Even if you have a basic understanding of ecommerce, you should examine this infographic from Miva Merchant. The graphic defines what is meant by the term e-commerce and establishes an official spelling (It’s nice to be validated once in a while).
The infographic also classifies ecommerce activities into four broad categories: B2B, B2C, C2C and C2B. It should be pointed out that over 80 percent of all ecommerce activities occur in the B2B space. While the popular media devotes a lot of coverage to the retail side of ecommerce especially as it relates to hardware, marketplaces, search engines and social networks, the B2B ecommerce space totals almost $4 trillion.
Even though much of that total number comes from high-volume purchases of physical products, it is crucial for independent software vendors (ISV) to recognize the huge opportunity involved in solving important business needs with their software.
The infographic continues with a list of the benefits that online shopping provides buyers and sellers alike. For sellers, online shopping lowers the cost of starting and maintaining a store and provides access to customers around the world while providing convenience and lower prices to buyers.
With over 70 percent of global ecommerce occurring outside of the U.S., companies must recognize the necessity of providing website users a familiar and localized experience.
The available data indicates that ecommerce continues to expand. Competition is fierce and the market is unkind. Companies selling digital products online must step-up their game by optimizing multi-channel marketing efforts, checkout processes, shopping carts and customer support.
(Click to enlarge)
[ Infographic from: Miva Merchant ]
