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What is an eCommerce Website?

In this weeks article, we are going to cover the main questions people have regarding eCommerce websites. In-a-nutshell, an ecommerce website is the sale and purchasing of services or goods on the internet. It is also is the transfer of data and funds between two or more parties. We all use it, maybe everyday…online shopping.

Over the years it has become so quick and simple; a few clicks and you have spent this months paycheck! Oops. It is very convenient for some, you can order your weekly shop from your home and get it delivered. There are different e-Commerce websites for every field. The most common type is retail selling but there are many others like auction websites, music portals and consultancy websites.

What is Mobile Commerce?

Mobile commerce is the purchasing and selling of goods by customers using their mobile devices. Over the past few years, there has been an increase of people using mobile commerce due to the majority of people having a mobile which is able to use to go onto the internet. It is much more convenient and you can do it wherever and whenever, whether on the bus to work or on the beach.

Promoting your site

There is competition everywhere, unless you are so lucky and have invented something completely original. If you are a small business, you want to concentrate locally. Promote whatever makes you stand out. Your audience will only choose you instead of your competition if you can offer them something that your competitors do not. That could be anything from an easy clean website or offers. If your site is tidy and easy to navigate around, your target market are more likely going to choose you. People don’t want to get lost around your website whilst trying to locate a product! Offers are also a good route to take as well, everyone likes a bargain! Especially if they are first time buyers, these customers can buy a sale item to see whether they are comfortable with your products. This may cause them to become more inclined to buy from you next time.

What is the importance of eCommerce?

There are a lot of advantages of ecommerce and the advantages are growing with the use of mobile devices and laptops increasing. Here are the advantages:

• Global Market Reach
• A global choice for consumers
• Short product/service distribution chain
• Lower costs and pricing

However there are some disadvantages of ecommerce. These are:

• Fraud and online insecurity
• Data privacy issues
• No testing or checking of services or goods

There are so many top eCommerce sites that we use quite frequently. The top eCommerce sites are:

• Amazon
• Ebay
• Etsy
• ASOS
• B&Q

What are the different types of eCommerce websites?

Business to Business: This is the electronic transaction of services and goods between businesses.

Business to Consumers: This is the electronic transaction of services and goods between Businesses and consumers.

Consumer to Consumer:  Electronic transactions of goods and services between consumers, mostly through a third party.

Consumer to Business: This is where consumers offer electronic transactions of goods and services to companies.

Business to Administration: This is the electronic transaction of services and goods between companies and public administrations.

Consumer to Administrator: Electronic transactions of goods and services by individuals and services between individuals and public administrations.

What should I measure on my site?

If you have followed these steps, your site is now clean, tidy and live. What do you do now? Sadly, the site isn’t going to run itself. There is still work to be done. There are a few things you want to keep an eye on:

• Product sales
• Category Performance
• E-commerce orders
• Average order value
• Bounce rate
• Average time on page

Once you have this information you can use it to improve your site. If time spent on one particular page is low then it is important to question whether to edit that page. By measuring product sales you can see which products are getting bought the most so you can advertise them more. With the products that are not selling then maybe you could thinking about the pricing, is it too high? Or whether its not being advertised right.

Thank you for reading about ecommerce websites! Good Luck!