Traditionally E-commerce is simply referred to buying and selling using internet. Often people immediately think of retail purchase from ebay or amazon when they think of ecommerce. But ecommerce has evolved over period of time.

 

Gartner hype cycle for E-commerce , 2009 defines E-commerce as

 

"
E-commerce is a compilation of business models, processes and technologies that enable online sales, service and marketing for B2B and B2C commerce. It facilitates transactions over the Web, and supports the creation and continuing development of online relationships'

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If you read the above defination few words are striking. Service,  b2b and continuing development of online relationship.

Service : It is a myth that only tangible goods can be sold through ecommerce. Internet is an ideal way to sell professional services. Examples of services that are successfully being sold over internet are : Research, counseling, consulting, distance learning education, recruiting, langauge translation, legal, insurance, travel, employee background checks etc

 

B2B : B2B is the selling between companies , wholesale rather than retail. B2B facilitates operational efficiency by achieving small inventories and detailed information flow between all parties involved in today's global manufacturing processes. B2B Involves widening the circle of suppliers and of centralizing control.

 

Continuing development of online relationship : The challenge for merchandisers was to allign their data to fit with user profiles and to automate the data for delivery at critical points during buying process. This is becoming possible through advent of personalization in ecommerce. In a recent Aberdeen study , titled "21st Century Retailer : Managing Customers, Merchandise and Data," 70% of all retailers planned to implment real-time analytics in 12-month to 24-month time frame.

 

Are you are still thinking about implementing Ecommerce?