Category: E-commerce

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE SECURITY?

E-commerce security refers to the principles which guide safe electronic transactions, allowing the buying and selling of goods and services through the Internet, but with protocols in place to provide safety for those involved.

Security is an essential part of any transaction that takes place over the internet. Customers will lose faith in a e-business if its security is compromised.

WHAT IS E-POLICY?

Generally a good E-Commerce website needs a good E-Policy in place. A good website e-policy will explain what users can expect for example if: Any personal information is collected. How the business uses any information collected. What the website’s users can and cannot do. How to handle issues or returns if items are bought. If you’re missing these policies, potential customers might not find you trustworthy enough and find what they’re looking for somewhere else. Basically, these policies are the contract with your website’s users, establishing trust and accountability.

E-POLICY: TERMS OF SERVICE

Terms of Service or Terms and Conditions basically sets some rules for the users. They provide a guideline of what they can and cannot do whilst using the website as well as what they can expect from the business.

The Terms and Conditions depend on the type of website, it could be a simple disclaimer or a full user agreement if the website has a lot of information. Every aspect has to be taken into account so the terms will get more complex if the website has more information.

Terms of service typically cover topics including:

• User acceptance
• User rights and responsibilities
• Ownership of user content
• Acceptable and unacceptable use of the website
• Opt-out information
• Account termination procedures
• Disclaimers
• Limitation of liability

E-POLICY: PRIVACY POLICY

Almost every website will collect some sort of personal information from its users. The privacy policy will explain, what information a website collects and how it uses, stores, and protects that user information. Technically, the privacy policy is a subsection of terms of service, but because it is very important and lengthy, most of the time it is a separate agreement and incorporated into the full terms of service by reference.

Website privacy policies usually cover topics like:

• What information is collected
• How collected information is used
• How information is protected and stored
• If cookies or other tracking software is used
• Disclaimers.

E-POLICY: RETURNS POLICY

A good returns policy can be a key aspect in gaining your customers trust, a clear, simple returns policy can be vital to help close the sale as this will give customers confidence in your business and products. Good returns policies should include the time the customer has to return or exchange the product, if there is any limitations on return or exchange, the process the user has to go through to return or exchange products and how to contact the business about any returns or exchanges.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT’S FOR SAFE E-PAYMENTS/TRANSACTIONS: CONFIDENTIALITY

The most obvious e-commerce security is confidentiality, when you shop online the information you share with the seller has to stay with the seller and it should not be shared with unauthorised parties.

The business is responsible to have encryption, virus protection and a firewall preventing anyone from accessing your information like bank details and credit card information.

INTEGRITY

Another essential requirement is integrity, this means that any information that is shared online should not be altered in any way, so the business can only use what the buyer have shared. If any of the information is tampered with, that means the business is breaking the confidence of the buyer in the security of the transaction and the integrity of the company.

AUTHENTICATION

For a sale to go through in e-commerce, both seller and buyer have to be who they say they are. A business cant sell anything unless its real and its products are real. The buyer also needs to provide a form of identification when shopping online, for example when you sign up to a mobile phone contract, you have to submit your id as part of the process of authentication. There are other types of authentications such as login and passwords credentials or credit card pin codes.

NON-REPUDIATION

Repudiation is denial and a good business depends on the people involve to follow through on their part of transactions and not denying those actions. Non-repudiation legal principle adds a level of security by confirming that the information which was sent between parties was received, meaning that the person who purchased a product cannot deny this as there is evidence to show it was in fact them such as signature or email.

If these requirement’s are not in place, customers will hesitate to buy and that could destroy an e-commerce business. Any breach will cost a business in customers trust and losing revenue.

ENCRYPTION

It is a very effective and practical way to safeguard the data being transmitted over the network. Sender of the information encrypts the data using a secret code and only the specified receiver can decrypt the data using the same or a different secret code.

• Auditability − Data should be recorded in such a way that it can be audited for integrity requirements.
• Availability − Information should be available wherever and whenever required at anytime.
• Authenticity −Authenticate a user before giving them access to the required information.

E-COMMERCE SECURITY THREATS

Price Manipulation: These systems automatic, starting from the first step to the final payment gateway. Price manipulation is commonly used for stealing. It allows an intruder to install a lower price into the URL and get away with sensitive data. Wi-Fi Eavesdropping – This is know to be one of the easiest ways to steal personal data. This is like “virtual listening” of information which is shared over Wi-Fi networks that are not encrypted such as public networks that have no security.

WAYS TO COMBAT E-COMMERCE THREATS

Encryption – Make sure any personal data is encrypted. Having digital certificates: This is a reliable digital certificate. The most important digital certificate is the serial number, expiry date and date of issue. Perform a security audit – A routine audit of the security procedures.

MEASURES TO ENSURE SECURITY

• Encryption − Information should be encrypted and decrypted only by an authorized user.
• Digital Signature −A digital signature is an e-signature authenticated through encryption and password.
• Security Certificates −A unique digital id used to verify the identity of an individual website or user.

