What is eCommerce?

Throughout history there has been “commerce” of one kind or another and the information revolution introduces the question – “What is eCommerce?”

Basically, eCommerce is the process of marketing, shopping, buying, selling and receiving money through the access of technology, resources, tools and software solutions that enable digital processing. In eCommerce businesses, a merchant can offer products or services to the customer via a web page or pages that, through integration and design, are linked to a database which enables automated, electronic management of transactions.

Generally, the hosting of an eCommerce will include html pages, a shopping cart, and solutions that provide privacy and secure processing of monetary transactions.

Successful eCommerce businesses will attest to the advantages of eCommerce which include the ability to market products and services in the international and world wide markets. In comparison to press advertising, internet marketing is relatively inexpensive and some venues of online marketing are even free.

PayPal is a popular eCommerce solution because fees associated with receiving payments through PayPal are much less than they are with a merchant account. Affiliate programs, where other businesses market your products and services for a fee, are also a possibility in eCommerce which expands international and worldwide reach of a business’s marketing efforts.
The main disadvantage of owning and maintaining an eCommerce website is lack of knowledge to do so effectively. By doing a search through Google for eCommerce solutions, you are sure to find a guide to download that will explain the processes and things to consider when launching an eCommerce website.

// posted by BasicMichelle on 10/21/2005 09:10:00 AM / Permanent Link