INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE

Conducting business online. Selling goods, in the traditional sense, is possible to do

electronically because of certain software programs that run the main functions of an e-
commerce Web site, including product display, online ordering, and inventory management.
The software resides on a commerce server and works in conjunction with online payment
systems to process payments. Since these servers and data lines make up the backbone of the
Internet, in a broad sense, e-commerce means doing business over interconnected networks.

The definition of e-commerce includes business activities that are business-to-business

(B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), extended enterprise computing (also known as "newly
emerging value chains"), d-commerce, and m-commerce. E-commerce is a major factor in the
U.S. economy because it assists companies with many levels of current business transactions,
as well as creating new online business opportunities that are global in nature.
Here are a few examples of e-commerce:

accepting credit cards for commercial online sales

generating online advertising revenue

trading stock in an online brokerage account

driving information through a company via its intranet

driving manufacturing and distribution through a value chain with partners on an

extranet

selling to consumers on a pay-per-download basis, through a Web site

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History of Ecommerce
One of the most popular activities on the Web is shopping. It has much allure in it you can
shop at your leisure, anytime, and in your pajamas. Literally anyone can have their pages
built to display their specific goods and services.

History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of "sell and buy",
electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in
1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of
businesses have taken up residence at web sites.

At first, the term ecommerce meant the process of execution of commercial transactions
electronically with the help of the leading technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which gave an opportunity for users to exchange
business information and do electronic transactions. The ability to use these technologies
appeared in the late 1970s and allowed business companies and organizations to send
commercial documentation electronically.

Although the Internet began to advance in popularity among the general public in 1994, it
took approximately four years to develop the security protocols (for example, HTTP) and
DSL which allowed rapid access and a persistent connection to the Internet. In 2000 a great
number of business companies in the United States and Western Europe represented their
services in the World Wide Web. At this time the meaning of the word ecommerce was
changed. People began to define the term ecommerce as the process of purchasing of
available goods and services over the Internet using secure connections and electronic
payment services. Although the dot-com collapse in 2000 led to unfortunate results and many
of ecommerce companies disappeared, the "brick and mortar" retailers recognized the
advantages of electronic commerce and began to add such capabilities to their web sites (e.g.,
after the online grocery store Webvan came to ruin, two supermarket chains, Albertsons and
Safeway, began to use ecommerce to enable their customers to buy groceries online). By the

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end of 2001, the largest form of ecommerce, Business-to-Business (B2B) model, had around
$700 billion in transactions.

According to all available data, ecommerce sales continued to grow in the next few years
and, by the end of 2007, ecommerce sales accounted for 3.4 percent of total sales.

Ecommerce has a great deal of advantages over "brick and mortar" stores and mail order
catalogs. Consumers can easily search through a large database of products and services.
They can see actual prices, build an order over several days and email it as a "wish list"
hoping that someone will pay for their selected goods. Customers can compare prices with a
click of the mouse and buy the selected product at best prices.

Online vendors, in their turn, also get distinct advantages. The web and its search engines
provide a way to be found by customers without expensive advertising campaign. Even small
online shops can reach global markets. Web technology also allows to track customer
preferences and to deliver individually-tailored marketing.

History of ecommerce is unthinkable without Amazon and Ebay which were among the first
Internet companies to allow electronic transactions. Thanks to their founders we now have a
handsome ecommerce sector and enjoy the buying and selling advantages of the Internet.
Currently there are 5 largest and most famous worldwide Internet retailers: Amazon, Dell,
Staples, Office Depot and Hewlett Packard. According to statistics, the most popular
categories of products sold in the World Wide Web are music, books, computers, office
supplies and other consumer electronics.

Meaning
Electronic commerce, commonly written as e-commerce, is the trading or facilitation of
trading in products or services using computer networks, such as the Internet. Electronic
commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply
chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data
interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.
Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web for at least one part of the
transaction's life cycle, although it may also use other technologies such as e-mail.

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Defination

The buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers through an
electronic medium, without using any paper documents. E-commerce is widely considered
the buying and selling of products over the internet, but any transaction that is completed
solely through electronic measures can be considered e-commerce.

IMPORTANCE OF E-COMMERCE
In today's competitive business world, having an online presence is more important than
ever. This is particularly true if businesses wish to grow, extend their sales, and reach
customers they might not have reached before. Ecommerce sites enables businesses of all
sizes to reach their target range of customers without being physically present.

Since the rise of the Internet in the mid to late 1990s, companies have listed their products
and services for sale online. People have caught on, and many enjoy the benefits and ease of
being able to browse for products on e-commerce marketplaces from the comfort of their own
homes. In effect, ecommerce marketing has become more important than ever for businesses
to stay afloat. In fact, businesses can lose customers or revenue by not maintaining an online
presence.

