E-Commerce (part 2.a)

Scopes of e-commerce

A variety of businesses are conducted online, including retail businesses that sell products to consumers, service providers that sell services to consumers, auctioneers that create a marketplace for products and services, and business-to-business commerce. Retail transactions make up the largest part of e-commerce. Consumers can find computers, automobiles, clothing, books, music, airline and event tickets, food, and just about anything else for sale on the Internet.

A. Product Transactions

E-Commerce Web Site A page from the Amazon.com Web site illustrates the ease and immediacy of electronic commerce. Shoppers are able to search a wide variety of products, make their selection, order online, and receive updates about the status of their shipment. After years of operating losses, Amazon.com was among the first e-businesses to report a profit.Amazon.com

Retail Web sites typically include electronic catalogs that describe and display products for sale. Consumers can search for individual items or randomly browse electronic catalogs, some much larger than their mail order print counterparts. An Internet book retailer, for example, can offer millions of different book titles for sale on its Web site, far more titles than could fit into a store or that could be included cost-effectively in a print catalog.

Many online retailers allow customers to order products and then track the shipment of their order. Some computer manufacturers also allow consumers to choose different combinations of computer components, selecting the combination that best suits their budget and needs. Customers can then visit the company's Web site to track the progress of their computer purchase as it is being built and shipped. Many online retailers also automatically notify their customers by e-mail when the product has been shipped.

Shopping  

The exchange of goods and services by means of the Internet or other computer networks is called online shopping. E-commerce follows the same basic principles as traditional commerce-that is, buyers and sellers come together to exchange goods for money. But rather than conducting business in the traditional way-in stores and other "brick and mortar" buildings or through mail order catalogs and telephone operators-in e-commerce buyers and sellers transact business over networked computers.

A variety of businesses are conducted online, including retail businesses that sell products to consumers, service providers that sell services to consumers, auctioneers that create a marketplace for products and services, and business-to-business commerce. Retail transactions make up the largest part of e-commerce. Consumers can find computers, automobiles, clothing, books, music, airline and event tickets, food, and just about anything else for sale on the Internet.

 Positive Affect  

1. Customer Range  

There is no fixed customer range for the online shop. Anybody of the world can by product from an online shop.

 2. Low Set-up Cost  

There is no extra charge for buying shop premises, decorating and other cost.

 3. Running Cost  

In online shop there is no post for manager, sales-man and security guard. So there is no salary for those persons. More over there is no power or other utilities bill.

 4. Extension of Product Range  

There is no fixed range for the selling products. All shorts of products such as grocery goods, stationeries, electronics, vehicles, sports products etc. are sold in the online shop.

 5. Shopping Time  

Any one can buy product any time.

 6. Faster Response Times   

Customer can get all types of help like air ticket, hotel booking etc. instantly from the service provider.

 7. Real-time Information   

Customer can get all types of information like price, quality, validity ext. about product which one he/she wants to buy.

 8. Customer Expectation   

In an online shop any one can buy any thing as their want which is qualitative and reasonable price.

 Negative Affect  

1. Security  

Sometimes hackers or terrible online shopkeepers use customers VISA CARD or MASTER CARD for their won purposes.

 2. Competition   

Different price on the same product in many online shops. Customer finds the cheaper one and buys it.

 3. Cannot Physically See or Try The Products  

In online shop no one can get the physical information of the product the expected product is high-quality or worse.

 4. Product Must Be Delivered  

If the terrible online shopkeepers don't deliver the buying product than there is no other way to return the money which is used for total buying purpose.

 5. Carrying Cost  

            All Customers bear the delivery carrying cost.

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E-Commerce (part 2.b)

B. Service Transactions

Other e-commerce businesses offer services. Financial services represent a large segment of e-commerce. For a small fee, online investment brokerages trade stocks on behalf of their clients. Online stock brokerages typically charge customers lower fees than traditional stock brokerages. Other sites provide consumers with a way to research and obtain mortgages and other loans online.

Travel sites offer a method of scheduling airline flights, renting cars, and booking hotel rooms. Travelers can plan all the details of their vacation or business trip, make reservations, and purchase tickets at the same site. Such sites also offer maps, travel literature, and booking information for travelers.

C. Auctions

Some e-commerce sites specialize in bringing buyers and sellers together, rather than selling products from their own inventories. Online auctioneers provide sellers a way to list and display items for sale and take bids from interested buyers. An online auctioneer may bring together millions of users and feature more than 700,000 items at any given time. In exchange for the auctioneer's services, sellers pay the auctioneer a small fixed fee and a portion of the proceeds from the sale. Other sites invert this model. These sites enable bidders to name the price they are willing to pay for a particular product or service and then try to find a seller who is willing to meet that price.

