The Future of E-Commerce Business: A Complete Overview
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 8:25 am
E-commerce, electronic commerce, online or online trading – all these terms refer to the buying and selling of goods or services using electronic information technologies. The Internet is the primary technology.
But other forms of digital data transmission and processing, such as mobile telephony, electronic customer databases or accounting software , are also used in this field.
Digital marketing agency or advertising agency leads us to ask ourselves how far the power of electronic commerce reaches and above all what is electronic commerce, what are its advantages and disadvantages and what are its current trends.
What is e-commerce?
In addition to the actual purchasing processes, e-commerce includes all the processes that enable a purchase to be initiated and processed. An online shop functions as a central sales platform where potential buyers can not only browse the product range but also place orders and pay via a dedicated norway phone number library digital system. An electronic merchandise management system records the product sold and updates the stock. An RFID chip tracks the shipping route. Finally, CRM systems enable you to manage your customer relationships well.
In a narrower definition, e-commerce is therefore a part of e-business. This includes all automated business processes that use electronic information and communication technologies. The use of these highly automated business processes makes work more efficient and increases turnover.
Digital technologies form the basis for the development of e-commerce . Various technologies can be used here: the spectrum ranges from simple radio technology (e.g. Bluetooth) to very complex systems based on artificial intelligence (AI). In addition to communication technologies via the Internet and telephony, electronic databases, word processing programs, social networks or television, payment transactions via online banking and chatbots for customer service are also used as advertising channels.
Features of e-commerce
For businesses, the goal of e-commerce is to streamline sales processes in order to generate more revenue. The aim is to make all business operations more efficient and reduce associated costs. Companies have gained new sales channels via the Internet through online stores, commentaries , marketplaces (e.g. Amazon) or by building an auction website (e.g. eBay). Thanks to social media, web advertising, newsletters and automated CRM systems, merchants can gain new customers and improve their relationships with them with relatively little effort.
E-commerce is intended to increase your efficiency. For example, it speeds up the sales process. Customers can easily browse the range from their smartphone or personal computer and place orders at any time. Computer-assisted systems automate processes and thus save time. At the same time, personnel costs are also reduced.
E-commerce allows for any type of commercial transaction. The latter can be processed both in B2C (business-to-consumer trade) and also in B2B (business-to-business trade).
Advantages of e-commerce
Businesses can benefit from e-commerce in several ways. Here are some of its great advantages:
Bridging distances: The Internet allows retailers to avoid being dependent on a fixed point of sale. They can enter new sales markets in regions around the world. Although the distribution of material goods still requires the expansion of logistics capacity, it does not require the opening of new locations. The communication facilities offered by the Internet often reduce some needs for business travel. From the consumer's point of view, the advantage of e-commerce is that they can choose from a wide range of products and compare quality and prices directly.
Faster purchasing processes: E-commerce allows for delay-free purchases. Buyers no longer need to go to the store to buy their products. Instead, they can place orders 24 hours a day from home or from any computer or mobile phone. Dedicated systems immediately send an automatic order confirmation. From a sales perspective, it is very easy to offer and manage your services online. For example, a travel agency can easily advise people interested in a destination and process reservations.
Reduced transaction costs through e-commerce: E-commerce can potentially avoid the need to rent new stores and warehouses. Inventory, cash register, and other systems designed specifically for online store management automatically track inventory and cash flows.
Omnichannel and multichannel marketing: if the situation allows, it is worth having an online and offline presence using all the channels at your disposal. If you use an online store, social media and your own business, consumers will have more touchpoints to go to in order to access your offer.
Widespread advertising: Social media, blogs, and corporate websites offer inexpensive ways to draw attention to offers. Companies active on Facebook especially benefit from the broad reach of this network. SEO marketing and advertising agencies in Dubai can be developed effectively with an advertising budget that is usually much smaller than that of traditional ads, such as those printed in magazines or broadcast on television. In addition, online advertising is easier to customize than traditional advertising.
Opportunities to get closer to customers: Social media allows you to establish more personal contact with potential customers and improve your company's image. Tracking and analysis tools make it easier to collect personal data and create accurate customer profiles. This makes it easier to plan advertising campaigns and adapt your product range to demand. CRM systems make it easier to stay in touch with your customers.
Satisfied customers: Customer support email, online contact forms or instant messaging can overcome some people's hesitation to seek advice. Thanks to these technologies, customers can ask questions 24 hours a day and receive a quick response. Simplifying the ordering and payment processes significantly reduces the effort required by both customers and companies.
