E-Business in Hospitality

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Class No.:

Assignment 1 (100%)

Question
a) What is e-commerce?
b) Discuss various characteristics of e-commerce.

Answer
a)
Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to
the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of
money and data to execute these transactions. (20%)

b)
E-Commerce has eight unique characteristics: (80%)

1. Ubiquity: It is defined as being something that occurs everywhere. Ever since the
inception of the internet, its user base has grown exponentially, and with it, E-
commerce has blossomed. Libraries, homes, businesses, people’s personal cell
phones and even airplanes, all have access to the internet. The great thing about
the internet is that pretty much everyone, everywhere, can access it for free or
quite cheaply.
2. Global Reach: Global reach allows previously unheard of retailers to sell to the
other side of the world, while it also connects the bigger sellers with new
opportunities as well.
3. Universal Standards: The internet has its own universally accepted standards of
how information is presented. This equalizes the playing field for many
businesses, because it means anyone can access the information they need to
enter the market, and also price discovery is no longer a pain in the butt.
4. Richness: This simply refers to the fact that there are now video ads, audio
messages, and even interactive text options, on many retail sites. Businesses
discovered that they could amplify their advertising power by using new methods
to catch potential buyers’ attention, and boy does it work!
5. Interactivity: It is now pretty standard in most businesses you find in the
marketspace. There are online agents to chat with you live if you’re having issues
E-Business in Hospitality
with a product, shipping or billing. Also, customers are better able to give
feedback on products, which allows other users to see whether or not they want
to actually spend money on items.
6. Information Density: Now you can easily access your competitor’s,
manufacturer’s, and delivery service’s information, which allows you to save on
information processing, storage and communication costs. This not only drives
costs down, but it also speeds up the process of accessing the information which
contributes to increased service times and happier customers!
7. Personalization: This implies that not only will you receive your products in a
timely manner, but that they will be exactly what you want.
8. Social Technology: E-Commerce has played a huge role in Social Technology. Sites
like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and so on, are not merely
there for your entertainment. They all collect information about you and as I
mentioned above, show you the kinds of ads and sites you would most likely be
interested in based on that information. Social technology has changed E-
Commerce in many ways. It has allowed people all over the world to start
networking and share their interests, which in turn has allowed companies to
more selectively target their customer bases.