The risk of losing sales and customers is too great when competition is just a click away.
However, it is no longer enough to have an ecommerce site available; it should also be
accessible, visible, aesthetically appealing, and easy to use. That's where Infigra comes
in. Infigra Ecommerce can help you build and maintain the online presence you need. Our
expert team can help you jump-start your ecommerce marketing business and guide you
through all the necessary steps to make your site a tremendous success. Our all-in-one
interface is easy to use and will help you make your ecommerce site everything it needs to be
- accessible, visible, appealing, and easy to navigate. In addition, our features can give you
insight on sales trends, customer visitation patterns, and inventory tracking in real-time so
you can make the best decisions and modifications to further your business and sales. Infigra
provides you with the valuable technology and strategies to make your ecommerce business
truly thrive. So sign up today, and let us help you sell more.

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Advantages of ecommerce
Convenience & Easiness:

For many people in the world, e-Commerce becomes one of the preferred ways of shopping
as they enjoy their online because of its easiness and convenience. They are allowed to buy
products or services from their home at any time of day or night.

The best thing about it is buying options that are quick, convenient and user-friendly with the
ability to transfer funds online. Because of its convenience, consumers can save their lots of
time as well as money by searching their products easily and making purchasing online.

Offer Product Datasheets:

Consumers can also get description and details from an online product catalog. For your
customers, it is very much important to get information about the product no matter whether
the time of day and day of the week. Through information, your customers and prospects are
making decision to purchase your products or not.

Attract New Customers with Search Engine Visibility:

As we all know that physical retail is run by branding and relationships. But, online retail is
also driving by traffic that comes from search engines. For customers, it is not very so
common to follow a link in the search engine results and land up on an ecommerce website
that they never heard of.

Decreasing cost of inventory Management:

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 With e-commerce business, the suppliers can decrease the cost of managing their
inventory of goods that they can automate the inventory management using web-based
management system. Indirectly, they can save their operational costs.

Selling Products Across the World:

If you are running a physical store, it will be limited by the geographical area that you can
service, but with an e-Commerce website, you can sell your products and services across the
world. The entire world is your playground, where you can sell your complete range of
products without any geographical limits. Moreover, the remaining limitation of geography
has dissolved by mcommerce that is also known as mobile commerce.

Stay open 24*7/365:

One of the most important benefits that ecommerce merchants can enjoy is store timings are
now 24/7/365 as they can run e-commerce websites all the time. By this way, they can
increase their sales by boosting their number of orders. However, it is also beneficial for
customers as they can purchase products whenever they want no matter whether it is early
morning or mid-night.

Expand Market for Niche Products:

It is difficult for buyers and sellers to find each other in the physical world, but it becomes
very easy for them with the inception of e-store. Customers can search their required products
on the web and can purchase it from any corner of the world. No matter what kind of product
customers are looking, they can find all types of products without any hassle.

DISADVANTAGE OF ECOMMERCE
Time for delivery of physical products
It is possible to visit a local music store and walk out with a compact disc or a
bookstore and leave with a book. E-commerce is often used to buy goods that are not

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 available locally from businesses all over the world, meaning that physical goods
need to be delivered, which takes time and costs money. In some cases there are ways
around this, for example, with electronic files of the music or books being accessed
across the Internet, but then these are not physical goods.

Physical product & delivery uncertainty

When you walk out of a shop with an item, it's yours. You have it; you know what
it is, where it is and how it looks. In some respects e-commerce purchases are
made on trust. This is because, firstly, not having had physical access to the
product, a purchase is made on an expectation of what that product is and its
condition. Secondly, because supplying businesses can be conducted across the
world, it can be uncertain whether or not they are legitimate businesses and are
not just going to take your money. It's pretty hard to knock on their door to
complain or seek legal recourse! Thirdly, even if the item is sent, it is easy to start
wondering whether or not it will ever arrive.

Perishable goods:

Forget about ordering a single gelato ice cream from a shop in Rome! Though specialized
or refrigerated transport can be used, goods bought and sold via the Internet tend to be
durable and non-perishable: they need to survive the trip from the supplier to the
purchasing business or consumer. This shifts the bias for perishable and/or non-durable
goods back towards traditional supply chain arrangements, or towards relatively more
local e-commerce-based purchases, sales and distribution. In contrast, durable goods can
be traded from almost anyone to almost anyone else, sparking competition for lower
prices. In some cases this leads to disintermediation in which intermediary people and
businesses are bypassed by consumers and by other businesses that are seeking to
purchase more directly from manufacturers.