The disadvantages of e-commerce
E-commerce can also have some disadvantages for businesses and customers. This largely depends on the industry you operate in and the capabilities at your disposal.
Complex implementation: Building a digital infrastructure takes time and money. Not all small retailers have the knowledge or human and financial skills to set up an online store or manage their social media on a regular basis.
Experience and work in advertising: To assess how much you can save on costs, you need to consider the industry you work in. In highly competitive markets, companies have to fight tooth and nail to attract attention on the World Wide Web. A simple Google AdWords advertising campaign is not enough. In addition, with smartphones and social media, users' attention spans have shortened. As for search engine marketing (SEO), it requires technical knowledge or sometimes the more expensive support of a specialized agency.
Increased competition and pricing pressure: Global online commerce has led to an exponential increase in the number of competitors. If supply outstrips demand, there is enormous pressure on businesses in their pricing strategies.
Lack of personalized advice: Not all online retailers can offer 24-hour customer service or have the resources to integrate chatbots into their websites. Unlike a traditional brick-and-mortar store, the customer will not have any direct contact to receive advice.
The damage to the shops themselves: the booming online trade is taking place at the expense of in-store sales. New strategies must be developed by physical shops, which are seeing a decline in the number of visitors. We are thinking in particular of bookstores, which are suffering drastically from the success of the giant Amazon.
Payment security and data protection: some Internet users continue to avoid making online purchases for security reasons or because they do not want to provide their personal data.
Current trends in Internet commerce
Due to new developments in the future, e-commerce continues to grow.
Online shopping is by no means limited to the younger generation. Age differences play an increasingly less important role: many people over 65 are now comfortable with the Internet. Companies that strongly target digital natives in their marketing may therefore lose other potential customers. However, purchasing behavior differs widely between these groups. For clothing and footwear, older people still prefer brick-and-mortar stores. On the other hand, 14- to 29-year-olds go online much more frequently, regardless of the product.
A major challenge for online retailers today is to personalise the online shopping experience. The trend is therefore towards individualised offers and the dynamic use of creative optimisation to personalise their ads. Many users appreciate, for example, the possibility of buying a tailor-made gift voucher or booking a trip with very special conditions. Loyal customers expect discounts, personalised attention and appropriate purchase recommendations. Analysis and tracking tools such as Google Analytics enable the collection of personal data to facilitate this work. They record users' purchasing and browsing behaviour in order to adjust settings for their next visit to the online shop. Internet merchants can then better understand their customers' product preferences and understand what they are willing to pay.
There are also many experiments being carried out in the field of virtual reality. This technology allows users to fully immerse themselves in the world of products. The immersive showroom of the Swedish group IKEA is a good example. It allows customers who are still undecided to virtually assemble their furniture, choose the most suitable colours and even visualise their choices at different times of the day (thanks to a change in brightness).
Online shopping is increasingly done from mobile devices . In just a few years, mobile phone purchases have skyrocketed. To keep up with the trend, it is therefore important to design a responsive website, i.e. one that can adapt to different display formats. This simplifies navigation on the small screen of mobile devices and shortens loading times. Le Figaro thus indicates that one in five online purchases would be made via mobile phone.
Poor network connections are still a barrier for consumers who want to shop from their mobile phones. But with the new 5G mobile communications standard, this obstacle should be removed. Advertising that reaches consumers 24 hours a day on their mobile phones is also becoming increasingly profitable, with geolocation data improving targeting. This allows companies to present offers based on where the consumer is located or to attract customers to the nearest store.
Despite these developments, physical retail has not yet had its last word. On the contrary, customers want to be able to switch from online to offline mode as often as they like. Omnichannel marketing is therefore the order of the day. Even pure players such as Zalando are increasingly selling their fashion items in retail outlets or outlets; others even offer the possibility of accessing their showrooms. With the “click & collect” service, customers can try on a product and pick up products ordered online themselves to avoid shipping costs. On the other hand, physical stores increasingly offer the possibility of receiving advice online (via Skype, for example) and ordering products there.
By using as many channels as possible, you will inevitably reach more potential buyers, but you will also most certainly increase customer satisfaction. For an ever-easier transition between online and offline, you can rely on innovations from the Internet of Things. For example, thanks to beacons, which are based on Bluetooth technologies, smartphones can receive signals from product shelves or a specific product in a store. An app records these signals and then provides the customer with detailed information about the products in question. It can also try to draw their attention to promotions or recommend products that meet their preferences (e.g. organic foods).
