1.4 E-Commerce - SEE COMPUTER SCIENCE 2080

 1.4 E-Commerce

·       E-Commerce refers to electronic transactions such as buying, selling and exchanging of goods, services and information over computer communication network such as the Internet.E.g. Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, sastodeal, daraz etc.

·       The main goal of e-commerce is to reduce cost, lower the product cycle time, faster customer response and deliver the better quality service.

·       Nepali online shopping sites are daraz.com.np, nepbay.com, BhatBhatenionline.com, Metrotarkari.com, kinmel.com.np, hamrobazaar.com, muncha. com and many more.

 

Differences between E-commerce and Traditional Commerce are

 

Traditional Commerce	E-commerce
Traditional commerce refers to the commercial transactions or exchange of information, buying or selling product/services from person to person without use of internet.	E-commerce refers to the commercial transactions or exchange of information, buying or selling product/services electronically with the help of internet.
In traditional commerce delivery of goods is instant.	In e-commerce delivery of goods takes time.
In traditional commerce customers can inspect products physically before purchase.	In e-commerce customers can not inspect products physically before purchase.
Its accessibility is for limited time in a day.	Its accessibility is 24×7×365 means round the clock.

 

Advantages of E-commerce

·       Faster buying/selling procedure, as well as easy to find products.

·       There are no geographical limitations, can deliver service globally.

·       Low operational costs and better quality of services

·       It makes buying/selling possible 24/7, faster, as well as easy to find products.

 

Disadvantages of E-commerce

·       Lack of personal touch. We cannot touch the goods physically.

·       We cannot do any transaction without Internet access device. So, it is heavily dependent on Internet technologies

·       Easy to set up so anyone can start e-commerce site. We need to be careful about the quality of product and service delivery.

·       Not all goods can be purchased online

 

Types of Ecommerce Models

a)     Business to Consumer (B2C):
The most common type of E-Commerce is Business-to-Consumer. B2C establishes the electronic business relationships between a business organization (merchant) and final consumers.

(e.g. You buy a pair of shoes from an online retailer)

Amazon. com is a good example of B2C e-commerce.

b)     Business to Business (B2B):
Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce is conducted between companies. Individual customer cannot buy from this type of e-commerce. Producers and wholesalers typically operate with this type of electronic commerce.

(e.g. A business sells software-as-a-service for other businesses to use)

Alibaba.com is a good example of B2B e-commerce.

c)     Consumer to Consumer (C2C):
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) type of e-commerce is conducted between consumers.

These transactions are conducted through a third party, which provides the online platform where the transactions are actually carried out.

(e.g. You sell your old furniture on hamrobazar to another consumer)

Hamrobazaar.com is a good example of C2C website in Nepal.

d)     Consumer to Business (C2B):
When a consumer sells their own products or services to a business or organization

(e.g. An influencer offers exposure to their online audience in exchange for a fee, or a photographer licenses their photo for a business to use).

 

 

M-Commerce / Mobile Commerce

M-Commerce refers to the process of buying and selling of goods and services through wireless handheld devices such as smartphones, tablets or personal digital assistants (PDAs).

The term itself was coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffy.

Examples: Purchasing airlines tickets, purchasing movie tickets, Restaurant / Hotel booking and reservation, Fund Transfer, Top – Up Charges Fund Transfer, Balance Enquiry, etc.

 

Advantages of M-Commerce

·       It provides a very convenient and easy to use the system to conduct business transaction.

·       It helps to get wider variety of products and services.

·       It saves both the time and energy of the user.

·       It reduces the costs of the business organizations.

 

Disadvantages of M-commerce

—  It has great start-up costs and many complications arise.

—  Without accessing the internet connections user will not be able to receive any data to purchase.

—  It has the issue of security of the customer’s private information.

—  Mobile payment options are not available in every geographic location.

 

Online Payment

Online payment refers to the payment for buying goods or services through the Internet using different online payment gateway.

E.g. eSewa Nepal, iPay, Khalti, e-banking, etc.

 

Different modes of Electronic Payments

a) Credit Card

b) Debit Card

c) Smart Card

d) E-Money

e) Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)

f) E-Cheque

 

Advantages of online payment

·       Digital Payment can be done at any time, from any location around the globe. 

·       It makes huge money transactions easier and faster. 

·       It offers higher payment security. 

·       There’s no risk of your money getting stolen or lost when you pay online.

 

 

Disadvantages of online payment

·       We need to pay third-party payment service charges.

·       Not all shops are equipped with the facility of online payment..

·       It might create privacy issues.

·       Account can be hacked and money can be misused.

 

Likewise, different forms of e-payment in Nepal include

a) Credit Cards (introduced by Nabil Bank in 1990)

b) Debit Cards (all commercial banks)

c) Automated teller machines (introduced by Himalayan Bank Ltd. in 1995)

d) Electronic fund transfers at points of sale (EFTPOS)

e) Internet banking (introduced by Kumari Bank Ltd. in 2002)

f) Mobile banking; (introduced by Laxmi Bank Ltd. in 2004).

g) Digital Wallet such as e-sewa, Khalti etc.

h) Cash on Delivery (CoD) – if you don’t have any online payment system then you can pay cash when you receive the product from delivery person.

 

 

E-commerce Vs M-commerce

 

E-commerce	M-commerce
Any kind of commercial transaction that is conducted, over the internet using electronic system is known as e-commerce.	M-commerce refers to the commercial activities which are transacted with the help of wireless computing devices such as cell phone or laptops.
e-commerce activities are performed with the help of desktop computers and laptops.	M-commerce activities are performed with the help of mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, PDA’s (Personal Digital Assistant) etc.
E-commerce devices are not easy to carry and portability point of view it is not so good.	M-commerce devices are easy to carry and portability point of view it is good.
E-commerce developed in 1970’s.	M-commerce developed in 1990’s.