Limited sensory information

The Internet is an effective conduit for visual and auditory information: seeing pictures,
hearing sounds and reading text. However it does not allow full scope for our senses: we
can see pictures of the flowers, but not smell their fragrance; we can see pictures of a

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 hammer, but not feel its weight or balance. Further, when we pick up and inspect
something, we choose what we look at and how we look at it. This is not the case on the
Internet. If we were looking at buying a car on the Internet, we would see the pictures the
seller had chosen for us to see but not the things we might look for if we were able to see
it in person. And, taking into account our other senses, we can't test the car to hear the
sound of the engine as it changes gears or sense the smell and feel of the leather seats.
There are many ways in which the Internet does not convey the richness of experiences of
the world. This lack of sensory information means that people are often much more
comfortable buying via the Internet generic goods - things that they have seen or
experienced before and about which there is little ambiguity, rather than unique or
complex things.

Returning good:
Returning goods online can be an area of difficulty. The uncertainties
surrounding the initial payment and delivery of goods can be exacerbated in
this process. Will the goods get back to their source? Who pays for the return
postage? Will the refund be paid? Will I be left with nothing? How long will it
take? Contrast this with the offline experience of returning goods to a shop.

Privacy, security, payment, identity, contract:

Many issues arise - privacy of information, security of that information and payment details,
whether or not payment details (e.g. credit card details) will be misused, identity theft,
contract, and, whether we have one or not, what laws and legal jurisdiction apply.

Personal service
Although some human interaction can be facilitated via the web, e-commerce can not provide
the richness of interaction provided by personal service. For most businesses, e-commerce
methods provide the equivalent of an information-rich counter attendant rather than a
salesperson. This also means that feedback about how people react to product and service
offerings also tends to be more granular or perhaps lost using e-commerce approaches. If
your only feedback is that people are (or are not) buying your products or services online, this
is inadequate for evaluating how to change or improve your e-commerce strategies and/or
product and service offerings. Successful business use of e-commerce typically involves

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strategies for gaining and applying customer feedback. This helps businesses to understand,
anticipate and meet changing online customer needs and preferences, which is critical
because of the comparatively rapid rate of ongoing Internet-based change.

Size and number of transactions

E-commerce is most often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, and as a result
very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. The size of
transactions is also impacted by the economics of transporting physical goods. For example,
any benefits or conveniences of buying a box of pens online from a US-based business tend
to be eclipsed by the cost of having to pay for them to be delivered to you in Australia.

Types of e-commerce
B2B e-commerce

B2B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. This is the type of e-
commerce that deals with relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-
cotradingmmerce is of this type, and most experts predict that B2B e-commerce will continue
to grow faster than the B2C segment. The B2B market has two primary components: e-
frastructure and e-markets. E-frastructure is the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of
the following:

logistics - transportation, warehousing and distribution (e.g., Procter and Gamble);

application service providers - deployment, hosting and management of packaged

software from a central facility (e.g., Oracle and Linkshare);

outsourcing of functions in the process of e-commerce, such as Web-hosting, security

and customer care solutions (e.g., outsourcing providers such as eShare, NetSales,
iXL Enterprises and Universal Access);

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 auction solutions software for the operation and maintenance of real-time auctions in
the Internet (e.g., Moai Technologies and OpenSite Technologies);

content management software for the facilitation of Web site content management and
delivery (e.g., Interwoven and ProcureNet); and

Web-based commerce enablers (e.g., Commerce One, a browser-based, XML-enabled

purchasing automation software).

E-markets are simply defined as Web sites where buyers and sellers interact with each other
and conduct transactions.10

The more common B2B examples and best practice models are IBM, Hewlett Packard (HP),
Cisco and Dell. Cisco, for instance, receives over 90% of its product orders over the Internet.

Most B2B applications are in the areas of supplier management (especially purchase order
processing), inventory management (i.e., managing order-ship-bill cycles), distribution
management (especially in the transmission of shipping documents), channel management
(i.e., information dissemination on changes in operational conditions), and payment
management (e.g., electronic payment systems or EPS).11

eMarketer projects an increase in the share of B2B e-commerce in total global e-commerce
from 79.2% in 2000 to 87% in 2004 and a consequent decrease in the share of B2C e-
commerce from 20.8% in 2000 to only 13% in 2004.

B2C e-commerce

Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers,

involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods (i.e., tangibles such as
books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic material or
digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving
products over an electronic network.

It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Its origins can be traced to online
retailing (or e-tailing). Thus, the more common B2C business models are the online retailing

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companies such as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Beyond.com, Barnes and Noble and
ToysRus. Other B2C examples involving information goods are E-Trade and Travelocity.