But other forms of digital data transmission and processing, such as mobile telephony, electronic customer databases or accounting software , are also used in this field.
Digital marketing agency or advertising agency leads us to ask ourselves how far the power of electronic commerce reaches and above all what is electronic commerce, what are its advantages and disadvantages and what are its current trends.
What is e-commerce?
In addition to the actual purchasing processes, e-commerce includes all the processes that enable a purchase to be initiated and processed. An online shop functions as a central sales platform where potential buyers can not only browse the product range but also place orders and pay via a dedicated norway phone number library digital system. An electronic merchandise management system records the product sold and updates the stock. An RFID chip tracks the shipping route. Finally, CRM systems enable you to manage your customer relationships well.
In a narrower definition, e-commerce is therefore a part of e-business. This includes all automated business processes that use electronic information and communication technologies. The use of these highly automated business processes makes work more efficient and increases turnover.
Digital technologies form the basis for the development of e-commerce . Various technologies can be used here: the spectrum ranges from simple radio technology (e.g. Bluetooth) to very complex systems based on artificial intelligence (AI). In addition to communication technologies via the Internet and telephony, electronic databases, word processing programs, social networks or television, payment transactions via online banking and chatbots for customer service are also used as advertising channels.
Features of e-commerce
For businesses, the goal of e-commerce is to streamline sales processes in order to generate more revenue. The aim is to make all business operations more efficient and reduce associated costs. Companies have gained new sales channels via the Internet through online stores, commentaries , marketplaces (e.g. Amazon) or by building an auction website (e.g. eBay). Thanks to social media, web advertising, newsletters and automated CRM systems, merchants can gain new customers and improve their relationships with them with relatively little effort.
E-commerce is intended to increase your efficiency. For example, it speeds up the sales process. Customers can easily browse the range from their smartphone or personal computer and place orders at any time. Computer-assisted systems automate processes and thus save time. At the same time, personnel costs are also reduced.
E-commerce allows for any type of commercial transaction. The latter can be processed both in B2C (business-to-consumer trade) and also in B2B (business-to-business trade).
Advantages of e-commerce
Businesses can benefit from e-commerce in several ways. Here are some of its great advantages:
Bridging distances: The Internet allows retailers to avoid being dependent on a fixed point of sale. They can enter new sales markets in regions around the world. Although the distribution of material goods still requires the expansion of logistics capacity, it does not require the opening of new locations. The communication facilities offered by the Internet often reduce some needs for business travel. From the consumer's point of view, the advantage of e-commerce is that they can choose from a wide range of products and compare quality and prices directly.
Faster purchasing processes: E-commerce allows for delay-free purchases. Buyers no longer need to go to the store to buy their products. Instead, they can place orders 24 hours a day from home or from any computer or mobile phone. Dedicated systems immediately send an automatic order confirmation. From a sales perspective, it is very easy to offer and manage your services online. For example, a travel agency can easily advise people interested in a destination and process reservations.
Reduced transaction costs through e-commerce: E-commerce can potentially avoid the need to rent new stores and warehouses. Inventory, cash register, and other systems designed specifically for online store management automatically track inventory and cash flows.
Omnichannel and multichannel marketing: if the situation allows, it is worth having an online and offline presence using all the channels at your disposal. If you use an online store, social media and your own business, consumers will have more touchpoints to go to in order to access your offer.
Widespread advertising: Social media, blogs, and corporate websites offer inexpensive ways to draw attention to offers. Companies active on Facebook especially benefit from the broad reach of this network. SEO marketing and advertising agencies in Dubai can be developed effectively with an advertising budget that is usually much smaller than that of traditional ads, such as those printed in magazines or broadcast on television. In addition, online advertising is easier to customize than traditional advertising.
Opportunities to get closer to customers: Social media allows you to establish more personal contact with potential customers and improve your company's image. Tracking and analysis tools make it easier to collect personal data and create accurate customer profiles. This makes it easier to plan advertising campaigns and adapt your product range to demand. CRM systems make it easier to stay in touch with your customers.
Satisfied customers: Customer support email, online contact forms or instant messaging can overcome some people's hesitation to seek advice. Thanks to these technologies, customers can ask questions 24 hours a day and receive a quick response. Simplifying the ordering and payment processes significantly reduces the effort required by both customers and companies.
