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E-Commerce (part 2.a)

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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 s

E-Commerce (part 2.b)

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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

E-Commerce (part 3)

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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 d

E-Commerce (part 4)

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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

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