The Characteristics of Electronic Commerce. Technology Research Paper

Characteristics of Electronic Commerce
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Characteristics of Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce, also known as “E-commerce,” refers to the trading in services or products using digital networks such as the Internet. E-commerce also includes the use of ICT “Information and Communication” to support a syndicate’s activities (Jalonen, 2016). E-commerce comprises the exchange of services and products between people, groups, and businesses, and it is mostly identified as among the essential activities of a company. E-commerce primarily focuses on the application of ICT to enhance the external relationships and operations of companies with people, other syndicates, and groups.
Han & Kim (2016) explain that ICT is broadly used in business organizations and to enhance the collaboration on information and communication systems of the business partners involved. The widespread and systematic use of ICT has been enhanced by technologies accepted across the globe. E-commerce supports business processes by enabling organizations to run their operations across boundaries. Moreover, E-commerce automates business processes in organizations by increasing the speed and economic efficiency of business processes. According to Han & Kim (2016), in the current world, the Internet plays a significant role and has become a global technical infrastructure. For instance, it has created a global virtual place where people and organizations interested in engaging in business activities meet without the time and geographical restrictions. Universal networks facilitate the exchange of information without any hindrances. Therefore, the paper addresses the characteristics of E-commerce by mainly discussing e-commerce technologies. Furthermore, advantages of using e-commerce such as the development of networking platforms where people shop their items online, the establishment of logistics companies, production of goods and services, and the use of network technologies are also discussed.
E-Commerce and Networking Platforms
Social media comprises of online platforms whereby people meet, share information, and communicate virtually. Businesses use social media to increase their revenues and promote their products. As Han & Kim (2016) illustrates, social media has penetrated the lives of people deeply. For instance, approximately 64% of adults in America use social media daily. Besides, about 90% of young adults aged between 17 and 19 years use social media platforms. Across the globe, marketing practitioners utilize social media platforms to communicate and attract targeted customers that use networking sites. For example, in 2016, approximately 74% of the companies listed in Fortune 500 were identified to use Facebook for their marketing needs while 78% of the companies were indicated to use Twitter to communicate with their clients (Han & Kim, 2016). However, 9% of the companies were reported not to use social media sites.
Kumar et al. (2018) explain that social media includes a virtual environment that enables people to communicate and share information. The interpersonal relations of social media allows marketers to construct strong customer relationships by responding to feedback from clients, enhancing communications between them and customers, and raising revenue. Creating a “presence” in social media platforms does not require companies to spend much money. As a result, business entities can provide information about its products and services, responding to customer’s requests and receiving their feedback, and establishing marketing campaigns.
Axelsson (2008) posits that companies have developed considerable efforts and interest to utilize social media in promoting their products and causing their clients to visit their online and offline stores. Furthermore, social media has enabled companies to create adverts for their products and services to their targeted customers. As such, clients can purchase and finalize their transactions on the company’s website, such as eBay.com and Amazon.com.
Social media commerce refers to the idea of utilizing social media platforms to shop online. For instance, Facebook has a “Buy” button enhanced by the Shopify e-commerce software entity (Han & Kim, 2016). Besides, Pinterest has the “buy Pin” button, which enables SMS “Small and Medium-sized” syndicates to acquire increased sales and extra distribution channels. An example is Polkadot Alley Company, which is an apparel business in Texas. The company has sold numerous clothing items on its Facebook page. Polkadot Alley creates posts for its commodities with products and price information on its Facebook page and allows clients to make replies and order their desired items. With the use of Facebook e-commerce, Polkadot Alley Company has been able to increase its revenue from $400,000 to $1.5 million in a year.
Kumar et al. (2018) further explain that social media platforms enhance connectivity, which plays a significant role in how individuals decide to use social media. People across the world use Facebook because of their desire to connect with others. Furthermore, companies use Facebook to connect with other companies and new and existing customers. The behavior of social media users to make new connections and communicate with people causes users to perceive social media as more reliable (Axelsson, 2008). It is essential to note that social media offers cyberspace, where people share information and communicate without hindrances. It enables users to establish new connections and maintain their existing relationships. The social impact theory suggests that people are highly influenced by others while also impacting others on social media. Therefore, in e-commerce websites, digital products are highly preferable than non-digital ones. Besides, social factors such as the purchase history of a product play a significant role in impacting that user’s plan to buy the product on Facebook, or to utilize Facebook for future purchases. Han and Kim (2016) further explain that people buy similar commodities that are purchased by others. As such, although the products are not digital, the knowledge impacts their purchasing intention, when purchased by their social contacts.
E-Commerce and Logistic Companies
Purcell & Toland (2004) explain that e-commerce business owners are required to familiarize themselves with logistics. Businesses in the contemporary world need back-end supply chain administration, which is highly enhanced by e-commerce. Logistics companies depend on third parties to ship and store there products and services, which is facilitated by e-commerce. Logistics refers to the processes in which a company acquires resources, ships, and stores the resources to its end destinations. Therefore, the preparation, implementation, and control of the placement and movement of the products and services should occur in a given system structured to attain the set goals and objectives, which varies by a company (Purcell & Toland, 2004). Logistics management comprises steps such as searching and identifying probable distributors and suppliers, recognizing the effectiveness and accessibility of distributors and suppliers based on the business production, creating relationships and identifying the less expensive solutions for the company. The big-sized business entities function with numerous parties to keep-pace to meet demand. However, small companies do not need to collaborate with other organizations to manage their e-commerce website logis...