Internet or E-Business
The differences between an e-commerce site and a internet or technology based business
Although the terms e-commerce and e-business are often used interchangeably, there are differences. Electronic commerce, or eCommerce, is conducting business over the Internet. It is the buying and selling goods and services, and transferring funds digitally on the Internet or other computer network. Any brick and mortar store can become an e-commerce business by adding a virtual storefront with an online catalog. In most cases, e-business refers exclusively to Internet businesses, but it may also refer to any business that uses Internet technology to improve productivity and profitability.
When there is an exchange of money for goods or services, it is covered by the term e-commerce. E-business includes all aspects of running a business that sells goods and services, including marketing, earning and retaining customers, procurement, developing business partners and customer education. In order to be successful, e-commerce and e-businesses must have quality storefronts that are simple to navigate and peruse, with accurate and thorough catalog information. E-business became an extension of e-commerce to encompass all aspects of businesses that function online. E-business involves e-commerce, but e-commerce does not cover all aspects of e-business.
Advantages to Vendors
E-businesses have distinct advantages over brick and mortar stores. First, they can be found with search engines without the use of pricey advertising campaigns. Beyond this, e-business allows vendors to track purchases and preferences of customers, leading to marketing catered to each individual. Advantages for e-commerce, which also extend to e-business, are great monetary savings (because of fewer employees and low overhead) and the ability to reach consumers across the globe.
Advantages to Consumers
Consumers can access e-commerce and e-businesses at any time of the day or night, from their workplace or in their pajamas. Consumers can search through countless products and services using online databases. Prices are quickly compared online to find the business that offers the best products at the best prices. Consumers are quickly exposed to e-business because it uses more targeted marketing and offers more in-depth education compared to traditional businesses.
Features
- Quantity: When offline stores calculate transaction costs, they have to factor in countless business expenditures along with the actual number of transactions. When there are fewer transactions, the cost of per transaction is higher. On the flip-side, transactions arriving in high quantity can overwhelm your personnel and distributors. In an E-Commerce business, the transaction cost is the same across the board, whether one order or thousands come in.
- Accuracy: Electronic selling nearly eliminates processing errors that run rampant with human processors. This translates into less wasted time solving order and invoice problems. Although inaccuracies do not incur fees or penalties, they do take up considerable employee time and energy. E-Commerce frees up staff members to focus on profit-generating activities.
- Brick And Mortar: The money received for every transaction will pay for the item; it will also contribute to the salesperson's salary, credit card fees, lease on store front, electricity, telephone, heating/cooling, taxes, displays, repairs and maintenance to the building. However, the money received for an E-Commerce transaction pays for the item, web hosting, shopping cart software, distribution and little else. The cost overall of maintaining a virtual store is far less than that of a brick and mortar store.
- Inventory: With a brick and mortar store, you will have to maintain an inventory. This will entail purchasing, receiving, unpacking, displaying, storing extras and selling as quickly as possible. In the E-Commerce world, you can opt to own or rent warehouse space to store inventory, or you can create a working relationship with wholesalers or manufacturers that ship directly from their facility, which is often called drop shipping. If purchasing in bulk, your cost per item will be lower, but you will not have to process and house the inventory.
- Other Reduced Costs: An E-Commerce business is able to reduce labor and other costs in many areas, including: document preparation, reconciliation, mail preparation, telephone calling, data entry, overtime and supervision expenses. E-Business can help manage operating costs in many areas, thereby reducing the cost of individual transactions. The use of email and electronic invoicing are a tremendous savings over the traditional methods.
E-commerce and e-businesses offer online store fronts, complete with virtual shopping carts and wish lists that can be emailed to friends and family. Along with this, e-businesses often have an electronic chat function that is used for technical and customer support. Virtual computer systems allow businesses to remotely access their customers’ computers to correct problems or navigate software and hardware specifications. E-business extends from these features to work with internal processes like product development, risk management, production and inventory management, among other things.
Whether you need help taking care of your Internet Business needs or help setting up an Online store, Nexwrx will help you setup everything you need to reach all of your technology goals and stay within your budget. Please contact us today for more information about our Internet Business Services.
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