The more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of purchasing
products and information, and personal finance management, which pertains to the
management of personal investments and finances with the use of online banking tools (e.g.,
Quicken).

eMarketer estimates that worldwide B2C e-commerce revenues will increase from US$59.7
billion in 2000 to US$428.1 billion by 2004. Online retailing transactions make up a
significant share of this market. eMarketer also estimates that in the Asia-Pacific region, B2C
revenues, while registering a modest figure compared to B2B, nonetheless went up to $8.2
billion by the end of 2001, with that figure doubling at the end of 2002-at total worldwide
B2C sales below 10%.

B2C e-commerce reduces transactions costs (particularly search costs) by increasing

consumer access to information and allowing consumers to find the most competitive price
for a product or service. B2C e-commerce also reduces market entry barriers since the cost of
putting up and maintaining a Web site is much cheaper than installing a brick-and-mortar
structure for a firm. In the case of information goods, B2C e-commerce is even more
attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost of a physical distribution
network. Moreover, for countries with a growing and robust Internet population, delivering
information goods becomes increasingly feasible.

B2G e-commerce

Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce between

companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement,
licensing procedures, and other government-related operations. This kind of e-commerce has
two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/leading role in establishing e-commerce;
and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making its
procurement system more effective.15

Web-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process (and
reduces the risk of irregularities). To date, however, the size of the B2G e-commerce market

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as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems
remain undeveloped.

C2C e-commerce

Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals

or consumers.

This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and online
auctions, particularly in vertical industries where firms/businesses can bid for what they want
from among multiple suppliers.16 It perhaps has the greatest potential for developing new
markets.

This type of e-commerce comes in at least three forms:

auctions facilitated at a portal, such as eBay, which allows online real-time bidding on
items being sold in the Web;

peer-to-peer systems, such as the Napster model (a protocol for sharing files between
users used by chat forums similar to IRC) and other file exchange and later money
exchange models; and

classified ads at portal sites such as Excite Classifieds and eWanted , Pakwheels.com
(an interactive, online marketplace where buyers and sellers can negotiate and which
features Buyer Leads & Want Ads).

Consumer-to-business (C2B) transactions involve reverse auctions, which empower the

consumer to drive transactions. A concrete example of this when competing airlines gives a
traveler best travel and ticket offers in response to the travelers post that she wants to fly
from New York to San Francisco.

There is little information on the relative size of global C2C e-commerce. However, C2C
figures of popular C2C sites such as eBay and Napster indicate that this market is quite large.
These sites produce millions of dollars in sales every day.

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The social impact of e-commerce
Along with the e-commerce and its unique charm that has appeared gradually, virtual
enterprise, virtual bank, network marketing, online shopping, payment and advertising, such
this new vocabulary which is unheard-of and now has become as familiar to people. This
reflects that the e-commerce has huge impact on the economy and society from the other
side. For instance, B2B is a rapidly growing business in the world that leads to lower cost and
then improves the economic efficiency and also bring along the growth of employment.

To understand how the e-commerce has affected the society and economy, this article will
mention three issues below:

1. The e-commerce has changed the relative importance of time, but as the pillars of indicator
of the countrys economic state that the importance of time should not be ignored.

2. The e-commerce offers the consumer or enterprise various information they need, making
information into total transparency, will force enterprise no longer is able to use the mode of
space or advertisement to raise their competitive edge. Moreover, in theory, perfect
competition between the consumer sovereignty and industry will maximize social welfare.

3. In fact, during the economic activity in the past, large enterprise frequently has advantage
of information resource, and thus at the expense of consumers. Nowadays, the transparent
and real-time information protects the rights of consumers, because the consumers can use
internet to pick out the portfolio to the benefit of themselves. The competitiveness of
enterprises will be much more obvious than before, consequently, social welfare would be
improved by the development of the e-commerce.

E-commerce in India
India has an internet user base of about 375 million (30% of population) as of Q2 of
2015Despite being the second largest userbase in world, only behind China (650 million,
48% of population), the penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like the
United States (266 M, 84%), or France (54 M, 81%), but is growing at an unprecedented rate,
adding around 6 million new entrants every month. ] The industry consensus is that growth is
at an inflection point.

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In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the e-
retail activities. Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is
growing much faster than in-country supply from authorised distributors and e-commerce
offerings.

As of Q1 2015, six Indian e-commerce companies have managed to achieve billion-dollar

valuations. Namely, Flipkart, Snapdeal, InMobi, Quikr, OlaCabs and PAYTM.

Market size and growth

India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.8 billion in 2009, it went up to $12.6 billion
in 2013. In 2013, the e-retail segment was worth US$2.3 billion. About 70% of India's e-
commerce market is travel related. According to Google India, there were 35 million online
shoppers in India in 2014 Q1 and is expected to cross 100 million mark by end of year 2016.
CAGR vis--vis a global growth rate of 810%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest
categories in terms of sales.

