E-Commerce

E-commerce (electric commerce) is the process of selling and buying products and services on the internet. E-commerce also includes internal and external corporate based functions such as sales, marketing, manufacturing and finance that use digital communications (email, file transfer, fax, video conferencing, etc.) to facilitate commerce. E-commerce is beneficial to both businesses and consumers alike. For a business, an e-commerce site can reach millions of potential customers in a way a "brick and mortar" store can't. There's also the immediacy of the web as a medium, which allows a business to change their merchandise, pricing, marketing and sales processes instantly. For consumers there's the obvious advantage of being able to shop whenever they want from the convenience of their home. Consumers can also access product information more quickly and easily. Finally, should a customer want assistance, they usually have many methods for contacting the business, whether by email, phone or fax.