What is electronic commerce?: E-commerce is the technology that enables people and businesses to trade, market, and do business online. The key points here are that there is no physical market and this retail model offers the flexibility that the consumer or customer can shop in the comfort of their home or office without having to worry about going to the market and doing all the shopping. We know that traffic in some cities is a hassle and the transportation element is completely wiped out here because the transaction is online. In the market you have to go from store to store yourself and check the various options available and this is very tedious as when people transact online they can check multiple options online they can see for example t-shirts that offer multiple brands. with a click of your computer mouse.
Promotional Strategies: There are various promotional strategies that one can use if they want to operate an online retail store.
Popups – Website popups prove to be a great way to reach browsers. Google and other online advertisements also contribute greatly.
Networking Sites: Making a group on Facebook and Twitter helps browsers communicate conveniently, and any special requests buyers may have can be interpreted here.
Advertising: Banners are placed across the Internet to attract browsers. These banners can conveniently direct them to your website.
Blog: Maintaining your company blog is a good option and helps maintain your company’s image as a thought leader. Keep updating your blog complete and thorough. This way you can make sure your readers don’t get lost. Readers in the future could even become your customers.
Collaboration: You can collaborate with various brands and participate in events that help in advertising.
Technology used in electronic commerce: The technology used to build a trustworthy site must be chosen carefully. The website can be built with the latest technology called PHP. It is easy to modify with PHP. Payment gateways must be used effectively. The user interface should be eye-catching, easy to use, interactive and easy to navigate. Privacy and security is one of the crucial aspects. Consumer trust is a crucial part of the eCommerce industry. Without protecting the data of your potential customers, whether it be financial data (credit card information) or personal information, an eCommerce business would have absolutely no home to get off the ground.
Functionality: This explains the step-by-step procedure when a consumer shops at a typical online retail (clothing) store.
Step 1: Welcome page appears
Step 2: The user selects his category and then the item he wants to buy
Step 3: Click “Add to Cart”. If you want to select more items, then you click “Proceed to Checkout” and then select more items and again click “Add to Cart”. This is an iterative step until the moment you are done with your online purchases.
Step 4 – After the user has selected all the items they want, they proceed to fill in their information, which includes shipping details and any other relevant user information.
Step 5: The user selects the type of payment and fills in the details
Step 6: The user clicks to accept the terms and conditions and finally proceeds to pay. A confirmation email is then sent to the user confirming the details of their order.
Thus, we see that eCommerce websites and the industry in general have a long way to go with the advancement on the technological front.