Key drivers in Indian e-commerce are:

Large percentage of population subscribed to broadband Internet, burgeoning 3G

internet users, and a recent introduction of 4G across the country.[9][10]

Explosive growth of Smartphone users, soon to be world's second largest smartphone

userbase.

Rising standards of living as result of fast decline in poverty rate.

Availability of much wider product range (including long tail and Direct Imports)
compared to what is available at brick and mortar retailers.

Competitive prices compared to brick and mortar retail driven by disintermediation

and reduced inventory and real estate costs.

Increased usage of online classified sites, with more consumer buying and selling
second-hand goods

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 Evolution of Million-Dollar startups like Jabong.com, Saavn, Makemytrip,
Bookmyshow, Zomato Etc.

India's retail market is estimated at $470 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow to $675 Bn
by 2016 and $850 Bn by 2020, estimated CAGR of 10%. According to Forrester, the e-
commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a
CAGR of over 57% between 201216.

As per "India Goes Digital", a report by Avendus Capital, a leading Indian Investment Bank
specializing in digital media and technology sector, the Indian e-commerce market is
estimated at Rs 28,500 Crore ($6.3 billion) for the year 2011. Online travel constitutes a
sizable portion (87%) of this market today. Online travel market in India is expected to grow
at a rate of 22% over the next 4 years and reach Rs 54,800 Crore ($12.2 billion) in size by
2015. Indian e-tailing industry is estimated at Rs 3,600 crore (US$800 mn) in 2011 and
estimated to grow to Rs 53,000 Crore ($11.8 billion) in 2015.

Overall e-commerce market is expected to reach Rs 1,07,800crores (US$24 billion) by the

year 2015 with both online travel and e-tailing contributing equally. Another big segment in
e-commerce is mobile/DTH recharge with nearly 1 million transactions daily by operator
websites.

History of amazon
Amazon.com, Inc. (/mzn/ or /mzn/), often referred to as simply Amazon, is an
American electronic commerce and cloud computing company with headquarters in Seattle,
Washington. It is the largest Internet-based retailer in the United States. Amazon.com started
as an online bookstore, later diversifying to sell DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, video

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downloads/streaming, MP3 downloads/streaming, audiobook downloads/streaming, software,
video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys and jewelry. The company also
produces consumer electronicsnotably, Amazon Kindlee-book readers, Firetablets, Fire TV
and Fire Phoneand is the world's largest provider of cloud infrastructure services (IaaS).
Amazon also sells certain low-end products like USB cables under its in-house brand
Amazon Basics.

Amazon has separate retail websites for United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, France,
Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India and
Mexico. Amazon also offers international shipping to certain other countries for some of its
products. In 2011, it professed an intention to launch its websites in Poland and Sweden.

In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by
market capitalization.

The company was founded in 1994, spurred by what Bezos called his "regret minimization
framework," which described his efforts to fend off any regrets for not participating sooner in
the Internet business boom during that time. In 1994, Bezos left his employment as vice-
president of D. E. Shaw & Co., a Wall Street firm, and moved to Seattle. He began to work
on a business plan for what would eventually become Amazon.com.

Jeff Bezos incorporated the company as "Cadabra" on July 5, 1994.] Bezos changed the name
to Amazon a year later after a lawyer misheard its original name as "cadaver". The company
went online as Amazon.com in 1995.

Bezos selected the name Amazon by looking through the dictionary, and settled on "Amazon"
because it was a place that was "exotic and different" just as he planned for his store to be;
the Amazon river, he noted was by far the "biggest" river in the world, and he planned to
make his store the biggest in the world. Bezos placed a premium on his head start in building
a brand, telling a reporter, "There's nothing about our model that can't be copied over time.
But you know, McDonald's got copied. And it still built a huge, multibillion-dollar company.
A lot of it comes down to the brand name. Brand names are more important online than they
are in the physical world." Additionally, a name beginning with "A" was preferential due to
the probability it would occur at the top of any list that was alphabetized.

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Since June 19, 2000, Amazon's logotype has featured a curved arrow leading from A to Z,
representing that the company carries every product from A to Z, with the arrow shaped like a
smile.]

After reading a report about the future of the Internet which projected annual Web commerce
growth at 2,300%, Bezos created a list of 20 products which could be marketed online. He
narrowed the list to what he felt were the five most promising products which included:
compact discs, computer hardware, computer software, videos, and books. Bezos finally
decided that his new business would sell books online, due to the large world-wide demand
for literature, the low price points for books, along with the huge number of titles available in
print. Amazon was originally founded in Bezos' garage in Bellevue, Washington.

