Define e-commerce and its advantages and disadvantages
Answers
E-commerce - Commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet.
Advantages:-
Low Costs
Opening a store is expensive. You have to pay rent, furnish the space, get the equipment you need, and hire employees to work in it. The total dollar cost will depend on how much space you need and where you want to open your store, but it will run you at least a few thousand dollars to start and then rent and ongoing expenses thereafter.
Opening a business online, on the other hand, is much less expensive. If you already have a customer base and want to build out a custom website, you’ll probably pay a few thousand dollars for the coding and building of that site. If you’re just starting out, you can look for a “hosted” solution. That means the website’s e-commerce functions are already built and you just have to customize your information. Shopify is one popular choice; it charges anywhere from $30 – $180 per month to host your online store.
Flexibility And Speed
Opening a brick and mortar store takes time. You have to find a space, get through the commercial leasing process, and get the store set up. That may involve construction time, or at least the time to decorate and prepare your space.
An e-commerce website, on the other hand, can be up and running in just a few days if you use a hosted solution. A custom-built website, of course, will take longer.
On an e-commerce site, you can change your product offerings, display, and marketing materials almost instantly. In a brick-and-mortar store, you’ll have to physically move things around and it just takes longer. An e-commerce site is extremely flexible and lets you adapt to the changes needs of your customers and the changing demands of the business environment.
Finally, an e-commerce business is flexible for you. As the owner, you can work from anywhere with an Internet connection. You may not even need to have office space; you can work from home!
Data
In 2016, data is king. All of the websites we use every day collect tons of data about us to learn how we surf the web, what sorts of sites we visit, and what kinds of things we purchase. If you’re running an e-commerce site, you’ll be able to collect data on how long your customers stay on your site, what they look at, and how they go about making purchases. That gives you direct insight into what’s making them click “Buy” or what’s stopping them.
You can use that information to improve the shopping experience and improve the likelihood that your site’s visitors will turn into customers. It’s much harder to get that information in a brick-and-mortar store. There’s no record of what every single customer looked at or how long they spent with a particular product before buying it.
Disadvantages:-
Of course, e-commerce isn’t perfect. It’s all online, which means that customers can’t touch or feel or try on your products before buying. Online transactions often feel less personal, which can make it harder to make a genuine connection with your customers to keep them coming back for more. E-commerce is limited by the lack of a brick-and-mortar store, the new challenges of mobile shopping, and the difficulties of marketing online. It’s also a challenge to manage the crossover from e-commerce to physical products.
Brainliest Please :'(