4.8 E-commerce Flashcards
What does “E-commerce” refer to?
Buying of goods and services online
What is “Business-to-Consumer” (B2C)?
In a Business-to-Consumer E-commerce environment, companies sell their online goods to consumers who are the end users of their products or services. Usually, B2C E-commerce web shops have an open access for any visitor.
What is “Business-to-Business” (B2B)?
In a Business-to-Business e-commerce environment, companies sell their online goods to other companies without being engaged in sales to consumers. In most B2B E-commerce environments entering the web shop will require a log in. B2B web shop usually contains customer-specific pricing, customer-specific assortments and customer-specific discounts.
What is “Consumer-to-Consumer” (C2C)?
In a Consumer-to-Consumer E-commerce environment consumers sell their online goods to other consumers. A well-known example is E-Bay.
What are some advantages of E-Commerce to Consumers?
- easier pay
- convenience (deliveries)
- reviews
- lots of information
–> easier to compare to other - almost unlimited variety of choices
- can do it from anywhere at anytime
- often less expensive products and services
What are some advantages of E-Commerce to the Business?
- Increased customer base
- Cost effective - save on staffing a physical shop
- Services - eg. accountancy
What are some disadvantages of E-Commerce to Consumers?
- misleading (product isn’t what you expected) + fraud
- damage in shipping
- delivery costs
- no human interaction
- returning goods can be inconvenient
What are some disadvantages of E-Commerce to the Business?
- Increased competition - competition once limited to other local shops is now on an international scale
- New comers - consumers may be reluctant to buy from a company they haven’t heard of
- Slow adoption - companies whose competitors already have an online presence may find it hard to gain market share
- Expense of setting up and maintaining the website (staff has to be trained to run the site)