The company began as an online bookstore, an idea spurred off with discussion with John
Ingram of Ingram Book (now called Ingram Content Group), along with Keyur Patel who
still holds a stake in Amazon. In the first two months of business, Amazon sold to all 50 states
and over 45 countries. Within two months, Amazon's sales were up to $20,000/week. While
the largest brick and mortar bookstores and mail ordercatalogsmight offer 200,000 titles, an
online bookstore could "carry" several times more, since it would have a practically unlimited
virtual (not actual) warehouse: those of the actual product makers/suppliers.

Amazon Vision & strategy

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 In their 2008 SEC filing, Amazon describe the vision of their business as

to:Relentlessly focus on customer experience by offering our customers low prices,

convenience, and a wide selection of merchandise.

The vision is still to offer "Earths biggest selection and to be Earths most customer-

centric company. Consider how these coreMARKETING messages summarising

the Amazon online value proposition are communicated both on-site and through

offline communications.

Of course, achieving customer loyalty and repeat purchases has been key to

Amazons success. Many dot-coms failed because they succeeded in achieving

awareness, but not loyalty. Amazon achieved both.

Amazon.com Company Culture

Amazon.com considers itself a completely customer centric company, which is reflected in
their company values statement:

Customer Obsession: We start with the customer and work backwards.

Innovation: If you don't listen to your customers you will fail. But if you only listen to
your customers you will also fail.

Bias for Action: We live in a time of unheralded revolution and insurmountable

opportunity--provided we make every minute count.

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Donations
Amazon also created "channels" to benefit certain causes. In 2004, Amazon allowed
customers to donate $5 to $200 to the campaigns of 2004 US presidential hopefuls, providing
links that raised $300,000 for the candidates. Amazon has periodically reactivated a Red
Cross donation channel after crises such as Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, and the
2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. By January 2005, nearly 200,000 people
had donated over $15.7 million in the US.

Amazon marketing

Amazon does not reveal much about its marketing approach in its annual reports, but there
seems to be a focus on online marketing channels. Amazon (2011) states we direct
customers to our websites primarily through a number of targeted online marketing channels,
such as our Associates program, sponsored search, portal advertising, email marketing
campaigns, and other initiatives. These other initiatives may include outdoor and TV
advertising, but they are not mentioned specifically. In this statement they also highlight the
importance of customer loyalty tools. They say: while costs associated with free shipping
are not included in marketing expense, we view free shipping offers and Amazon Prime as eff

Customer service centers

United States: Kennewick, Washington; Huntington, West Virginia; Grand Forks,

North Dakota; Winchester, Kentucky

India: Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Jaipur and Pune

South Africa: Cape Town[133]

Philippines: ConcentrixCyberWest, EGS Manila, Convergys Cebu, Convergys

Bacolod, Convergys MDC100 Libis

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 China: Chengdu

Germany: Berlin, Regensburg

Ireland: Cork

Morocco: Sala al Jadida

UK: Edinburgh, Scotland

Japan: Sapporo

Costa Rica: Heredia and San Jose

Uruguay: Montevideo

Products and services

Retail goods

Amazon product lines include several media (books, DVDs, music CDs, videotapes, and
software), apparel, baby products, consumer electronics, beauty products, gourmet food,
groceries, health and personal-care items, industrial & scientific supplies, kitchen items,
jewelry and watches, lawn and garden items, musical instruments, sporting goods, tools,
automotive items and toys & games.

The company launched amazon.com Auctions, a web auctions service, in March 1999.
However, it failed to chip away at the large market share of the industry pioneer, eBay. Later,
the company launched a fixed-price marketplace business, zShops, in September 1999, and
the now defunct partnership with Sotheby's, called Sothebys.amazon.com, in November.
Auctions and zShops evolved into Amazon Marketplace, a service launched in November
2000 that let customers sell used books, CDs, DVDs, and other products alongside new items.

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As of October 2014, Amazon Marketplace is the largest of its kind, followed by similar
marketplaces from Sears, Rakuten and Newegg.

In August 2007, Amazon announced AmazonFresh, a grocery service offering perishable and
nonperishable foods. Customers could have orders delivered to their homes at dawn or during
a specified daytime window. Delivery was initially restricted to residents of Mercer Island,
Washington, and was later expanded to several ZIP codes in Seattle proper.AmazonFresh also
operated pick-up locations in the suburbs of Bellevue and Kirkland from summer 2007
through early 2008.

