E-commerce is the use of Internet and the web to transact business however when we concentrate on digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals involving information systems under the control of the firm it takes the type of e-business. Business models were also start to take shape and one of the hottest models was “digital malls”, however it encountered problems as it did not meet the consumers’ expectations and as a result, it failed. The reasons for its failure were due to inadequacies of the websites, software bugs, baffling interfaces and a limited selection of products, which led to dissatisfied customers. Many early entrants spent large quantities of money implementing online systems however ended up shedding money and were forced to close down.
The anonymity of internet shopping for and selling creates many dangers of e-commerce and many times those who have cheated on a purchase are never found to be prosecuted. Buying on the large public sale sites on the internet is somewhat safer as they offer buyer protection for a lot of of the transactions handled through their site. However the old expression “let the buyer beware” has never been more relevant than with internet purchases. The dangers of e-commerce can involve the products themselves as well as the electronic transaction. Look at it from the perspective of the buyer.
In 2013, GoDaddy embarked on a journey to offer the simplest and easiest e-commerce answer for small businesses. In the process, they evaluated various platforms for the criteria they considered necessary — including maturity, extensibility, features, modularity, adoption and group assist. Spree Commerce stood out from the pack.
For the most part businesses on the web have truly succeeded in allowing the customer to be in charge of their online shopping experience. In 2017, Forrester Research predicted that the B2B e-commerce market will top $1.1 trillion in the U.S. by 2021, accounting for 13% of all B2B sales in the nation.
In addition to protecting consumers from information leaks and misleading online advertising, digital works are protected on the internet via the Digital Millennium Copyright Act There are several provisions that e-commerce businesses need to be aware of, including copyright infringement liability and a service provider’s responsibilities.
Many of the buyers for corporate organizations are younger and have a vast exposure to computers. This consumer will want to explore websites that are interesting as well as informative. Some of the key rules listed include: present prices upfront, allow type preference, offer want lists, don’t require registrations and a speedy checkout. With any procurement system the easier the product is to understand the better the consumer can make their decision. If the information in the description is not going to answer the consumer’s inquiry then the product will be over looked. Many products sold business to business should be specific in their description. There is a fine line between fulfilling the primary data and flourishing the description with too much technical data.
Here’s one example of how the company uses data. Birchbox asks subscribers to review each item and uses that information to match customers with the best products. Birchbox also sends the data to their partners so they can determine what works and what doesn’t.