WHY E

-COM

MER

CE?

P2

Jaimie Walsh

BENEFITS OF E-COMMERCE

Global Marketplace

• The global market place is where we sell products to other countries overseas, e.g. Australia, USA. Therefore we gain a bigger income of money, because we are not just selling our products in one place we are selling them in other places too.

P2

Jaimie Walsh

BENEFITS OF E-COMMERCE

24/7 Trading

P2

• There are no staff used online to sell products, therefore we are able to sell our products at any times, day or night, in different time zones around the world.

Jaimie Walsh

BENEFITS OF E-COMMERCE

Low Start -up & Running Costs

P2

• Setting up a website online to sell products is relatively cheaper than starting up and running a shop on the street. This means it has a low start up cost and has running costs.

Jaimie Walsh

BENEFITS OF E-COMMERCE

Search Facilities

P2

Most sites where products are sold have a search facility at the top of the page, this makes it much more easier to find the product you want to buy.

Jaimie Walsh

BENEFITS OF E-COMMERCE

Fluid Pricing

P2

• It is where prices of products are increased or decreased due to the circumstances. Alternatively when selling products like holidays as the time draws closer, the prices could go down to ensure all the places are sold.

Jaimie Walsh

WEAKNESSES OF E-COMMERCE & HOW TO ADDRESS THIS

Consumer Trust

P2

Jaimie Walsh

• Sometimes e-commerce do not trust their buyers when they are buying something online.

• They sometimes think that they will try and do something to their orders or they will try and mess up their website.

• They also think that their buyers will try and buy products for prices that are lower than the usual price. This is because the people who work on the websites are not reliable so they cannot trust the consumers.

• They could also jeopardise the other sales of other products to other customers.• It could give them a bad reputation which would .make sales go down creating a

lower income of money.

WEAKNESSES OF E-COMMERCE& HOW TO ADDRESS THIS

Lack of Human Contact

P2

Jaimie Walsh

• When consumers go to buy something on the website they do not tend to leave many contact details.

• This creates a really big problem because if they want to contact them because they have an issue with the product they have sold. they wont be able to.

• This could lead to a customer complaining because their product has not been delivered this could create a bad reputation and cause less people to shop at the website.

WEAKNESSES OF E-COMMERCE& HOW TO ADDRESS THIS

Product Description Problems

P2

• There could be faulty descriptions on one of the products the company are selling on the website.

• This could be a spelling mistake or the seller has put the wrong description on the wrong product.

• This could cause confusion to the buyer because they would think they are purchasing the wrong product when they are realty not.

• This is because people don't take enough care when they are writing their descriptions.

WEAKNESSES OF E-COMMERCE& HOW TO ADDRESS THIS

Security issues

P2

• This occurs when you are typing in your passwords for the website and things on the website.

• For example when you type in your credit card password and you know you are typing it right, there may be a problem where it says you are typing it wrong when you really are not.

• This could also cause confusion for the customer because they will not know what is happening.

THE TECHNOLOGYBrowsers

Web Authoring Software

P1

Browsers allow you to view web pages on a computer. In most cases user interaction is needed to tell the browser what web site or specific web page to be viewed. This is done by the user typing something in to the search bar. The web address, or URL, that is typed into the browser's address bar tells the browser where to obtain a page or pages from. The features of a browser Status bar, Address bar, toolbars are also an example.

An example of a browser is safari, opera etc.

Web Pages are written in HTML Without the knowledge of this coding, it is possible for users to create web pages with the help of web authoring software. This software enables the user to develop a website in a desktop publishing format. The software will generate the required HTML coding for the layout of the web pages based on what the user designs.

THE TECHNOLOGY

Database systems

IP addresses

P1

The database system is where E-commerce sites usually have a database attached to them that holds the catalogue of products and customer records. For example an e-commerce site that allows users to sign in, will have a database that holds all the customers details. The database should link seamlessly so that the user is unaware of it.

To make sure the data reaches the right location on a network, each computer is given a unique number, called an IP address. (Internet protocol Address). It is a set if four numbers each from 0 to 255. For example 145.2.78.255 would address a specific computer on a network

THE TECHNOLOGYDomain Names

Multiple Domain Registration

P1

Jaimie Walsh

Domain names: It is important that a website has a memorable domain name. If a site is easy to spell, remember and relevant to the business this will make it come to mind when users access the internet. Also a name that is different or odd may also stay in the mind of users. Domain names are used in web addresses to identify particular web pages.

Multiple domain registration: many businesses may not just have one domain name but many. The main reason for doing this is that if the user types the domain in incorrectly they will be directed to the correct website. Rival business will often try and buy domain names with similar names to big companies to try and reach a wider target audience.

