E-Commerce Notes

Internet of Things: Changes brought include advances in supply chain management, different methods of
package delivery, and data capture from IoT devices to increase customer engagement and experiences.
Location Independence: E-commerce is less dependent on location, cross border e-commerce allows
organization to sell internationally by providing information in different languages, multiple currency
pricing, and multiple delivery/pickup options.
Integrated Shopping Experiences: Organizations engaging in e-commerce activities must address the
increasing expectation for an integrated shopping experience.
PWAs: A type of application software distributed via the web, designed to run on most platforms and web
browsers.
Machine Learning and AI provide for e-commerce systems that can automatically learn instead of being
programmed.
Re-commerce is the practice of selling used, old, or obsolete products via the Internet in exchange for a
new product or a cash payout.
E-commerce ubiquity is the ability of an organization to create a strong presence among consumers in
many places, with minimal time constraints, to sell the products and services they offer.
Allows organization to reach the largest number of potential and existing customers thus increasing their
global influence.
Percentage of Global Internet Users performing E-activities: 80 percent searched online for a product or
service to buy, 90 percent visited an online retail store on the web, 74 percent purchased a product online.
Information Density: Total amount of information as well as the quality of information available to all
individuals in a market including customers and stakeholders.
Personalization is the ability of organizations to craft marketing messages and product/service offerings
directed towards specific target markets.
Personalized Marketing Messages include: An individual’s name, interests, past purchase or
interaction behavior
Customization is the adjustment of an organization’s product or service offerings based on an individual’s
preferences or past buying behavior
User-generated content (UGC) is online content that has been created and posted by unpaid contributions
or fans of a product or service. UGC Elements include: user posts to websites, posts to blogs, posts to
social media sites.
Types of E-Commerce Transactions:
o Consumer-to Consumer (C2C): Online marketplaces where one consumer sells to
another.
o Consumer-to-Business (C2B): Consumers are able to provide service to businesses often
through a bidding or auction type of system.
 o Consumer-to-Administration: Allows customers to interact with government or
authoritative bodies for activities such as paying taxes, securing building permits, or
paying tuition at a university.
o Business-to-Consumer (B2C): E-commerce is the selling of products and services to
individual consumers.
o Business-to-Business Transactions: Orders placed on a recurring basis from one business
to another.
o Business-to-Government (B2G): Where the selling of goods and services from a business
to a governmental organization takes place via online platforms
Some of the largest global e-commerce companies include Amazon, Alibaba, and JD.com
M-commerce (mobile commerce): e-commerce transactions executed using wireless mobile devices
including smartphones and tablet computers.
Location-based Services (LBS): Built on real-time geodata and information provided from wireless
mobile devices. Includes:
o Geosocial applications: social networking sites that use GPS and GIS to connect people
by providing specific geographic information
o Geoadvertising: A type of advertising where advertisements are delivered based on a
user’s geographic location.
o Geoinformation: Based on GPS and provides users with information on place, such as
information about a historic site you are close to or the price of homes in the area.
Geodata: Information about geographic locations that is stored in a geographic information system
Some of the issues with e-commerce include data security and theft, ethical e-commerce parties,
competitor analysis, and customer loyalty.
Presence Map is an illustration of the various touchpoints where customers, potential customers, and
stakeholders can be influenced by e-commerce activities.
o Presence includes websites, email, social media sites, and offline media
o Platform includes the method used to reach the stakeholders and customers
o Analysis of the activity includes what can be delivered using each specific platform

Development of an e-commerce strategy for a start-up company

o Phase 1: Planning
o Phase2: Web Development
o Phase 3: Implementation
o Phase 4: Social Media Plan
o Phase 5: Social Media Implementation
o Phase 6: Mobile Platform Planning and Implementation

Cost-Benefit Analysis: A useful tool analyzing the costs associated with implementing a project or set of
activities and the benefits that can be achieved as a result of implementation
o Costs: Capital outlay involved as well as the impact on an organization as measured in
hiring, management, and time commitments
 o Benefits are measured in potential return on investment (ROI), potential costs averted,
productivity gains, market and brans exposure, and increase in sales.
Customer acquisition costs (CAC): A metric used by e-commerce companies and other sales-related
organizations to assess the costs associated with convincing a potential customer to purchase a service or
product.
Advertising and Marketing Expenses include social media advertising & traditional media advertising,
utilizing marketing analytics firms to determine optimal placement on social media platforms, SEO
activities, and other marketing activities directly related to the sale of a product/service.