informing customers about the business (mission statement, social and environmental policies) ◦ Informing customers about products (online catalogue) ◦ Allowing customers to order and pay for products (e-commerce, online customer account) ◦ Communicating with customers ( , FAQs, customer feedback) ◦ Providing customer service – technical support

 Open the internet question sheet and answer the questions on the first page Business Studies/year 11/AQA Revision/ 21 Miscellaneous/CPG Workbook Section 6

 You need to understand the importance of the internet in helping businesses to be more competitive, responding to potential and actual competition

 Answer the questions on the second page Business Studies/year 11/AQA Revision/ 21 Miscellaneous/CPG Workbook Section 6

 You need to know the advantages of the internet and e-commerce to a business, especially in terms of the opportunities to market its products ‘24/7’ to customers thereby increasing and/or maintaining its market share  You need to understand the disadvantages of the internet and e-commerce to a business, such as: the threats of increased competition, the costs of setting up and maintaining a website, providing customer support outside normal office hours and the risks of unauthorised access and theft of customer data

What are the advantages for businesses of using e- commerce?

Advantages of e-commerce for a business Access to the global market means the business will be better known and have a wider customer base A business using e-commerce can get ahead of its rivals that don’t Increased sales lead to increased profit Reduced advertising costs Internet adverts can be animated and interactive – great for catching attention Business is open 24/7 so can increase competitiveness and market share Websites can reduce costs – they don’t have to pay for printing materials, FAQ pages mean fewer customer service staff are needed, by selling online there are savings on shop rent and sales staff

What are the disadvantages for businesses of using e- commerce?

Disadvantages of e-commerce for a business Being part of the global market means the business is in competition with lots of others Websites are expensive:- Designing keeping the website up-to-date Online payment facilities The internet is always available so staff will have to be paid to work outside normal office hour Market research needs to be very detailed to meet the needs of customers in such a wide market Packing and distribution of products can be very costly and involve long distances Not all of the businesses target customers have access to the internet. Websites collect confidential information which needs to be protected

What are the advantages for customers of using e- commerce?

Advantages of e-commerce for customers Customers have a huge range of goods to choose from They can ‘shop around’ the ‘web’ for the best bargain Internet prices are often lower than in shops Customers can shop from anywhere they have internet access Customers can shop ’24/7’

What are the disadvantages for customers of using e- commerce?

Disadvantages of e-commerce for customers Customers need to own or have access to a computer and be on-line and know how to use the Internet. It is not easy to assess the quality and suitability of products on the screen. The inconvenience of returning unwanted goods. Customers usually have to have a debit/credit card or paypal account to make Internet purchases. Security risks of buying on-line

 Answer the questions on the third and fourth pages Business Studies/year 11/AQA Revision/ 21 Miscellaneous/CPG Workbook Section 6