The internet has revolutionized the modes and methods of running businesses worldwide. The new world of digitalization has compelled businesses to rev up their old traditional strategies by infusing them with the latest technological tools for functioning more efficiently and effectively.
A dire need to rev up the businesses by integrating online platforms became the need of the hour that eventually opened up the doors to the new concept of Digital Marketing. Thus, calling for a drastic change in business patterns and strategies of marketing from being an offline communication of brands to better and efficiently online and interactive communication and voice of brands leading to better business prospects and higher profits.
Table of Contents
What is an E-commerce Business?
Ecommerce can be defined as the buying and selling of goods electronically online. In general terms, e-commerce is an online process of buying or selling goods and services. Whenever anyone buys or sells products or services online, it is called an e-commerce business.
The e-commerce industry is growing by leaps and bounds worldwide, and in India, it is entering into the next phase of a significant transformation, offering exponential growth and opportunities.
Online retail shopping goes directly to consumers through mobile apps, websites, voice assistants, chats, chatbots, etc.
Advantages of E-commerce Business
E-Commerce business offers tremendous advantages, which can be broadly classified into three major categories.
Advantages to Organizations
Advantages to Consumers
Advantages to Society
Let’s throw some light on each category and how an e-commerce business benefits them in detail.
Advantages of E-commerce Business to the Organizations
- Higher global reach
- Lower costs
- Faster buying process
- Affordable advertising and marketing
- No reach limitation
- Store and product listing creation
- Less paperwork
- Cart Recovery
- Increases efficiency
Higher Global Reach
E-commerce businesses offer huge benefits by breaking all the geographical barriers to reach out to a larger number of customers across the globe and help in exploring and establishing new markets worldwide. It enables the organizations to expand their market to national and international markets with minimum capital investment.
Lower Costs
An e-commerce business eradicates the use of physical stores, thus helping the organizations with less infrastructural and maintenance costs. Moreover, an e-commerce business is automated, which means less staff is required to manage things. These cost savings translate into lower price offerings to the customers and more sales for the business. Therefore making an e-commerce business quite affordable as compared to traditionally-run businesses.
Faster Buying Process
Customers can easily browse through many items with a single click of their mouse and buy whatever they like without stepping a foot outside their houses. They can choose from various product categories and make a buying decision sitting right in the comfort of their homes. Searching for desired items and their description coupled with easy product purchase and delivery enables an e-commerce business buying process pretty fast.
Affordable Advertising and Marketing
E-commerce business uses multiple online channels and platforms to promote and advertise their products and services, which are pretty affordable as they do not involve the use of any physical tools compared to traditionally run businesses where the cost of advertising and promotions were comparatively exorbitant.
No Reach Limitation
Compared to physical stores, E-commerce businesses have no reach limitation since most e-commerce businesses have their own logistics and delivery system and can and can cover any distance to reach out to the customers.
Product Listing Creation
E-commerce business provides the advantage of allowing to display product listing with price, product description, images, product category, shipping fee, and delivery date. Creating a list of products facilitates the buying process and easy decision-making at the buyer’s end.
Including more information like reviews, demo videos, offers, and expected delivery timings also aid in more sales.
Paperless Work
E-commerce helps organizations go paperless through the use of an electronic payment system at the point of sales, resulting in fewer transaction costs, labor costs, and no paperwork.
Cart Recovery
Sometimes while making an online purchase, a buyer reaches the checkout page without completing his purchase. In that case, the e-commerce business can notify the customers to finish their buying process, thus helping the organizations to retain their potential customers.
Increases Business Productivity
Being an online business enables an organization to reach out to more customers increase the conversion rates because of high audience engagement creating a better brand image leading to higher sales and profit revenues, thus improving the business productivity.
Advantages of E-commerce Business to Customers
- 24×7 services availability
- Flexibility for customers
- Time-saving
- More Product options
- Product and price comparison
- Reviews and feedback
- Several payment modes
- More discounts offer
24×7 Services Availability
E-commerce businesses use the internet to buy products and services all around the day and time. Customers can get involved in the shopping experience to make a purchasing decision 24×7, thus making e-commerce a very convenient option.
Flexibility for Customers
Customers have the flexibility to enjoy the shopping experience without going outside while sitting right at the comfort of their homes, where they are free to make a buying decision as per their comfort and convenience.
