Online store and its advantages

The Internet environment allows you to provide the full range of interaction between the seller and the buyer: search for a product or buyer, communication between seller and buyer, electronic payments, etc. (Fig. 20.3).

 

 

 

Fig. 20.3. Ecommerce Elements

 

An increasing number of products today is becoming more profitable to buy in Online stores that offer certain benefits to both sellers and buyers.

For the buyer, this is:

• saving time when searching for goods based on round-the-clock access to information;

• more choices (for example, the Amazon store offers more than 3 million books);

• many software products cannot be purchased anywhere except in the online store, while software products make it possible to receive them instantly, paying on the Web.

• the opportunity to receive goods from any country in the world;

• selection of the necessary equipment (custom assembly). The user can collect the desired configuration (from the presented components) and find out how much it will cost;

• the ability to place orders for goods that are still being prepared for release;

• the ability to compare prices of several manufacturers.

For the seller, this is:

• the ability to plan resources more flexibly (orders from buyers arrive in advance) and it is better to track the business cycle;

• reducing the cost of renting premises, advertising, placing orders;

• an opportunity to expand the territory of trade at the expense of Internet users;

• own representation on the Internet;

• reduction in the number of intermediaries.

E-commerce includes more than just buying and selling operations, it provides a complete closed cycle (Fig. 20.4), which includes elements of creating demand for goods, distribution, after-sales services and automation of interaction between partners.

 

 

 

Fig. 20.4. E-commerce cycle

 

However, overestimate the possibilities Internet trading also should not. History of development Internet trading has gone through a certain period of euphoria - the so-called Internet boom.

For some time, it seemed to everyone that Internet-based commerce was another panacea. E-commerce has been credited with endless possibilities.

However, time has shown that many of the benefits of real stores remain. The situation can be compared with the boom that was observed after the opening of the first railway network. Many companies that believed that railroads would soon supplant other modes of transport went bankrupt, but this does not mean at all that the idea of ​​railroad transport was not viable. The analogy is that many large technological inventions are first idealized and presented as a cure for all diseases. The Internet is a very effective means of promoting goods, a means of building a logistics system, monitoring the status of order fulfillment. Moreover, the statement that Internet - the site can replace a store where you can see, touch, try on product does not stand up to criticism. However, it is obvious that today there is a wide range of standard products that do not require testing and which are easier to purchase on the web. For example, if you want to buy CD-ROM or book, then usually you just have to look or listen to their contents, which can also be done in online. Gradually the range of goods that are beginning to be purchased in electronic stores is expanding, and among these goods we see more and more computers, household appliances, furniture, etc. Undoubtedly, the set of these goods will increase. This is the case with trade.

If we talk about finances, then the picture is somewhat different. From the point of view of consumers of financial services, The Internet has played a revolutionary role.

It began with the use of the Internet as a means of communication, the rapid receipt of a large number of orders. The most dynamic financial institutions - brokerage companies - began to offer various systems for tracking stock quotes. It turned out that many business processes may be by -Other formulated and delivered to customers. E-commerce systems have actually emerged with the ability to directly access bidding. Developed in parallel Internet banking. The essence of these systems was that the client, without leaving his home or office, or from any other place, could give orders about his funds in the bank.

Then, various payment systems began to appear on the Internet. It started with ordinary card models. Over time, electronic money systems appeared, which in their turn facilitated the acquisition of goods through Online Stores.

Development Web- technologies opens up new opportunities for business: companies finally were able to make applications quickly accessible for their partners. E-commerce technologies began to develop both between business structures (they were called B2B ⁴ -commerce) and between business structures and mass consumers (B2C ⁵ ).