E-commerce -- electronic commerce or EC -- is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the internet. These business transactions occur either as business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-business.

Electronic commerce or ecommerce is a term for any type of business, or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. It covers a range of different types of businesses, from consumer based retail sites, through auction or music sites, to business exchanges trading goods and services between corporations. It is currently one of the most important aspects of the Internet to emerge.

Ecommerce allows consumers to electronically exchange goods and services with no barriers of time or distance. Electronic commerce has expanded rapidly over the past five years and is predicted to continue at this rate, or even accelerate. In the near future the boundaries between "conventional" and "electronic" commerce will become increasingly blurred as more and more businesses move sections of their operations onto the Internet.

Business to Business or B2B refers to electronic commerce between businesses rather than between a business and a consumer. B2B businesses often deal with hundreds or even thousands of other businesses, either as customers or suppliers. Carrying out these transactions electronically provides vast competitive advantages over traditional methods. When implemented properly, ecommerce is often faster, cheaper and more convenient than the traditional methods of bartering goods and services.

Different Types of E-commerce Websites

Different e-commerce websites are labeled or referred to differently, based on the function they fulfill.

·         Business-to-Business (B2B): Electronic transactions of goods and services between companies.

·         Business-to-Consumer (B2C): Electronic transactions of goods and services between companies and consumers.

·         Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): Electronic transactions of goods and services between consumers, mostly through a third party.

·         Consumer-to-Business (C2B): Electronic transactions of goods and services where individuals offer products or services to companies.

·         Business-to-Administration (B2A): Electronic transactions of goods and services between companies and public administrations.

·         Consumer-to-Administration (C2A): Electronic transactions of goods and services between individuals and public administrations.

The Benefits of e-commerce

There is a reason why e-commerce has demonstrated such explosive growth in the past couple of years. Indeed, with the internet becoming an essential requirement of everyday life, businesses are learning to take advantage of the numerous benefits of e-commerce, the most notable of which include:

Global market. A physical store will always be limited by a geographical area it can serve. An online store, or any other type of e-commerce business for that matter, has the whole world as its market. Going from a local customer base to a global market at no additional cost is really one of the greatest advantages of trading online.

Around-the-clock availability. Another great benefit of running an online business is that it is always open. For a merchant, it’s a dramatic increase in sales opportunities; for a customer, it’s a convenient and immediately available option.

Reduced costs. E-commerce businesses benefit from significantly lower running costs. As there’s no need to hire sales staff or maintain a physical storefront, the major e-commerce costs go to warehousing and product storage. And those running a drop shipping business enjoy even lower upfront investment requirements. As merchants are able to save on operational costs, they can offer better deals and discounts to their customers.

Inventory management. E-commerce businesses can automate their inventory management by using electronic tools to accelerate ordering, delivery and payment procedures. It’s saving businesses billions in operational and inventory costs.

Serving niche markets. Running a niche brick-and-mortar business is extremely difficult. There’s almost no chance of scaling it unless a niche product becomes mainstream. By tapping into a global market, on the other hand, e-commerce retailers can build a highly profitable niche business without any further investment. Using online search capabilities, customers from any corner of the world can find and purchase your products.

Working from anywhere. Often, running an e-commerce business means that you don’t need to sit in an office from 9 to 5 or suffer through a commute day-in and day-out. A laptop and a good internet connection is all it takes to manage your business from anywhere in the world.

The e-commerce has transformed the way business is done in India. The Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow to US$ 200 billion by 2026 from US$ 38.5 billion as of 2017Much growth of the industry has been triggered by increasing internet and smartphone penetration. The ongoing digital transformation in the country is expected to increase India’s total internet user base to 829 million by 2021 from 445.96 million in2017. India’s internet economy is expected to double from US$125 billion as of April 2017 to US$ 250 billion by 2020, majorly backed by ecommerce. India’s E-commerce revenue is expected to jump from US$ 39 billion in 2017 to US$ 120 billion in 2020, growing at an annual rate of 51 per cent, the highest in the world.

Indian e-commerce industry is all set to record the third highest growth rate in Asia-Pacific this year, as more and more young people in the country switch to using smartphones and make online purchases.

Global retail e-commerce market is expected to witness a high growth on account of favorable attitude towards new shopping channels. The overall market is projected to grow at an approximate CAGR of 10% from 2016 to 2024.

Retail e-commerce allows consumers to buy goods from the seller over the internet. Customers can find their interested products by visiting the website. Most online retailers use shopping cart software.

Payment and delivery information are collected using a check out process. Convenience is the major factor driving the overall online shopping market growth. It is easier to navigate through various product categories with the help of search system.

Consumers are finding it difficult to visit retail stores during their hectic schedule. E-commerce shopping allows consumers to shop sitting in an office or at home and operate for 24 hours. Also, product delivery is made door-step which eradicates the transportation trouble.

Few major players are as under:

·         Alcove E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd.

·         Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd.

·         Bookmywish E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd.

·         Clues Network Pvt. Ltd.

·         eBay India Pvt. Ltd.

·         JD.com

·         Alibaba

·         Uber

·         Rakuten

·         Meituan-Dianping

·         B2W

·         Zalando

·         Groupon

·         Flipkart

·         ASOS.com

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