E-Commerce

Question 1

Features of Online Shopping

Answer 1

—Maintaining a company website / need for trained staff.

—Catalogue of stock/products, stock database/table so that one can immediately see if something is available or whether there will be a delay.

—Methods of secure payment / shopping trolley.

—Database/table of customer orders/bids so that immediate searches can be made to find and update customer information.

—Order/bid tracking / email confirmation.

Question 2

E-Commerce Uses

Answer 2

—Companies can advertise goods and services only

—Companies sell goods and services e.g. Tesco home shopping, buying music, making customised t-shirts, betting services, gaming services (not playing games)
Subscription services which sell information e.g. Met

—Office weather data, research papers, legal cases database

—Interactive sites which encourage feedback on products

—Auction sites such as Ebay

—Secure payment services

—Internet banking

Question 3

E-Commerce Advantages to customers

Answer 3

—There is no travelling it can be done from home so saving in costs and time delivered to the door

—Allows disabled people to do more shopping

—Can be done 24/7*

—Can find obscure goods not available locally

—Much quicker to do a price comparison

—See other customer reviews

—Order tracking

—Better deals available online / much quicker to do price comparisons / find cheaper deals online

Question 4

E-Commerce Disadvantages to customers

Answer 4

—Hidden charges (if qualified) e.g. import duty on goods being bought from abroad.

—Can’t fully assess the quality of the goods / can’t try it on

—Copycat websites to extract bank account info

—Fake websites - goods do not exist

—Credit card fraud

Question 5

E-Commerce Advantages to company

Answer 5

—People can email them with enquiries, orders, requests

—Technology has advanced and now made a lot more possible.

—Overheads cut / Large savings on shop, warehouse and office space / Less money tied up in stock / less stock wastage

—Wider customer base / Can reach an international audience

—More efficient customer targeting

—Can target sales because you can see rivals prices on their website and alter your prices#

–Can sell 24/7 (but not if given as an advantage for customers)*

Question 6

E-Commerce Disadvantages to company

Answer 6

—Competitors can see your prices and target your company#

—Need for trained staff

—Cost of maintaining a company website/ need to maintain more secure network

—Increase in delivery vans (environmental issues)