D. Business-to-Business Transactions

Business-to-business commerce represents one of the fastest growing segments of e-commerce. Businesses order supplies and coordinate complicated projects electronically. For example, construction companies use e-commerce to order construction materials and coordinate the work of subcontractors. Before e-commerce, this work was conducted via telephone, facsimile, and regular mail. Subcontractors often lost time waiting for necessary parts to arrive or for another part of the project to be completed. With e-commerce, however, software can automatically track the inventories of manufacturers and suppliers so that both have adequate supplies on hand and no longer need to have excess inventories. Reducing inventories enables both manufacturers and suppliers to lower costs. The labor-intensive method of printing and then faxing or mailing purchase orders can also be avoided because software can create purchase orders and send them electronically.

E-commerce helps trucking and shipping companies match shipments with shippers. Before e-commerce, it was not uncommon for trucks or ships to drop off a shipment and then return to their base of operations empty. This practice was inefficient and cost the trucking or shipping company money. Specialized e-commerce software, along with the Global Positioning System (GPS), enables trucking firms to track the whereabouts of their trucks at all times and make better decisions as to how their trucks are routed so they can respond efficiently and cost-effectively to companies that need their services, dramatically reducing the number of trucks returning empty.

Banking

Banking in recent years, banks have made their services increasingly convenient through electronic banking. Electronic banking uses computers to carry out transfers of money. For example, automated teller machines (ATMs) enable bank customers to withdraw money from their checking or savings accounts by inserting an ATM card and a private electronic code into an ATM. The ATMs enable bank customers to access their money 24 hours a day and seven days a week wherever ATMs are located, including in foreign countries. Banks also offer debit cards that directly withdraw funds from a customer's account for the amount of a purchase, much like writing a check. Banks also use electronic transfers to deposit payroll checks directly into a customer's account and to automatically pay a customer's bills when they are due. Many banks also use the Internet to enable customers to pay bills, move money between accounts, and perform other banking functions.

Positive Affect

1.      Bill Payments

Bill payments lets you make payments directly from your bank account to some other company's account, such as making a payment for a store credit card direct from your account rather than by writing a cheque or arranging a money order.

2.      Money Transfers

Most online banking services will allow you to transfer money between accounts, such as to and from an associated savings account.

3.      Standing Orders

Setting up and managing standing orders is a common banking function and most online banking services will allow you to manage your existing standing orders, as well as create new ones if necessary.

4.      Direct Debits

Direct Debits can be a convenient way of ensuring that regular payments for services are made at a particular time each month. Most online banking services will allow you to make changes to existing direct debits or set up new ones should you so wish.

5.      Transaction list

Perhaps the most obvious use for online banking is to obtain a recent list of all the transactions on your account. This is similar to the monthly statement you would ordinarily receive, however it lets you check all recent transactions.

Negative Affect  

1. Customer Support  

As with any new technology new problems are faced. One of the first problems that banks have to worry about is customer support. Banks have no customer relations department.

 2. Instant Help  

Banks have no customers receive assistance quickly if they need help. Any major problems or disastrous can destroy the banks reputation quickly an easily.

 3. Software  

Another major issue in banking is the software that will be used in order to support the network. The first major concern is with laws. While Internet banking does not have national or state boundaries, the law does. Companies will have to make sure that they have software in place that can detect when an interstate law is being violated.

 4. Credit Card  

Another concern with software is over the company that manufactures it. Microsoft and Visa have formed an alliance while Netscape and Master Card have done the same. These alliances allow the Internet service provider to establish secure online transactions. Since Microsoft has an 80% market share on the software used by PC's it can possibly dominate the bank software market, creating a monopoly.

 5. Security  

Security of course is a huge issue with banks. Along with security, encryption, and managerial issues, a bank also has to worry about becoming too cold a distant to the customer. Some feel that banks who offer Internet banking our becoming more and more cold and impersonal with respect to the customer.

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E-Commerce (part 3)

Limitations of e-commerce

Lack of ATM's

One of the major disadvantages, which relates to virtual banks, revolves around the lack of ATM's. Due to this fact you can be charged to use other banks ATM's and likewise many virtual banks will not accept deposits via ATM. Therefore you either have to deposit money or checks via post which can be insecure, or transfer money from another account.

Start-up may take time

In order to register for ones bank's online program, he or she will probably has to provide ID and sign a form at a bank branch or if it strictly a virtual bank he or she may be sent these forms through the post and have to send them back. If one and their spouse wish to view and manage your assets together online, one of you may have to sign other forms before the bank will display all of your holdings together. In comparison to opening a branch account this can be done pseudo real time whereby you go into the branch, give them your personal details, sign some forms and once the account is activated you can use it almost straight away as the account is activated within the branch while you are there. Online accounts undergo the same form filling process but can take up to a week to be processed and validated before your account can be opened and accessed.

