A trend for businesses in the 21st century is to offer their products and services electronically, a practice known as electronic commerce, commonly referred to as "e-commerce". Major companies, such as Nike, Adidas, Future Shop, Sears, and other major retailers all offer their products online. This offers quick, easy, and efficient service. There are advantages to engaging in e-commerce. With the expansion of the Internet and a greater thirst for information and knowledge, global competition is becoming fierce, so gaining a competitive advantage is vital to the global and domestic strategy of a firm.
• Definition:
E-commerce primarily deals with distributing, buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The information technology industry might see it as an electronic business application aimed at commercial transactions
It can involve electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), automated inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.
It typically uses electronic communications technology such as the Internet, extranets, e-mail, e-books, databases, catalogues and mobile phones.
• History of E-Commerce
The meaning of the term "electronic commerce" has changed over the last 30 years.
E-commerce is the complete set of processes that support commercial/business activities on a network. In the 1970s and 1980s, this would also have involved information analysis. The growth and acceptance of credit cards, Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and telephone banking in the 198 ...