Introduction
In today’s era, just as everything has become digital, buying and selling has also become online and digital. If we order and buy something from anywhere, anytime through our mobile, computer, laptop or tablet, then it is called electronic commerce or e-commerce.
In this article, we will understand the following topics in simple terms:
What is e-commerce
How does e-commerce work.
Types of e-commerce
Advantages of e-commerce
Disadvantages of e-commerce
What is e-commerce?
For example, you are using a mobile or laptop while sitting at your home, office or anywhere. While using your mobile phone, you see a picture or video of a product, you like the product, then you click on the picture or video to go to the product’s detail page and order and buy the product from the comfort of your home. So the entire process of this purchase is called e-commerce.
In this process, you are the buyer and the person or company that advertises the product is called the e-commerce seller.
E-commerce can be through Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, a website, or any online platform.
That is, if you order and buy anything via the internet on a mobile phone or any other device, then this is e-commerce.
Like nowadays people buy and sell on Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, etc.
How does e-commerce work?
Most people find the e-commerce process difficult, but in reality it is not as difficult as we think. There are some basic steps to e-commerce:
1. Online Store or Website
First of all, you need an online store on any platform. Either you create your own website or create your own store on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, WhatsApp or any other platform.
2. Listing Products or Services
Just as in normal life we rent a shop to start a business and decorate it beautifully with shelves and racks to display products so that customers like them and buy them— Similarly, after creating an online store, we list the products, upload their images, prices, and full descriptions.
3. Customer places an order
The customer comes to your online store, likes your product and places an order.
4. Payment Process
Payment can be made in various ways, for example: Cash on Delivery (COD) is very common in Asian countries
Most people in Europe and the Gulf countries prefer to pay by debit or credit card.
5. Delivery
After the order is placed, the product is delivered to the customer’s home or given location through any courier service.
Types of E-Commerce
There are different types of e-commerce, for example:
1. B2C (Business to Consumer)
In this type, the business sells products directly to the consumer. Example: Amazon, AliExpress
2. B2B (Business to Business)
large businesses supply products to small businesses, usually in wholesale. Example: Alibaba. This method of e-commerce is called B2B (Business to business)
3. C2C (Consumer to Consumer)
In this method, people buy and sell things to each other. These things can be new or used. Example: OLX, Facebook Marketplace
4. C2B (Consumer to Business)
In this, ordinary people sell their services or skills to businesses. For example, a business may need marketing, logo design or any other service. Example: Freelancing platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, PeoplePerHour
Remember that e-commerce includes not only the buying and selling of products but also services.
Advantages of e-commerce
Nowadays, e-commerce is more popular because it has numerous advantages. Some of the important advantages are as follows:
1. Low investment
The biggest advantage of e-commerce is that it does not require much capital to start, as is the case with offline businesses. No shop rent No electricity bills No need for labor No need to keep a lot of stock You can start this business alone, even from home.
2. 24/7
Just as every shop in the offline market has its own time, unlike these shops, there is no time limit for your online shop, but your shop will continue to run 24 hours a day, so you will sell things even while you are sleeping.
3. Global Reach
This is a great advantage of e-commerce that there is no limit to your customers. For example, usually if you want to start a business in an offline market, no matter how large the area is in terms of population, Your customers are limited. But if your business is online and your product, pricing, and marketing are right, you can get customers from anywhere, local and international.
4. Customer Convenience
As everyone is busy these days and everyone is trying to save their time, so in your online business the customer gets the advantage that he can shop according to his needs sitting at home, due to which he saves a lot of time.
5. Easy Marketing
If your marketing strategies are right and you understand marketing well, marketing for e-commerce businesses can be done easily and at low cost on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Google.
Disadvantages of E-Commerce
Everything has both advantages and disadvantages, similarly, e-commerce also has some disadvantages along with advantages, such as:
1. Trust Issues
It often happens in online business that a customer orders a product, but sometimes he does not receive the product as shown in its pictures, description, etc. Due to this, the customer’s trust in the entire e-commerce store is lost. That is why trust issues are a common problem in e-commerce. Most customers are afraid that they won’t get the right product, and most people are also afraid to pay online, lest they make the payment and the product is not delivered.
2. Delivery Issues
Sometimes the seller’s delivery is very late, or the product may be damaged during delivery. Then sometimes customers cancel their orders, due to which the seller has to face a lot of difficulties.
3. High Competition
Just as there is competition in offline businesses these days, there is also a lot of competition in online businesses. Nowadays, everyone wants to start an online business, even those who already have offline businesses are also coming into online business along with offline so that they can get benefits from both places. That is why you will find thousands of online stores on the internet about a particular product, which makes it clear that there is a lot of competition in almost every product or every category.
4. Technical Knowledge
Running an e-commerce store requires some technical skills, such as handling a website, knowing a little about digital marketing, and having the necessary skills for online payments. With the help of these skills, you can start your business at least at a basic level.