Time-Saving
The use of e-commerce for shopping helps in saving a lot of time as one can get a wide variety of options sitting at his home at the click of his mouse. Visiting traditional physical stores for shopping turns out to be quite a time-consuming task and was considered tiring also at the same time. On the other hand, e-commerce is a time-saving alternative.
More Product Options
E-commerce offers a wide range of product options to choose from, unlike a traditional store with a limited product range. A wider product range provides a good amount of satisfaction and great experience to the customers and facilities the buying decision.
Product and Price Comparison
Customers on an e-commerce platform get a chance to compare different products and prices, which helps them make an easy buying decision.
Reviews and Feedback
Reviews and feedback about particular products by the end-users help the potential customer make a better buying decision. Good reviews and feedback lead to positive results turning into sales.
Several Payment Modes
Ecommerce marketplaces permit the use of multiple payment options to choose from, ranging from net banking, credit or debit card, UPI, cash on delivery, EMIs, and pay-later credit facility. Customers are free to choose any of the above-mentioned payment modes according to their comfort and convenience.
More Discount Offers
E-Commerce business increases the competition among all the organizations. As a result, organizations are compelled to offer discounts to stay ahead in the competition, which ultimately benefits the customers in grabbing heavy discount offers.
Advantages of E-commerce to the Society
- Create more job opportunities
- Availability in rural areas
- Access to economically weaker class
- Low-cost essential services
- Reduces regional imbalances
- Promotes cordial relationships
- Less pollution
- Economic development
Create More Job Opportunities
E-commerce bridges the gap between job givers and job seekers and helps to create new employment opportunities for society.
E-commerce has been proven to be an effective propellant in generating a multitude of diverse employments from channel partners to logistics and delivery boys and so on. E-commerce through the internet also helps in providing a worldwide network to identify and train human resources too.
Availability in Rural Areas
E-commerce has also enabled the rural population to have access to their products and services, which otherwise was not possible. With the internet making its presence felt in rural areas through mobiles, e-commerce has gained massive popularity in rural areas also pertaining to its low price and offers.
Access to Economically Weaker Class
E-commerce helps reduce the cost of products through more discounts, thus reaching all the strata of people, including the economically weaker class of people who can also buy the products because of their affordability.
Low-Cost Essential Services
E-commerce helps the government deliver essential and public services such as education, healthcare, and social services at a reduced cost and improved manner.
Reduces Regional Imbalances
Developing countries provide several tax concessions for setting up call centers in remote and rural areas. Call centers provide a lot of employment opportunities. The revenues generated by the nation are allocated towards the development of infrastructure in the rural areas. It brings balanced regional development in developing countries.
Promotes Cordial Relationships
E-commerce enables people to send greetings, gifts, and gift vouchers to friends and relatives all across the world, which helps promote cordial relationships between individuals in society.
Less Pollution
Customers engage in a shopping experience to buy products or services without stepping their foot out for traveling a long distance to buy desired products, thus resulting in less traffic on the road and helping the environment with less air pollution.
Economic Development
Business organizations are able to attract customers from anywhere in the world. An increase in customer base results in increased production, generating greater revenues to the organizations and fosters expansion in national income. The expansion of national income and increase in the volume of products and services accelerate economic growth.
If you are also planning to set up an ecommerce business, you can simply get an ecommerce store developed and designed by any ecommerce website development company in Jaipur with all required features integrated into it.
Conclusions
The internet has revolutionized how businesses function globally and has turned them online to gain a competitive edge.
E-commerce involves the sales of goods and services over online platforms using internet services. It has become a magnificent platform to offer a wide variety of products and services to the customers, simultaneously providing a long list of benefits for everyone from the organizations, customers, and society, creating endless possibilities and opportunities for everyone.
It has changed the face of the shopping experience by making it easy, convenient, and hassle-free, where one gets the liberty to pick, choose and order the desired products sitting right at the comfort of their homes.
Frequently Asked Questions(faqs)
1. What is e-commerce?
The process of buying or selling products or services online by using the internet is called e-commerce.
2. What are the advantages of an e-commerce business?
E-commerce offers many benefits to consumers, organizations, and society at large. Some of the benefits are:-
- 24×7 availability
- Time-saving
- Flexible
- Affordable
- Increases productivity
- Wide range of products
- Product and price comparisons
- No limit reach
3. How does an e-commerce business benefits society?
E-commerce business has many benefits for society, namely
- Helps generate jobs
- Rural reach
- Access to economically weaker classes
- Less pollution
- Economic development