The disadvantages of e-commerce
E-commerce can also have some disadvantages for businesses and customers. This largely depends on the industry you operate in and the capabilities at your disposal.
Complex implementation: Building a digital infrastructure takes time and money. Not all small retailers have the knowledge or human and financial skills to set up an online store or manage their social media on a regular basis.
Experience and work in advertising: To assess how much you can save on costs, you need to consider the industry you work in. In highly competitive markets, companies have to fight tooth and nail to attract attention on the World Wide Web. A simple Google AdWords advertising campaign is not enough. In addition, with smartphones and social media, users' attention spans have shortened. As for search engine marketing (SEO), it requires technical knowledge or sometimes the more expensive support of a specialized agency.
Increased competition and pricing pressure: Global online commerce has led to an exponential increase in the number of competitors. If supply outstrips demand, there is enormous pressure on businesses in their pricing strategies.
Lack of personalized advice: Not all online retailers can offer 24-hour customer service or have the resources to integrate chatbots into their websites. Unlike a traditional brick-and-mortar store, the customer will not have any direct contact to receive advice.
The damage to the shops themselves: the booming online trade is taking place at the expense of in-store sales. New strategies must be developed by physical shops, which are seeing a decline in the number of visitors. We are thinking in particular of bookstores, which are suffering drastically from the success of the giant Amazon.
Payment security and data protection: some Internet users continue to avoid making online purchases for security reasons or because they do not want to provide their personal data.
Current trends in Internet commerce
Due to new developments in the future, e-commerce continues to grow.
Online shopping is by no means limited to the younger generation. Age differences play an increasingly less important role: many people over 65 are now comfortable with the Internet. Companies that strongly target digital natives in their marketing may therefore lose other potential customers. However, purchasing behavior differs widely between these groups. For clothing and footwear, older people still prefer brick-and-mortar stores. On the other hand, 14- to 29-year-olds go online much more frequently, regardless of the product.
A major challenge for online retailers today is to personalise the online shopping experience. The trend is therefore towards individualised offers and the dynamic use of creative optimisation to personalise their ads. Many users appreciate, for example, the possibility of buying a tailor-made gift voucher or booking a trip with very special conditions. Loyal customers expect discounts, personalised attention and appropriate purchase recommendations. Analysis and tracking tools such as Google Analytics enable the collection of personal data to facilitate this work. They record users' purchasing and browsing behaviour in order to adjust settings for their next visit to the online shop. Internet merchants can then better understand their customers' product preferences and understand what they are willing to pay.
There are also many experiments being carried out in the field of virtual reality. This technology allows users to fully immerse themselves in the world of products. The immersive showroom of the Swedish group IKEA is a good example. It allows customers who are still undecided to virtually assemble their furniture, choose the most suitable colours and even visualise their choices at different times of the day (thanks to a change in brightness).
Online shopping is increasingly done from mobile devices . In just a few years, mobile phone purchases have skyrocketed. To keep up with the trend, it is therefore important to design a responsive website, i.e. one that can adapt to different display formats. This simplifies navigation on the small screen of mobile devices and shortens loading times. Le Figaro thus indicates that one in five online purchases would be made via mobile phone.
Poor network connections are still a barrier for consumers who want to shop from their mobile phones. But with the new 5G mobile communications standard, this obstacle should be removed. Advertising that reaches consumers 24 hours a day on their mobile phones is also becoming increasingly profitable, with geolocation data improving targeting. This allows companies to present offers based on where the consumer is located or to attract customers to the nearest store.
Despite these developments, physical retail has not yet had its last word. On the contrary, customers want to be able to switch from online to offline mode as often as they like. Omnichannel marketing is therefore the order of the day. Even pure players such as Zalando are increasingly selling their fashion items in retail outlets or outlets; others even offer the possibility of accessing their showrooms. With the “click & collect” service, customers can try on a product and pick up products ordered online themselves to avoid shipping costs. On the other hand, physical stores increasingly offer the possibility of receiving advice online (via Skype, for example) and ordering products there.
By using as many channels as possible, you will inevitably reach more potential buyers, but you will also most certainly increase customer satisfaction. For an ever-easier transition between online and offline, you can rely on innovations from the Internet of Things. For example, thanks to beacons, which are based on Bluetooth technologies, smartphones can receive signals from product shelves or a specific product in a store. An app records these signals and then provides the customer with detailed information about the products in question. It can also try to draw their attention to promotions or recommend products that meet their preferences (e.g. organic foods).