E-Commerce
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E-Commerce
E-Commerce is the name for various business dealings that are conducted over the internet or other computer networks. E-Commerce encompasses the buying and selling of products but also includes the entire process of developing, marketing, selling, delivering, servicing and paying for products and services over a network. The highest and the most significant benefit of e-commerce, is that it allows businesses to influence the global market. With the help of e-commerce, even small businesses can access the global market for selling and buying goods and services. Another benefit is that there are no time constraints to conduct business. Business transactions can be completed any time of any day; 24 hours a day. Including weekdays, weekends and holidays. This can significantly increase sales and profit.
(M/Cyclopedia of New Media and Wikipedia).
Advantages
Electronic commerce offers the consumers the opportunity to search for discounted and good quality products. With e-commerce, consumers can simply research on a specific product and sometimes even find out the original manufacturer to purchase a product at a much cheaper price than that charged by the wholesaler. Shopping online is generally more convenient and time-efficient than typical shopping. Individuals could also stumble across reviews dispatched by other patrons, about the products purchased previously. This can better the decisions made by future consumers.
Online Shopping
Online shopping or Retail Business is an aspect of E-Commerce as well as its' largest segment. Online shopping is defined as the buying and selling of goods over the internet by the website, M/Cyclopedia of New Media. Shopping over the internet has become a sensation over the years. This method offers convenience and 24 hours access to shopping. One can also find anything over the internet and compare prices and make selections from the ease of their laptop or even mobile phone (M/Cyclopedia of New Media).
E-Commerce Discount "Deal of the Day" Sites
In recent years, "Deal of the Day" sites such as Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com have gained much popularity, especially during a down economy. Groupon and LivingSocial were launched in 2008 and 2009 respectively. These sites feature discounted gift certificates good towards local or national companies (Wikipedia). Such deals can now also be found on mobile phones. These applications can be tailored to a user by utilizing a phone's GPS system to locate local deals within specified miles of the phone and user. They also operate mainly through a daily email format as well as integration with social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These sites are also characterized by their big "click-to-buy" buttons and countdown timers which show when the coupon will no longer be for sale (gigaom.com). These sites have also spurred thousands of similar sites across the world. Many of these sites are related or owned by the same parent company.
References
1. “Electronic Commerce – Overview.” M/Cyclopedia of New Media. Sep 2005. 08 May 2011. <http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/E-Commerce>.
2. “Electronic Commerce.” Wikipedia. 5 May 2011. 08 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecommerce>.
3. “Groupon.” Wikipedia. 09 May 2011. 10 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupon>.
4. “Groupon and the Wannabees.” Gigaom. 01 Feb 2010. 08 May 2011. <http://gigaom.com/2010/02/01/groupon-and-the-wannabes/>.
5. “LivingSocial.” Wikipedia. 05 May 2011, 08 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Social>.
6. “Online Shopping.” M/Cyclopedia of New Media. Aug 2004. 08 May 2011. <http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Online_Shopping>.
