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ecommerce
In 2006, online spending surpassed $100 billion, and online sales surpassed traditional retail sales for the first time ever in the 2006 holiday shopping season. If you're not selling online you're already being left behind!
eCommerce (short for electronic commerce) is the process of using the Internet to transfer funds related to the buying, selling, and distribution of goods and services. Studies claim that online retail revenues will surpass the quarter-trillion-dollar mark by 2011.
Typical business websites do not usually have the same features that eCommerce enabled web stores do. In order to effectively distribute, market and sell goods or services online you will need certain features only found on eCommerce sites. Features such as a shopping cart, ability to process credit cards, online product catalog, automated inventory system, databases, bulk email program, statistics tracking, and other non-computer technologies such as product warehousing and shipping transportation.
An eBusiness can create a world of opportunity and establish new relationships with potential customers, business associates, and manufacturers. By being easy to find by users all over the world, you will be available for others to find and approach you about new opportunities. Customers who didn't know you existed will know about you, product suppliers will request that you add their items, and other businesses will approach you about partnership opportunities. Many of these opportunities would not present themselves without an online presence or website for them to discover you on their own.
An eCommerce site gives you unlimited store hours. It gives your customers 24 hour access to shop and buy items from you. Orders can be made overnight and on weekends, and customers can contact you via email, voicemail, or fax. The costs associated with having your eStore open 24/7 are much less than for a physical storefront with employees.
Having an Online business means that you can literally reach out to millions of consumers anywhere in the world looking for what you sell. By reaching out to new markets and displaying your site prominently in front of them, you will be able to build your brand and increase the awareness of your product lines.