E-Commerce or Electronic Commerce

First Published: Nov 27, 2011 EntrepreneurJourney.com

E-commerce refers to commercial transaction or economic activity that took place on the Internet. E-commerce can be interchanged with the term e-business. It simply means the buying and selling of goods and services online, instead of doing business at a physical location.

Why E-Commerce

The main reason is that, unlike a physical store, e-commerce knows no boundaries of time and distance. An entrepreneur can run an online store from a remote island in the South Pacific and a buyer can purchase products or services from a world-class city like Toronto 24 hours a day - crossing the global boundaries and time restriction.

E-commerce offers other advantages such as:

- Easy to start up a new business
- Often requires a lot lower capital than a physical business
- The convenience it offers for buyers and sellers
- Ability to offer cheaper prices than physical business due to its lower operational cost

Is My Success Guaranteed If I Start E-Commerce?

Like any business, e-commerce has its ups and downs, and it not guarantee that your business will not fail. Before starting an online business (or any kind of business), always do your research. Your success or failure will largely depend on what type of services and products you are offering and how efficiently you can serve your customers at reasonable prices.

How Secure is E-Commerce

In the past, security was an issue while commencing e-commerce. However, technology has solved that problem by creating SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encrypted secure transactions. Also, most credit card companies are guaranteeing that online shoppers will not be responsible in case of fraudulent charges.

What Does The Future Hold for E-Commerce?

E-commerce has revolutionized the 21st century and yet this is just the beginning. The rise of mobile e-commerce (e-commerce from smart phones) is still a newer concept and will increase at a steady pace in the next few years. However, due to market saturation and fierce competition, the key to survival will be to offer innovative products and exceptional customer service skills at rock-bottom prices.