E-commerce and Its Impact

The assignment delves into the world of e-commerce, analyzing its benefits including wider market access, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. It further examines challenges associated with e-commerce, such as data security vulnerabilities, piracy concerns, and the potential for technological dependence. The text provides a balanced perspective on e-commerce by outlining both its opportunities and limitations within the context of global business.

E-COMMERCE
AND
MARKETING

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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Understanding of E-commerce..........................................................................................................2
Case study of Godiva Gems..................................................................................................................6
Basic Technology Infrastructure............................................................................................................8
Activity 1.11......................................................................................................................................8
Activity 1.12......................................................................................................................................9
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REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
In the present day business environment, it is important for the firms to take use of the
internet mediums for performing their operations (Andam, 2014). It is most essential in
marketing. Taking use of marketing through internet mediums helps company reach to larger
number of consumers at the same time. At the same time e-commerce market helps in selling
products to consumers as per the choice made by the customer (Niranjanamurthy,
Kavyashree, Jagannath & Chahar, 2013). It also facilitates the consumers sitting at home as
they allow them to select from the many options available to them and make purchase
through electronic mediums. It has made the process of business easier and more consumers
friendly. There are several benefits that are associated with the e-commerce market that will
be illustrated in later part of this report. Now many companies have transformed almost all of
their business into e-commerce market. This report showcases the benefits of e-commerce
market as well the difference between B2B and B2C market. It also throws lights on the
experiences that consumers have while using e-commerce market as well as the contrast
between e-business and e-commerce.
Understanding of E-commerce
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce is understood to be transaction between the consumers and the service
providers through online mediums. In other words it is the selling and buying of the products
through online mediums. There are many people that are coming to these sites for making
transaction (Barnes & Hunt, 2013). Mobile technology has made this process faster and
significant. There are three zones of e-commerce namely electric market, online auctions and
retails. E-commerce business can also involves online shopping websites for retail sales
direct to the consumers, B2B buying and selling, collecting of online data, captivating in

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pretail for producing new services and products. It also takes use of technologies like e-mail
(Chaffey, 2015).
Elements of e-commerce
E-commerce is having higher scope and there are various things that are included in it. In my
understanding e-Commerce is understood to be as the transaction in the ways of buying and
selling being done with the use of modern day technologies (Ghobakhloo, M., Arias-Aranda,
D., & Benitez-Amado, 2011). This has made things easier as the accounting can be easily
done and there are no discrepancies due to human errors. Typical e-commerce transactions
involve the purchase of online items like book purchases and many other items. Electronic
business is supporting E-commerce. It also includes online shopping websites for retail sales
direct to the customers, Social media and many other sites for gathering of information, for
data interchange, online financial exchanges for trading purposes or currency exchange.
People come to these websites for buying any product where multiple companies put their
products for online market (Colla & Lapoule, 2012). Apart from this it is also used for the
marketing of any products as many kinds of links are also shared at these sites according to
the search mad by the consumer.
My experience
I have been using e-commerce website named Amazon.com. Many consumers use this site
for purchase of products. It is due to the fact that large numbers of products are available at
these websites and people can easily select from them (Solaymani, Sohaili & Yazdinejad,
2012). This site is one of the best in the world as doing business here is easier. I as a
customers are very happy with its service. This is due to the fact that purchasing products
from the site is easier.
Characteristic of the site:
 It is more versatile and provides a large number of product options to choose from.
 It is more consumers oriented since people can easily buy any product as the site is
more users friendly.
 Apart from this it is also to be seen that there are many people that are coming to the
website for checking of the deals as the site is capable of customising products as per
the consumer’s requirements.

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 All the payments can be done through online mediums with the use of online
transaction systems.
 This site also contains advertisements of products that I have previously purchased or
searched for.
 This site is capable of handling a large number of consumers at the same time. It
reduces the extra load on the sales and makes the operations of the firms easier.
Products and services offered: This site is offering a large numbers of products and
services. Some of the products that it offers are
 Home products
 Gift products
 Luxury products
 Fashion items
 Other things like the eatable items
 It offers services like e-Auction
What e-commerce site offers?
It is not necessary that an e-commerce site always offers products (Wymer & Regan, 2013).
Many e-Commerce sites provide services also. In most of the cases e-commerce sites offers
products but there are many examples that provides services to the consumers. One of the
best of it is the Amazon itself which provides services like E-auction. In this people can buy
and sell products through auctions. Amazon is an example of those websites that sells both
products and services. Apart from this there are many sites like the once related to the
transportation industry like Uber.
Differentiate EC and E-business
There is a very slight line of difference in between EC and E-business. Both of them are
emerging modes of doing business and are highly in use in the modern day business. E
commerce is understood to be as the buying & selling of products around the web (Khurana,
2017). On the other hand e-business is a bit distinct thing where it is not restricted to
commercial transactions only but it is capable of providing various other services. Some other
pints of differentiation are as follows:

