Essay about E-Commerce

E-commerce, usually referred to as electronic commerce, is a type of online business that involves buying, selling, and sending data and money via the internet. This innovative idea encompasses a range of commercial activities, including banking, investing, rentals, and retail purchasing. E-commerce is one of the key indicators of communication and information technology innovation in the economic sector. It removes the limitations of time and geographic location and enables global commerce. According to Nanehkaran (2013), the advent of the internet gave e-commerce a boost. Due to its numerous benefits, it has completely changed the way business is conducted around the world. He argued that e-commerce has replaced the traditional way of doing business and continue to do so as more people continue to embrace it.

With the increase in the number of people who have access to internet, the numbers of people who prefer e-commerce continue to increase. It has also led to the existence of virtual market whereby customers are linked through the internet and they can buy and sell goods and services. According to Josh and Dumbre (2013), there are three types of e-commerce. The first and most common is business to business also known as B2B. This involves business organizations or entities engaging in business with other entities rather than with customers. B2B electronic commerce is complex and relies on various factors that enhance businesses between two or more entities. The other electronic commerce involves a business transaction between a business entity and individual customers. This business is simple and straightforward as compared to B2B businesses.

The third type involves businesses between customer and customer also known as C2C. it involves customer selling to customers in a virtual marketplace such as eBay, Amazon among others. Dan (2014) suggested that C2C businesses have experienced tremendous growth due to their increased popularity and ease of operation. He observed that, although the virtual market is hosted by a different business entity, the platform that allows the customer to interact with other customers make the transaction simpler, easier and less expensive. As compared to traditional methods of doing business, e-commerce has revolutionized the way businesses are carried out. Traditionally, it was not possible for business organizations however big they were to reach out to all continents. With e-commerce businesses can extend their reach to all corners without the time and physical locality limiting factors.

E-commerce has also enabled small and medium businesses to venture into international businesses as it offers a cheaper alternative to expanding their business reach. Formation and setting up of e-commerce platforms has become cheaper compared to setting up physical locations across the country and beyond. Chen and Zang (2014) observed that, since the introduction of e-commerce, the number of SME that are expanding globally has increased. They showed that e-commerce in China has and continue to grow with over 25% in 2014 compared to the same period in the year 2013. They observed that the total transaction volumes exceeded 11 trillion RMB and the number of online users continues to increase. In book and print media industries, e-commerce has changed the trend and have forced players to adopt changes and implement strategies that are in line with the changing consumer behaviors.

Josh and Dumbre (2017) observed that, with the increasing complexity of smartphone technologies, the number of people who prefer reading digital books and other media such as magazines and newspapers is increasing. Many publishing firms and media companies have shifted their focus to providing digital contents to try and increase their competitive advantages. E-commerce has also forced many business organizations to shift from being product-centric to becoming more products centric. Niranjanamurthy, Kavyashree, Jagannath, and Chahar, (2013) observed that, with increase in social media and companies embracing social media as a platform to not only advertise but also engage existing and new customers, companies are forced to improve their services as the same social media has been used to crisis brands whose services are wanting.

The education sector has also been impacted on by e-commerce. Many institutions are embracing online educations to complement the traditional in-class teaching methodologies. In modern days, students are able to enroll in universities in different continents, engage with tutors and lecturers online and even evaluated online. The cost of education has gone down as the cost involved is less compared to traditional method of delivery (Nanehkaran (2013). Through advanced technologies such as video conferencing and web conferencing, online classes are becoming very common. E-commerce offers both advantages and disadvantages to both businesses and consumers. When using e-commerce, customers are able to compare prices and get the best price in reduced time. Due to the fact that many businesses operating online incur reduced operation and storage expenses, they are able to offer goods and services at a cheap price compared to business operating using traditional models.

Consumers are also able to get goods and services at any time and from anywhere. Due to the fact that virtual markets are used, Josh and Dumbre (2017) argued that consumers are able to access marketplace and different vendors 24 hours a day. Additionally, such markets are accessible from any place as long as one is connected to the internet. Although consumers enjoy the advantages of e-commerce there are several concerns that need to be addressed. Consumers are not able to physically examine the products that they are buying. Additionally, cases of identity thefts have increased and these require extra online securities. Several people have lost their identities through hacking while conducting online businesses.

Businesses also enjoy both advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce (Dan 2014). The most notable one increases in market share. Businesses are able to expand their markets with limited barriers in entering such markets. Businesses require minimal costs as they do not require permits and licenses in dealing with customers from different countries. Additionally, e-commerce offers reduced cost of advertising and customer acquisition. Through e-commerce, business entities are able to get into contact with customers and get feedbacks at a reduced time compared to when operating from physical locations. Although advantages of e-commerce to business are many, they also face some disadvantages. For any business entity to operate a successful e-commerce, they require hardware and software. These extra machines require a specialized team to maintain and update them regularly. The team also requires regular training to keep up with modern technologies (Niranjanamurthy, Kavyashree, Jagannath, and Chahar (2013). With increased incidences of hacking, many business entities face challenges of theft of confidential information which may threaten their business existence.

In conclusion, many business entities continue to venture in electronic commerce due to its many advantages. With increasing number of people who are connected to internet globally, e-commerce will continue to grow and expand. Businesses should, therefore, take advantage of such opportunities in expanding their market reachability.

References

Chen, Q., & Zhang, N. (2015). Does E-Commerce Provide a Sustained Competitive Advantage? An Investigation of Survival and Sustainability in Growth-Oriented Enterprises. Sustainability, 7(2), 1411-1428.

Dan, C. (2014). Consumer-To-Consumer (C2C) Electronic Commerce: The Recent Picture. International Journal of Networks and Communications, 4(2), 29-32.

Joshi, J. M., & Dumbre, G. M. (2017). Basic Concept of E-Commerce. International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(3).

Nanehkaran, Y. A. (2013). An Introduction to electronic commerce. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 2(4), 190-193.

Niranjanamurthy, M., Kavyashree, N., Jagannath, S., & Chahar, D. (2013). Analysis of e-commerce and m-commerce: advantages, limitations and security issues. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, 2(6).