Delivering E-Commerce Solutions

Understand the e-commerce environment.

1.1   Describe e-commerce activities used by businesses.

E-commerce activities can include anything which involves selling goods or services over the internet. E-commerce can be having your own online sale store but also can be as simple as using eBay or Amazon or other third-party platforms. This can include anything, but the main categories are B2C, C2C, or B2B. B2C stands for business to consumer and is basically any retailer which sells to consumers. C2C is consumer to consumer and this is when consumers may trade products, services or information such as through eBay. B2B is when businesses sell to other businesses online.

1.2   Explain differences between e-commerce and traditional retail.

The difference between e-commerce and traditional retail is that e-commerce is using an online channel whereas traditional retail happens face to face in a physical establishment.

1.3   Describe the impact of e-commerce on society.

E-commerce has had a massive impact in many different ways. One of these ways is the growth for all involved, e-commerce has created so many more products and services available for consumers and allowed consumers to access things from all over the world which they would’ve never had access to previously. For businesses e-commerce has made it way easier to sell any time of day and allows them to reach a much wider audience however it has also meant more competition.

1.4   Analyse impacts of introducing e-commerce to a business.

Introducing e-commerce to a business can be a wonderful idea as it allows you to sell 24/7, 365 days a year and opens you up to a wider audience and therefore more potential customers, this also stops you losing sales due to unsuitable opening times. It also has incredibly low start up and running costs and can really help out struggling businesses, with e-Commerce you don’t need to have a physical location which therefore means less rent, bills and staff. E-commerce can also have a bad impact on your business if, for example, you throw all your eggs in that basket and convert fully to e-commerce but then find there’s actually a lot more competition and your prices just don’t match. It could also be an issue trying to market your online store as there’s less word of mouth between community and if you don’t know how to do that there’s a high chance your site won’t be getting views and therefore won’t be getting sales.

1.5   Explain the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce to customers.

There are many advantages of e-Commerce for customers including:

·       Increased convenience as the internet has 24-hour access and means consumers can make purchases at any time of day or night, without having to go to a physical location.

·       The large amount of competition means that there’s so much more choice and it is so much easier to compare prices with different brands online rather than in store.

·       E-Commerce sites have secure payment systems meaning they always have confirmation and proof of orders.

·       Access to global market, e-commerce is not location-based meaning people can make purchases from all over the world without having to travel.

However, there are also disadvantages to e-commerce for customers, these can include:

·       They are unable to view or inspect the products up close and have to rely on pictures and descriptions.

·       They have to give out personal details online in order to purchase which can sometimes result in fraud.

·       They don’t receive the product straight away and have to wait for delivery as well as pay extra for shipping.

·       The quality may not be as expected.

·       The lack of personal interaction may make it harder for customers to make an informed decision.

·       Packages often get lost or delivered to the wrong address which creates more hassle for the buyer to try and refund the money or get another sent.

Understand the technologies of e-commerce.

2.1 Describe customer experience of e-commerce technologies.

Customer experience of e-commerce technologies has changed rapidly in the recent years. Where previously making a purchase online would’ve been seen as risky or not the done thing, nowadays thanks to secure transaction services such as PayPal as well as amazon prime and other next day delivery services, most purchases are made on a mobile device on the go. E-commerce tech has made purchasing incredibly easy and simply as you can get pretty much anything delivered to your door in a day or two. Where most people would’ve preferred to go and physically try and buy and item in store, thanks to developments in ecommerce technology now the consumers can get what they want, when they want without even leaving the house, knowing that their payments are secure and their decision has been informed due to readily available and well known returns and safety policies.

2.2 Explain features of an e-commerce system required by businesses.

The main features of an e-commerce system are:

Content management capabilities to allow the business to add and remove content as and when they need to.

Promotion and discount code tools for marketing and customer conversion purposes.

An easy to use checkout so their users are likely to complete their purchase.

Search engine optimized code and layout as google only ranks the optimised sites and it’s important that your users can actually find your site.

Reporting tools for analytics and development.

An integrated blog or articles section again for seo as well as to inform others and can be used to backlink your site elsewhere.

Email marketing integration to allow you to compile a database for marketing new releases etc.

Multiple payment options so the customer can use whatever they feel comfortable with again to try and ensure they complete their purchase.

2.3 Describe solutions available to develop e-commerce websites.

There are many solutions out there for developing your e-commerce sites such as:

Shopify: shopify is one of the biggest platforms for developing an online store, it lets you sell across different platforms such as Facebook and amazon.

Wix: wix is good for new and smaller businesses and has tons of templates to allow you to easily create a nicely designed mobile optimised store.

BigCommerce: Bigcommerce also is a well-known platform and has built in seo tools and features.

Weebly: weebly is the easiest platform for e-commerce sites and lets you create dedicated pages for each product.

Magento: magento is another good tool for developing online stores, it is loved worldwide by developers as it integrates all your main needs such as advertising and analytics.

2.4 Explain technical considerations for e-commerce website development.

The main consideration you need to make when developing your website is to ensure you have a responsive design, if your design is not responsive it won’t be suitable for consumers to use via mobile – one of the biggest growing devices for purchasing being e-commerce.

You absolutely must take into consideration security when developing an e-commerce website. If your site was unsecure hackers would be able to access all your customers details and leak them wherever they wanted. Your site should always support SSL in order to keep sensitive information secure.

You should also take into consideration optimising your site for use as well as for search engines. This will allow your site to load well and be visible on search engines for users.

2.5 Describe features of technology that supports secure management of data.

SecureData is one of the biggest data protection and management software’s available. They have so many different features available including GDPR assessments, managed threat detection, firewall management, two factor authentication and more. These are all things that can help keep your site secure and your data pivate.

Understand business implications of e-commerce solutions.

3.1 Describe the current legislation related to online purchasing.

There are many rules in place for online purchasing and they differ depending on what it is that you are purchasing however the main idea stays the same:

-       A description of the good should be provided

-       Total price should be provided or an insight to how the price will be calculated

-       Additional charges and payment methods should be provided

-       Seller information must be shown

-       You also have a right to cancel within 14 days from receiving the goods

-       You have a right to a refund & sellers refund policy should be documented at time of sale.

-       Terms and conditions for refunds do not apply if the good is faulty

These all fall under the consumer rights regulation.

3.2 Explain the financial implications to a business of implementing e-commerce systems.

The main costs you will need to factor in order to start up in e-commerce are:

-       Financial transactions, you should take into consideration transaction costs for purchases made

-       Design, hosting and domain names, this is where your actual website will be

-       Marketing, in order to make a successful solution

-       Training, if you have staff who will need trained in using the new system