|
ECOMMERCE – DRAWBACKS AND ADVANTAGES
E – Commerce or
electronic commerce refers to any
business transaction or activity that is
carried out by electronic means.
Therefore, the main or the most popular
form of e – commerce is selling and
buying of services and products over the
internet. E – Commerce has the same
fundamental principles as that of
conventional commerce i.e. sellers and
buyers come together so that they can
swap commodities and money. However,
instead of conducting the business
transactions in the conventional method
in retail stores or using telephone
operators and mailing order catalogues,
in e – commerce sellers and buyers do
the business transactions through
computer networks such as internet and
intranet.
Through e – commerce
consumers can enjoy convenience like
never before. Consumers can do their
shopping chores at any time of the day
or night. They can compare the prices of
the products and services at several
online shops and get the best deal for
their purchases and the best of it all,
all these activities can be done by
sitting at home or office. Products and
services from around the globe are
available through e – commerce. In some
cases, which involve soft products like
computer software application or a music
file, the consumers can get the service
or product immediately by downloading it
using the internet.
For the merchants, e –
commerce reduces costs and allows them
to expand their business across the
globe. It is not necessary to build,
maintain and staff real stores and print
and distribute the mail order
catalogues. Automatic billing and order
tracking systems cuts down additional
labour, bringing down, the overall
expenses. Moreover, if the service or
product can be transmitted to the buyer
over the internet then you will be able
to save the distribution costs as well.
Because internet can be accessed through
out the world, an e – commerce web site
owner will be able to sell his products
globally without being limited by
geographical boundaries. Online
technologies allow sellers to collect
information about the preferences and
interests of the customers and then use
the data to develop a long term
relationship with their customers. Also,
the online stores will be able to
deliver highly customized services and
products to meet their customer’s needs.
E – Commerce is not 100%
prefect and has a few drawbacks. Several
consumers are still not comfortable with
the idea of making online purchases. For
several businesses e – commerce is not
suitable. For example, all the online
furniture shops have failed because
customers like to check how comfortable
an expensive sofa is before they buy it.
Many other people want to go out and
shop because they consider it as a
social experience. For instance, people
enjoy driving to the retail store with
family or friends. Such an experience
cannot be simulated on the internet. For
some other group of consumers, shopping
is a stress buster. Consumers need to be
sure that online credit card dealings
are safe and secure so that their
financial futures are not thrown in to
jeopardy. |