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 E-commerce is related to the company’s dealing with its consumers, suppliers or
clients. On the other hand E-business is understood to as undertaking of trade,
commerce and industry with the assistance of information and communication
technology.
 Selling and buying of products with the use of internet is understood as e-commerce.
On the other hand E-business is an electronic existence of business through which all
the operations related to business are performed through the internet.
 E-commerce is a crucial element of e-business.
 E-commerce site includes transactions that are associated with financial activities
while e-business includes monetary and allied operations (Mazzarol, 2015).
 E-commerce has an outgoing approach which includes suppliers, customers,
distributors, suppliers etc. On the other hand e-business has both kind of approach that
covers external and internal processes that are associated with the business. For
example sales, marketing and many other activities are done in e-business.
E-commerce always gets connected with various other areas of the globe. On the other hand
e-business there is use of intranet, internet and extranet are used for connecting with the
parties that are associated in the activities.
Differentiate between B2B and B2C
 B2B and B2C are considered to be as the two types of commercial transactions. Here
B2C stands for Business to consumers and it is a process of selling products to
customers. B2B is understood as business to business and it is understood as the
process of buying and selling of goods to other businesses (Da Costa, 2016). There
are various processes that can be carried out as the B2B and B2C like marketing. Here
the difference between B2B and B2C is explained through these points:
 B2B personals always seek efficiency with a considerable expertise. On the other
hand consumers are more probably is checking for deals & entertainment.
 In B2B purchase activity are more logically and rationally driven whereas customer
options are more emotionally prompted.
 Highly descriptive content is required for the B2B processes i.e. lengthy content can
be beneficial in this regard. While in B2C more attractive contents need to be posted,
they just need to meet the demands of the consumers.

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 B2B has a much larger chain of commands to tackle with while B2C is relatively
shorter.
 B2C buying cycle is relatively much smaller than that of B2B buying cycle. This due
to the reason that in B2B buying cycle includes a comprehensive decision making
process.
Summary
From the above section of the report it can be understood that in the modern times
many of the business have taken the root of internet mediums. Due to this reason there are
larger numbers of people coming to the sites that is called as e-commerce sites. These sites
are the places were various kinds of transactions between buyers and sellers. It is different
from that of e-business in which various other tasks can also be done apart from that of e-
transactions. Both EC and E-business helps in making the reach of business to larger sections
of the market. B2B and B2C are the modes using which business process are done. In B2B
there is business between the two businesses only while in the case of B2C there is
transaction between Business firm and consumers.
Case study of Godiva Gems
1. B2B and B2C transactions in this case
This company has adopted online mediums for having B2B and B2C transactions. This
helped them to attract larger number of world-wide consumers towards their products.
They created their own website from scratch without EC-building tools. For corporates,
incentive programs run involving address list of consumers and employees.
2. Why Godiva Decided to go online
Godiva decided to go online because there was a significant increase in the chocolate
sales. Company wanted to stay ahead of its competitors. This was to become market
leader in growing market. Another objective was to sell the products using both online
and offline mediums Both to Business (B2B) and Individuals (B2C).
4. B2B and B2C at Godiva
In the dynamic growth of e-commerce market it was important to sell products through
online mediums. Godiva takes se of its website Godiva.Com so as to take orders from

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both individuals and Businesses. They run special incentive programs for corporates
which includes address list of employees. It made an unsuccessful attempt to look online
stores as a physical store. They also attract their individuals (B2C) by taking use of
puzzles and games. Its electronic catalogue helps consumers in understanding the product
ingredients. It is highly user friendly and also provides live assistance.
Summary
Godiva Gems in order to have edge in the market when the e-commerce was growing,
they started to open B2B and B2C through its online website. It is highly user-friendly
site and gives assistance to the customers and business whenever they need. They provide
incentives for B2B. They have a high quality website that provides assistance to the
individuals (B2C) and Business (B2B). This site can also be accessed through wireless
mediums.
As another student
Godiva gems want to become a market leader and hence planned to sell items using both
online and offline mediums. They started selling their products through online mediums
with the use of website named Godiva.com. They did not have the e-commerce site that
could have an interactive approach. Its incentive plans for consumers is defined and lags
many attractive features. Their innovation must be consumer oriented.
Examples of EC failures and EC successes
Examples of EC failures:
 Pets.com
 Furniture.com
 eToy.com
Examples of EC Successes:
 Amazon.com
 Flipkart
 Alibaba