In 2012, Amazon announced the launch of Vine.com for buying green products, including
groceries, household items, and apparel.It is part of Quidsi, the company that Amazon bought
in 2010 that also runs the sites Diapers.com (baby), Wag.com (pets), and YoYo.com
(toys).Amazon also owns other e-commerce sites like Shopbop.com, Woot.com, and
Zappos.com.

Amazon's Subscribe & Save program offers a discounted price on an item (usually sold in
bulk), free shipping on every Subscribe & Save shipment, and automatic shipment of the item
every one, two, three, or six months.

In 2013, Amazon launched its site in India, amazon.in. It has started with electronic goods
and plans to expand into fashion apparel, beauty, home essentials, and healthcare categories
by the end of 2013. In July 2014, Amazon had said it will invest $2 billion (Rs 12,000 crore)
in India to expand business, after its largest Indian rival Flipkart announced $1 billion in
funding.

In 2014, Amazon sold 63% of all books bought online and 40% of all books sold overall.

Fulfillment by Amazon Small and Light is a service introduced in 2015 that will provide
fulfillment for small, light items from a center in Florence, Kentucky. The service will offer
free standard shipping for small, light, low-value items offered on the site by 3rd party
sellers.

In 2015, a study by Survata found that 44% of respondents searching for products went
directly to Amazon.com.

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Consumer electronics

In November 2007, Amazon launched Amazon Kindle, an e-book reader which downloads
content over "Whispernet", via Sprint'sEV-DO wireless network. The screen uses E Ink
technology to reduce battery consumption and to provide a more legible display. As of July
2014, there are over 2.7 million titles available for purchase at the Kindle Store.

In September 2011, Amazon announced its entry into the tablet computer market by
introducing the Kindle Fire, which runs a customized version of the operating system
Android. The low pricing of Fire ($199 USD) was widely perceived as a strategy backed by
Amazon's revenue from its content sales, to be stimulated by sales of the Fire.

In September 2012,

Amazon unveiled the second generation tablet, called the Kindle Fire HD. On September 25,
2013, Amazon.com unveiled its third generation tablet, called the Kindle Fire HDX.[184] In
October 2013, the sixth generation Kindle was released.

In April 2014, Amazon announced its Amazon Fire TV set-top box system, a device targeted
to compete with such systems like Apple TV or Google's Chromecast device. The Amazon
set-top box allows for streaming videos from sites like Amazon's own streaming service as
well as others such as Netflix or Hulu. The device also supports voice search for movies, as
well as gaming, which includes special versions of Minecraft, Asphalt 8, and The Walking
Dead.[185][186] Amazon announced the Fire TV Stick in October 2014. The device replicates
much of the functionality of the Fire TV.

Amazon Games

In October 2008, Amazon acquired game developer and distributor Reflexive Entertainment
This studio continued to develop games for PC, Mac and Kindle eReaders under the brands
Reflexive and Amazon Digital Services. Notable titles include Every Word for Kindle
Paperwhite and Airport Mania for Kindle Fire, Android, iOS Windows and Mac.

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In August 2012, Amazon announced it would be adding a gaming department to its company
titled Amazon Game Studios. Amazon stated that it would introduce "innovative, fun and
well-crafted games" to consumers. According to the Amazon Game Studios website, the last
game that was launched by the department was Amazon's first ever mobile game Air Patriots,
released on November 1, 2012.

On February 6, 2014, Amazon confirmed the acquisition of the gaming company Double
Helix Games without any indication of the financial terms. The 75 Double Helix employees
were to become Amazon employees and their Orange County, California, headquarters was to
remain their operating base. Amazon informed the TechCrunch media company that it
"acquired Double Helix as part of our [Amazon's] ongoing commitment to build innovative
games for customers" and confirmed that Double Helix's current game roster and other future
developments will receive support following the acquisition.

On August 25, 2014, Amazon announced its intent to acquire the video game streaming
website Twitch for $970 million.[210][211][212] The acquisition of Twitch is expected to help
Amazon drive Internet traffic and potentially boost its Prime membership program, and
promote its video ad and Fire TV set top box business.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Video is an Internet video on demand service by Amazon in the United States,
United Kingdom, Japan, Austria and Germany. There are plans to offer the video streaming
service in India sometime in 2015.

In 2015, the Prime Instant Video exclusive series Transparent earned two Golden Globe
Awards, and Transparent is the first series from a streaming service to win a Golden Globe
for best series.

AmazonFresh and Amazon Prime Pantry

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AmazonFresh is a home grocery delivery service first trialed in 2007, and later made
available in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, California, San Diego, Brooklyn, New York
and Philadelphia, PA.

Amazon Prime Pantry is a similar service covering the 48 contiguous United States, allowing
the order of up to 45 pounds of dry goods and non-perishable groceries for a flat delivery fee.

