The concept of E-commerce, its advantages and types

19 February 2022

The concept of E-commerce, its advantages and types.

E-commerce is a new term in the world of economics that appeared with the spread of the Internet in the early nineties of the twentieth century, but some researchers pointed to its existence since the seventies of the last century through electronic information exchange systems between industrial companies known as EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).

Definition and features of e-commerce:

Definition:

It is the process of buying, selling or exchanging products, services and information using an internal or external Internet.

Advantages:

1- Facilitating the access of products to customers.

2- Save time and effort.

Her specialties:

E-commerce intersects with many disciplines such as accounting, business law, computer science, consumer behavior, economics, engineering, finance, human resource management, information systems management, marketing, robotics and statistical sciences.

All you need to know about E-commerce terminology:

e-business: It is the broadest definition of e-commerce that includes customer service, cooperation with trading partners, conducting electronic transactions within the organization, as well as the process of exchanging, selling or buying products, services and information.

e-marketplace: It is a marketplace where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods, services, money and information via the Internet.

intranet: A local network within a company or government that uses Internet tools such as browsers and the Internet Protocol.

extra net: A network that uses the Internet to connect a group of internal networks.

social computing: It is a computerized system that includes social interactions and behaviors, using a set of tools such as blogs, wikis, social networks, and others, and it focuses on improving cooperation and interaction between people. As for its role in e-commerce, it allows people to work together, communicate with experts, and learn about products recommended by their friends.

social network: a category of Internet applications that help connect friends, business partners, or individuals with specific interests by providing free services such as photo viewing, email, and blogging.

Social commerce: e-commerce activities that take place through social networks or social programs such as web applications

virtual reality: a three-dimensional computer simulation, users of the virtual world are called "Avatars", through these virtual characters the user can interact with the virtual environment such as building or sharing places, cars and many other items. The most famous example of a virtual world is "SECOND LIFE".

E-commerce and applied on the Internet are described by several characteristics, the most important of which are:

_ There is no use of exchanged paper documents used in conducting and executing commercial transactions, and interactions and exchanges between dealers are carried out electronically and no type of paper is used. Therefore, the electronic message is adopted as a legal document recognized by both parties in the event of any dispute between the dealers.

_ It is possible to deal through the application of e-commerce with more than one party at the same time, so that each party can send electronic messages to a very large number of recipients at the same time, and there is no need to send them again.

_ The interaction between the two parties dealing in e-commerce is carried out through the communication network, and what distinguishes this method is the presence of a high degree of interaction without the two parties being present on the network at the same time.

The lack of common coordination among all countries for coordination and the issuance of a specific law for each country, taking into account the laws of other countries, and this in turn hinders the comprehensive application of e-commerce.

_ It is possible to buy and sell intangible goods directly and through the communication network, and thus e-commerce has been separated from the traditional means used in the buying and selling process, for example, reports, research, studies, photos, and the like.

_ The use of computer systems available in business enterprises for the flow of data and information between the two parties without any direct manpower intervention helps to complete the business process at the lowest costs and with high efficiency.