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There are several reasons why these websites got failed while some got successful. This is
due to the reason that eToy.com and Pet.com offered products only for fewer sections of the
society and hence were unable to entertain larger numbers of people towards itself. On the
other hand sites such as Alibaba and Amazon offer products that are very large in numbers.
These sites are more users friendly.
Basic Technology Infrastructure
Activity 1.11
In the Book by Gary P. Scnieder, he described about the basic infrastructure of the
technology related to Internet and World Wide Web. This book suggests about the
infrastructure that will be needed for doing the e-commerce business. It also suggests about
the development and use of hardware and software needed for making all the transactions. It
also suggests about the types of documents that are used in the e-commerce business
(Schneider & Gary, 2010). It also suggests about the ways in which message and website is
managed with the use of IP addresses. On the other hand Article on Shuler Family website
suggests about the ways in which internet works. It indicates about the how the connections
are made between the computers with the use of IP and protocols. It gives knowledge about
the internal working of the computer working system with the help of internet so that two
systems can communicate with each other. It tells about the processes that are involved in
order to transmit data from one place to another.
Both article and book actually described about the ways in which the data is communicated
through the internet mediums. The overall description of the technology working has been
explained in these two.

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Activity 1.12
LAN
This System describes the internet connection network between numbers of computers. It
suggests about the ways in which data is transferred within the system with the use of various
devices. ISP maintains a pool of modems for their dial-in-customers. This set up is known as
port server and have access to all the other networks (Shuler, 2017). Various computers are
connected with modem that converts signals into the form that can be transmitted through
dedicated lines. This is then connected with telephone network. Modem pools helps to
connect to larger network. This then connected with router. All the connected routers help in
transmitting data on the dedicated path.
There are many types of connections that make up the entire network. First and foremost is
the connection of the computers with the modems. Then the connection of the modems
through dedicated lines is illustrated. This network also explains that ways in which all the
routers are connected in the network that helps in transmitting of data on the correct path. A
router does this with the help of ISP backbone. The connection to the computers is done with
the help of LAN cables.
There are various types of strength in the network as it is highly capable of distinguishing
between the systems which helps it in sending data to the correct users. Internet is highly
capable of sending data to the long distance at a very fast speed. It is also highly capable of
maintaining itself i.e. detecting the faults that are present in it. Weakness of the internet is
that there are many ways in which data can be hacked and hence it is a threat to piracy of
Computer
1,2,3,4 Modem
Public
teleph
one
net
Modem
pool
ISP
Port
servers
Router
Another
computer
5,6,7
Router CSU/DSU
CSU/
DSU
Router
Router

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people. Devices present in this network are connected in such a way that there is very less
chance of data getting distorted.
In these networks engineers have modelled this network in a way that if the ISP port servers
fail then also CSU/DSU will help in continuing the connection. If the modem pool fails then
also ISP will still be connected to the telephone network.

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REFERENCES
Andam, Z. R. (2014). e-Commerce and e-Business.
Barnes, S., & Hunt, B. (Eds.). (2013). E-commerce and v-business. Routledge.
Chaffey, D. (2015). Digital business and E-commerce management. Pearson Education
Limited.
Colla, E., & Lapoule, P. (2012). E-commerce: exploring the critical success
factors. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 40(11), 842-864.
Da Costa, E. (2016). Global e-commerce strategies for small businesses. Mit Press.
Ghobakhloo, M., Arias-Aranda, D., & Benitez-Amado, J. (2011). Adoption of e-commerce
applications in SMEs. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 111(8), 1238-1269.
Khurana, A., 2017. Intercultural communication skills. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/intercultural-communication.html. [Accessed on:
12th February 2018].
Mazzarol, T. (2015). SMEs engagement with e-commerce, e-business and e-marketing. Small
enterprise research, 22(1), 79-90.
Niranjanamurthy, M., Kavyashree, N., Jagannath, S., & Chahar, D. (2013). Analysis of e-
commerce and m-commerce: advantages, limitations and security
issues. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication
Engineering, 2(6).
Schneider, G. P., & Gary, P. (2010). Electronic Commerce 2010.
Shuler. R, 2017. How Does the internet work. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.theshulers.com/whitepapers/internet_whitepaper/index.html. [Accessed
on: 12th February 2018].
Solaymani, S., Sohaili, K., & Yazdinejad, E. A. (2012). Adoption and use of e-commerce in
SMEs. Electronic Commerce Research, 12(3), 249-263.
Wymer, S., & Regan, E. (2013). Influential factors in the adoption and use of e-business and
e-commerce information technology (EEIT) by small and medium businesses. E-
Commerce for Organizational Development and Competitive Advantage, 58.