Amazon technology
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Information Management (IM) support
Amazons business strategy. The core technology that keeps Amazon running is Linux-based.
As of 2005, Amazon had the worlds three largest Linux databases, with capacities of 7.8 TB,
18.5 TB, and 24.7 TB. The central data warehouse of Amazon is made of 28 Hewlett Packard
servers with four CPUs per node running Oracle database software. Amazons technology
architecture handles millions of back-end operations every day, as well as queries from more
than half a million third-party sellers. With hundreds of thousands of people sending their
credit card numbers to Amazons servers every day, security becomes a major concern.

Amazon employs Netscape Secure Commerce Server using the Secure Socket Layer protocol
which stores all credit card details in a separate database. The company also records data on
customer buyer behavior which enables them to offer or recommend to an individual specific
item, or bundles of items based upon preferences demonstrated through purchases or items
visited. On January 31, 2013 Amazon experienced an outage that lasted approximately 49
minutes, leaving its site inaccessible to some customers.

On May 5, 2014 Amazon unveiled a partnership with Twitter. Twitter users can link their
accounts to an Amazon account and automatically add items to their shopping carts by
responding to any tweet with an Amazon product link bearing the hashtag #AmazonCart.
Customers never leave the Twitter feed, and the product is waiting for them when they go to
the Amazon website.

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Multi-level sales strategy
Amazon employs a multi-level e-commerce strategy. Amazon started off by focusing on
Business-to-Consumer relationships between itself and its customers, and Business-to-
Business relationships between itself and its suppliers but it then moved to incorporate
Customer-to-Business transactions as it realized the value of customer reviews as part of the
product descriptions. It now also facilitates customer to customer with the provision of the
Amazon marketplace which act as an intermediary to facilitate consumer to consumer
transactions. The company lets almost anyone sell almost anything using its platform. In
addition to affiliate program that lets anybody post Amazon links and earn a commission on
click through sales, there is now a program which let those affiliates build entire websites
based on Amazons platform.

Some other large e-commerce sellers use Amazon to sell their products in addition to selling
them through their own websites. The sales are processed through Amazon.com and end up at
individual sellers for processing and order fulfillment and Amazon leases space for these
retailers. Small sellers of used and new goods go to Amazon Marketplace to offer goods at a
fixed price.

Amazon also employs the use of drop shippers or meta sellers. These are members or entities
that advertise goods on Amazon who order these goods direct from other competing websites
but usually from other Amazon members. These meta sellers may have millions of products
listed, have large transaction numbers and are grouped alongside other less prolific members
giving them credibility as just someone who has been in business for a long time. Markup is
anywhere from 50% to 100% and sometimes more, these sellers maintain that items are in
stock when the opposite is true. As Amazon increases their dominance in the marketplace
these drop shippers have become more and more commonplace in recent years.[

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CONCLUSION

Over the 2000-2010 decade, Amazon has developed a customer base of around 30 million
people. Amazon.com is primarily a retail site with a sales revenue model. Amazon makes its
money by taking a small percentage of the sale price of each item that is sold through its
website. Amazon also allows companies to advertise their products by paying to be listed as
featured products.

Since its founding, the company has attracted criticism and controversy from multiple
sources over its actions. These include: luring customers away from the site's brick and
mortar competitors. poor warehouse conditions for workers; anti-unionization efforts;
Amazon Kindle remote content removal; taking public subsidies; its "1-Click patent" claims;
anti-competitive actions.price discrimination; various decisions over whether to censor or
publish content such as the WikiLeaks website; LGBT book sales rank and works containing
libel, facilitating dogfight, cockfight, or pedophile activities. In December 2011, Amazon
faced backlash from small businesses for running a one-day deal to promote its new Price
Check app. Shoppers who used the app to check prices in a brick-and-mortar store were
offered a 5% discount to purchase the same item from Amazon. Companies like Groupon,
eBay, and Taap.it countered Amazon's promotion by offering $10 off from their products. The
company has also faced accusations of putting undue pressure on suppliers to maintain and
extend its profitability. One effort to squeeze the most vulnerable book publishers was known
within the company as the Gazelle Project, after Bezos suggested, according to Brad Stone,
"that Amazon should approach these small publishers the way a cheetah would pursue a
sickly gazelle." In July 2014 the Federal Trade Commission launched a lawsuit against the
company alleging it was promoting in-app purchases to children, which were being
transacted without parental consent.

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REFERENCES
http://www.studymode.com/essays/E-Commerce.
www. amazon.com Site Info .
http://www. Amazon Company History.
http://www. "Amazon company timeline"
http://www."World's Largest Bookseller Opens on the Web".
Marketing strategies & Plans text bk(M.com-II)

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