THE TECHNOLOGYPorts & Protocols

Browser & Platform Compatibility

P1

Jaimie Walsh

A protocol is an agreed way of working also known as ‘hand shake’. If computers don’t use the same protocol it becomes impossible for them to understand the data transmitted between them. This is similar to humans who speak different languages – unless they agree to speak to a common language, they will not be able to understand each other. Ports connect protocols and IP addresses together each computer has several ports for data to pass through they are virtual so they cannot be seen. Ports are like doors each has a number to identify it and it can be opened or closed.

To reach the largest target audience possible websites need to be accessible on as many browsers and platforms as possible. Using W3C we can check the compatibility with other browsers and platforms. Web developers should design to meet the lowest specifications available, otherwise potential customers may be excluded from purchasing products and so the business can lose potential profit.

PROMOTION

Paying to be prominent in search engine results

M1

When a consumer types in their search terms, a list of relevant sites pop up. It doesn’t happen all of the time - often, search engines look for your search term within the web pages they've collected and indexed. The results reflect the search engine's determination of how relevant the site's content is to your inquiry. But some search engines will rank sites higher in your results if the site pays a fee, regardless of its relevance to your terms.

This is the thing that happens when people pay to be at the top of a search engine

PROMOTION

Newsgroups & Forums

M1

Jaimie Walsh

Newsgroups are very focused. They are more structured and you often need special software to use them. Web forums function in a similar way to newsgroups, they are an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. A way of creating a forum is normally by creating a group on a social networking site. This is where a certain topic is discussed in detail.If a company has a forum set up it allows their consumers to leave comments about the way they deal with their sales.

Example of a forum

PROMOTION

Banners & Pop-ups

M1

Online advertising is the way in which people put different advertisements on a webpage. It is basically there to attract the customers attention by linking to the website of the advertiser. The advertisement is constructed from an image. The banner will normally go along down the side or along the top of bottom of a webpage. It is often animated to help attract attention to it. Sites that offer to have a web banner for another company on their site often receive money on a pay per click system.

An advertisement on a web page

PROMOTION

Spam

M1

Spam is email that is not targeted at particular customers or customer needs, it just mailed in bulk to as many emails as possible to reach as bigger audience as possible. As web users become more concerned about internet privacy and viruses. After knowing this the customers tend not to open as many emails as they used to. As they are concerned about if companies are legitimate or not. There are many different ways for companies to get hold of your email address and then they will send you regular emails. Most email systems come with a email filter to put such emails into a 'junk' folder.

Junk email and junk folder

PROMOTION

Ensuring An Effective User Interface

M1

An effective interface for your website is essential to make sure when web users get to your site, they stay there for as long as possible. When creating a site there are several factors to avoid- broken links, difficult navigation, unclear fonts and too much text. A simple and clear website will mean they will be able to purchase products and services with ease.

An example of an effective user interface.

PROMOTION

Establishing Customer loyalty in a virtual environment

M1

There are many different methods used to help create customer loyalty. Including- direct mailing to customers is often useful, to help keep your business at the front of their minds. Setting up some kind of loyalty system, based on points or money spent so that customers can claim rewards by staying with your company. Treating customers as individuals, by welcoming them onto your site by name when they sign in, but sending them information specific to them and offering products and services you think they may like because of other items they have viewed and purchased.

An example of a virtual pc environment

PROMOTION

Site Names

M1

The name of the website is really important. You need to name it with a suitable name that is memorable and relevant to the site. The more complicated the name, the less likely web users are to get it right, they may end up on rival businesses website by mistake. Along with having multiple domain name registration this will help to maximise the number of users that can access your site.

•Amazon •Play.com•hmv•Zavvi•eBay

PROMOTION

Direct Marketing

M1

Direct marketing is targeted at specific audiences, often customers that have signed up for a newsletter, offers or updates. This means if the customers have chosen to be a part of this, they have a genuine interests in the products, so are more likely to purchase from the site. An advantage is that if the customer has signed up to the site, they will get updates and offers quicker than other customers.

An example of the way that direct marketing works.

SECURITY

Hacking

Hacking Prevention

P3, M2

All you need to prevent hackers is a good password on all of your really important personal details.

Hacking is where someone tries to get into your bank account, pc, etc. to get to your personal details. By doing this hackers can steal your belongings including your money. People generally do this if you owe them money or if you have done something to them. People do this as their job.

SECURITY

Viruses

Virus Prevention

P3, M2

These are the things which stop your computer from working. This can spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly, but erroneously, used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have a reproductive ability.

You can get different types of software for your computer which scans for updates to remove viruses from your computer but generally it will just scan and remove them straight away.

SECURITY

ID Theft

ID Theft Protection

P3, M2

Identity theft is where a person pretends to be somebody else using their identity. In order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

Id theft protection is where you protect you id with passwords which are strong enough to keep a good hacker off your personal details.

SECURITY

Strong Passwords

P3

Stronger passwords involve numbers and symbols as well as letters. This makes the passwords stronger which makes it harder to hack into your computer or it makes it harder to gain your personal details.It also makes it better if you use a more complicated word or phrase that nobody else will think of on the spot. It is also better if you password is longer than most passwords general people use.