E-commerce

What it is?

Electronic commerce or e-commerce is a term for any type of business, or commercial transaction, that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. It covers a range of different types of businesses, from consumer based retail sites like ASOS, through to auction or music sites like Ebay, to business exchanges trading goods and services between corporations. It is currently one of the most important aspects of the Internet as so many people rely on it throughout their day.

E-commerce allows consumers to electronically exchange goods and services with no barriers of time or distance from the comfort of your own home environment. Electronic commerce has expanded rapidly over the past five years and is predicted to continue at this rate, or even accelerate when new ideas are formed. In the near future the boundaries between "conventional" and "electronic" commerce will become increasingly blurred as more and more businesses move sections of their operations onto the Internet to make it convienet for their market.

Online Services

There many different online services for business on the Internet. The main tool for e-commerce is the use of the world wide web. Sellers set up stores which are specialised websites with payment processing interfaces allowing users to pay for goods and products online. The store is a series of webpages with photos, pricing and description of the goods.These goods are all linked to a database and a search facility so users can simply type in the product they want and get to it straight away. The shopper can then transfer the item to a virtual shopping basket and can then proceed to check out.

Amazon

Amazon is a large online shopping website providing the earth's biggest selection of books, magazines, music, DVDs, videos, electronics, computers, software, apparel & accessories, shoes and more!

The Amazon shopping experience begins with a very simple homepage that is clear and easy to navigate through.

When you look at the Amazon home page, its layout is in the form of a clear table like structure.Along the top navigation bar there is a search facility, and the search/shopping cart controls in the top right.
This simple and careful structure allows the user to:
Quickly find and purchase products straight from the homepage.The seller is able to quickly process online purchases through the basket feature.

Related Items Displayed

One example of customized content is seen on the home page. The homepage which modifies the main content based on how the user (whether logged in or not) has interacted with the product search feature and what the users want on the Amazon website.

Amazon has the ability to track client-site behavior to ensure that subsequent visits of each user are increasingly tailored to their tastes, habits and their desires.

This increases the likelihood that the user will make a purchase, and in some cases it will speed up the purchasing process becuase they dont need to search for the product. More significantly, it exposes the user to a wider range of products and services that tie in to their areas of interest. This means that Amazon can create more purchases as users see more things they want.

Why shop with Amazon Feature

The Amazon shopping experience is constantly reminding users of why the user should purchase a product from Amazon rather than from some other E-commerce site. A few examples are shown and discussed below.



This screenshot highlights amazons price difference compared with the nearest competitor.



 Each product displayed above has not only the discounted price offered by Amazon, but also the MRSP.

This simple feature, which is instantly understood by the user because of the strike-through text, is seen with virtually every product on Amazon. This gives the user confidence in Amazon being the cheapest on the internet and make them feel they are getting a bargain. This is a simple but strong sales incentive that has increased amazons revenue over the years.

The 'Look Inside' Feature

Books are one of the most frequently purchased items on Amazon, so it’s no wonder that the Amazon development team has built the feature that allows you to 'Look Inside' the book you want to purchase.

The “Look Inside” feature lets shoppers view certain sections of books: usually the front cover, table of contents, first pages, index and back cover. This feature is usefull for users who want to find out more about the product and whether or not the book is what the title says it is. This can be extremely helpful because shoppers will usually be able to tell from a glance at the table of contents or introduction whether a book suits them. There is nothing more annoying than purchasing a book that isnt what you thought it was going to be. Amazons 'Look Inside' feature prevents this from happening.

Customer review Feature