E-Commerce.

Definition.

E-Commerce refers to business over the internet. It is when we use the internet to buy goods; book holidays or even use auction sites, websites such as Amazon, eBay and Buy are all e-commerce sites. E-Commerce includes all types of business activity, such as retail shopping, banking, investing and rentals. E-Commerce involves anything to do with the buying or selling of products or services over the internet. This includes marketing and advertising.

How is choice affected?

When shopping online of the internet there is a larger range of good and products that are offered when you search for them. Customers are able to look through the website where the seller has provided information about the product before they purchase it. By purchasing things online people also have a wide range of choices as the internet almost has unlimited stock. If there’s a specific thing a person is looking for to purchase they can just type in that item on the internet and a large choice of the same item will appear; the only difference being there it will all be from different sellers and different prices. Going into a traditional shop there are only the items on display, therefore they could not have your size. Therefore shopping on the internet they have a wider range of sizes than in the traditional shop. One thing you won’t be able to do when looking online is look at the item in front of you, when the item is in front of you, you can check the quality of that item and materials. Online there will only be a small image of the item with a description. The description may help, but many people would rather have the item in front of them to check the quality of the item. You also have no advice on the product you are looking at; in a traditional shop advice on any of the items could be available from the sales assistance, whereas online you don’t have any assistance apart from the brief description. A good example of when choice is affected is on websites such as http://www.tesco.com/direct. Not all Tesco stores are Tesco Superstores, therefore they only sell groceries. Tesco Direct also sells home electrical, DIY and clothing. Shopping online also gives you a wider variety of home electrical or DIY to choose from.

How is cost affected?

When shopping g online of the internet cost is always one of the features affected. When in the traditional store, the items you want to purchase sometimes tend to cost more. They usually cost more because of the costs of the shop overheads and the staff salaries are recovered from the sales. When online, they don’t have to maintain shops or pay staff salaries. Although when shopping online postage and delivery costs can take the item you’re buying back to its original price in the store. When shopping online if you know the item you want to purchase you can search for that item on other sites too, looking on sites like eBay and Amazon, the items tend to be cheaper and sometimes there’s no postage or delivery cost.

An example of when cost is affected is on sites when you get free delivery when spending over a certain amount, or by getting discount online but not in the store. The print screen above is from the website http://www.ark.com. When spending over £20 or more you get free delivery, where as delivery could sometimes cost up to £5 more.

How is convenience affected?

Convenience is affected when shopping online. When shopping online you can do it either on the move or on a computer or a laptop. You can shop online from the comfort of your own home. There won’t be any need to travel to the store because the items you want are in front of you and you can visit the website at any time in the day you wish too. Where as the traditional shop will have limited shopping hours, usually from 8am – 9pm, or the times in between. Some shops close around midday and then reopen after, that could be a problem for those who have a break from work midday and need to