E-commerce, short for electronic commerce, is conducting business online, including buying and selling products with credit card or digital cash, by transfer of data between different companies using networks, such as the Internet. More precisely e-commerce is the collection of tools and practices involving Internet technologies that allow a company to create maintain and optimize business relations with consumers and other businesses.
However, in general, if we use any type of electronic devices in getting orders and sending catalogues, like telephone, fax or any other such instruments, we are supposed to be applying electronic business techniques. However, the real sense of e-commerce is the business on the internet of which there are different modes, like opening a retail store on internet, where all transactions are done on line, from selection of product to payment of bills.
The over-all volume of e-commerce is more than $4 billion annually. Doing business on internet is not a very costly investment. It is estimated that in near future, almost 25 per cent of the traditional business will be converted into internet business.
Trends
E-commerce is an information technology trend developing fast in the business world. The corporate and the business world, aptly supported by the IT industry, already stands transferred, which by recent estimate will exceed $400 billion this year.
As we start warming up to global e-commerce in Pakistan, we must understand that almost 78 per cent of the e-commerce activity takes place in the USA, obviously driven by the use of internet in that country. As the January 2000, over 110 million people have internet access there compared to 279 million the world over.
The amount of internet users are speeding up day by day all over the world and same is the trend with Pakistan. In 1995, the number of internet users in the world was almost 16 Millions but now in 2008 it fly high to almost 1400 Million pakistan bills. This shows that the internet usage is increasing with the passing minute and this will grow more rapidly. In 1995, almost .01% of Pakistan population use internet but in 2008 this rate goes high and now it’s almost 14.1% of the total population.
The people in Pakistan are slowly getting aware of the fact that business on the internet is less costly and are more beneficial.
Nevertheless, Pakistan can make good use of this opportunity with proper planning and execution. To begin with, let us focus on the domestic front before going all out for the global market.
Domestic activity
Offer for improving and productivity to bring it to the excellent level. It also allows our entrepreneur to test their web business and marketing skills before taking on the international markets. E-commerce is not for all but for those who understand it. Yet, e-commerce is not a technology.
The issue at the individual level, it is purely a business matter. At the govt. level, it is a matter of providing infrastructure for transactions on internet. E-commerce or business through internet is becoming very popular mode of trading around the world particularly in the developed world. E-commerce is a broad term used to quantify the trading taking place on the internet.
Most studies, however, suggest that e-commerce runs through four steps. The very first step is, to build a website to let the world know about your existence. The website contains information about the company, product/services and other related information, which can help visitors to learn more about the hosts. The second step involves asking customers to lose their pockets and buy on line.
This step requires adopting advance level of software capable of handling orders. In the third stage inventory, management adds to the system and lastly, providing provisions of payments through online banking partnership between buyers and sellers, the most difficult and complex part of e-commerce.
The most common and popular forms of e-commerce are business-to-consumers (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). Business-to-government (B2G) and government-to-citizens (G2C) are other forms, running on the internet but with low steam. However, the use of former two still dominates the internet.