Learning curve

Banking sites can be difficult to navigate at first. Particularly for people that are not proficient in using the Internet, opening an online account or taking out a loan online can be a daunting thought. Time needs to be taken to understand such things as how to check your balance online or how to set up a standing order. This alone can prevent some people considering opening an online bank account even if the rates are much better than brinks and mortar banks.

Distrust of the User

For many people, the biggest hurdle to online banking is learning to trust it. People begin to ask questions such as did my transaction go through? Did I push the transfer button once or twice? Since they cannot physically see someone about their account and the fact that money transfers are done electronically and not person to person through a teller doubts can creep in. Upon saying this online banking system do offer all of the benefits of ATM's and branches in that you can check your balance, talk to customer service rep online about your account, order a check book, cancel a card if it has been lost or stolen to name but a few and in fact is much more convenient as all this can be done from the site rather than visiting the branch or ringing a phone number and going tedious process of automated switchboard system (see advantages of online banking). However the fact still remains that in trusting an internet banking service people will have to change the way they think about banking as a whole.

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E-Commerce (part 4)

Comment  

The impact of ICT on work and shopping trips is only beginning to be understood, and the influence of residential broadband connections is even less clear. However, the literature reviewed and data obtained in this study suggest a few lessons, especially for transportation planners.

First, e-workers take advantage of ICT to modify their commutes without impacting their workday. Many appear to use ICT before or after work to maintain contact with their office while leaving for or from work at times later than the common peak. While use of telecommuting as a direct substitute for the work commute is rare in this sample, most that do have broadband connections, indicating that the true telecommuting "boom" may yet occur, if broadband connections become more common.

Second, e-shopping broadens the range of shopping activities from home. While direct substitution-type activities appear less frequent and seem to have little impact in this sample, people seem use the Internet to modify their shopping behavior, by either browsing for products before leaving home, or by using the Internet to make their trip more efficient.

To further explore the thought suggested in the literature review that online shopping might not replace shopping trips; a number of survey items explored other possible and more complex interactions between ICT. These exploratory items probe:

I. On-line purchasing behavior (substitution for respondent travel)

II. Browsing the Net before making a trip to shop (substitution for "exploration" trips)

III. Use of the Net for item previews before making a trip to buy (modification - increasing trip efficiency)

IV. Extent to which Net browsing has led the respondent to make a shopping trip s/he would not otherwise have made (generation)

V. Net searches with the purpose of making shopping trips faster/more efficient (modification)

Survey results showed that respondents do engage in trip substitution behaviors as well as Net behaviors that might modify shopping-related travel. Of those that engage in some e-shopping behavior, 64% indicated that they had purchased items from on-line vendors, and 62% reported pre-purchase browsing on-line. However, on-line purchasing behavior was somewhat infrequent. When asked to indicate with what frequency they made on-line purchases, more participants noted doing so "several times per year" (48%).

Response patterns indicate more frequent browsing behavior than that revealed for actual on-line shopping.

For example, more respondents indicated that they browse "every week" (14% vs. 3%) and "several times per month" (29% vs. 14%). Regarding whether browsing modified or generated shopping trips where a purchase was made, 52% of respondents indicated that they searched the net to make their shopping trip more efficient, and 32% perceived that their use of the Net for browsing generated at trip.

The End

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E-Commerce

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Introduction

Electronic Commerce or e-commerce, the exchange of goods and services by means of the Internet or other computer networks. E-commerce follows the same basic principles as traditional commerce-that is, buyers and sellers come together to exchange goods for money. But rather than conducting business in the traditional way-in stores and other "brick and mortar" buildings or through mail order catalogs and telephone operators-in e-commerce buyers and sellers transact business over networked computers.
E-commerce offers buyers convenience. They can visit the World Wide Web sites of multiple vendors 24 hours a day and seven days a week to compare prices and make purchases, without having to leave their homes or offices. In some cases, consumers can immediately obtain a product or service, such as an electronic book, a music file, or computer software, by downloading it over the Internet.
For sellers, e-commerce offers a way to cut costs and expand their markets. They do not need to build, staff, or maintain a store or print and distribute mail order catalogs. Automated order tracking and billing systems cut additional labor costs, and if the product or service can be downloaded, e-commerce firms have no distribution costs. Because they sell over the global Internet, sellers have the potential to market their products or services globally and are not limited by the physical location of a store. Internet technologies also permit sellers to track the interests and preferences of their customers with the customer's permission and then use this information to build an ongoing relationship with the customer by customizing products and services to meet the customer's needs.

E-commerce also has some disadvantages, however. Consumers are reluctant to buy some products online. Online furniture businesses, for example, have failed for the most part because customers want to test the comfort of an expensive item such as a sofa before they purchase it. Many people also consider shopping a social experience. For instance, they may enjoy going to a store or a shopping mall with friends or family, an experience that they cannot duplicate online. Consumers also need to be reassured that credit card transactions are secure and that their privacy is respected.