SECURITY PROTOCOLS IN INTERNET: SECURE SOCKET LAYER (SSL)

This is the most commonly used protocol as it meets following security requirements:

• Authentication
• Encryption
• Integrity
• Non-reputability
• ‘https://’ is to be used for HTTP urls with SSL.

SHTTP extends the HTTP internet protocol with public key encryption, authentication, and digital signature over the internet. Secure HTTP supports a lot of security tools, providing security to the end-users. SHTTP works by arranging encryption scheme types used between the client and the server.

SECURITY PROTOCOLS IN INTERNET: SECURE ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION

Secure electronic protocol is developed by MasterCard and Visa. Theoretically, it is the best security protocol as it has the following components: Card Holder’s Digital Wallet Software −This allows the card holder to make secure purchases online with point and click interface. Merchant Software −This helps merchants to communicate with customers and financial institutions in a secure way.

Payment Gateway Server Software −This provides automatic and standard payment process. It also supports the process for merchant’s certificate request.

Certificate Authority Software −This is used by financial institutions to issue digital certificates to card holders and merchants, and to enable them to register their account agreements for secure electronic commerce.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.liquidweb.com/blog/top-5-e-commerce-security-needs/
2. https://www.techgenyz.com/2017/04/05/e-commerce-major-threats-e-commerce-security/
3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/e_commerce/e_commerce_quick_guide.htm
4. https://www.cio.com/article/2384809/15-ways-to-protect-your-ecommerce-site-from-hacking-and-fraud.html
5. https://ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-selling-advice/essentials-ecommerce-security
6. https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/cyber-security/newbie-retailers-guide-to-ecommerce-security/
7. https://www.liquidweb.com/blog/top-5-e-commerce-security-needs/
8. https://www.techgenyz.com/2017/04/05/e-commerce-major-threats-e-commerce-security/
9. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/e_commerce/e_commerce_quick_guide.htm
10. https://www.cio.com/article/2384809/15-ways-to-protect-your-ecommerce-site-from-hacking-and-fraud.html
11. https://ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-selling-advice/essentials-ecommerce-security
12. https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/cyber-security/newbie-retailers-guide-to-ecommerce-security/

“E-commerce (or electric commerce) refers to the buying and selling of goods and services via electronic channels, primarily the Internet. Online retail is decidedly convenient due to its 24-hour availability, global reach and generally efficient customer service” (http://www.mashable.com/). E-commerce is one of the sectors that have seen a rapid growth in previous years. If we talk especially about 2014, the growth of the sector has been unprecedented. If we want to name the major factor that has brought such development, we would name technology among top. All the adoptions that led to this development are definitely by the technology itself. It is known that increasing use of electronic devices and their easy accessibility is responsible for this change. Devices such as smart phones and tablets are in every educated hand. This is not limited to the urban areas only these devices are being used by the rural people as well. They are using the Internet regularly. They are active on social media as well. Most of the people using the Internet has their online profile. And this is possible with the access to the all because of the Internet. We use the Internet through broadband and 3G, 2G connections.

Many studies tell that online consumer base is increasing. Demography is also changing. People’s preferences are also changing. Their demand as a consumer is changing with the time. They are very active in selection. They are choosy. Consumer behavior is also changing.

The market has changed completely. We have seen different patterns and trends of market though this would be a very rigid to think about the barter system. From then the human civilization and their market has reached on touch keypad now. Such terms of highlights and the unprecedented growth resulted by indigenous players. We don’t even need to name them. They have become synonymous to e-commerce. First few most successful names are – Flipkart and Snapdeal.

According to an article, the companies attract huge investor interest. Because of this these companies are displaying great potential in the market. If we talk about some international giants, there are some big names such as Amazon and Alibaba. Though they are trying to compete with the indigenous players but they have not arrived at that level as the Flipkart has made its place in the Indian market. International players came with deep pockets and the patience to drive the Indian e-commerce market. This is common to know that they already have strong domain knowledge and great experience in international business practices. With their international experiences they have been gaining additional profits and orientations. Indian companies have realized this thing. Therefore, Indian companies are setting a goal to continue their orientation majorly on expanding their sellers and picking and using their own platforms. They are using innovative ideas on multiple consumer touching elements. They are also providing faster delivery services direct to home. These e-commerce companies are experimenting with different ways to attract customers and simultaneously increase online traffic.

Major Developments in Last Year

In this regard, Indian government’s ambitious Digital India program playing a very vital role. With this the modernization of India Post will also affect the e-commerce sector.

Digital India is an initiative to integrate the government departments and the people of India. It aims at ensuring that the government services are made available to citizens electronically by reducing paperwork. The initiative also includes plan to connect rural areas with high-speed Internet networks. Digital India has three core components. The project is slated for completion by 2019. The public-private partnership model is being adopted for this project. The Digital India project aims to offer a one-stop shop for government services that will have the mobile phone as the backbone of its delivery mechanism. The program is also giving a strong boost to the e-commerce market as bringing the Internet and broadband to remote corners of the country.

For India Post, the government is interested in developing its distribution channel. With this distribution channel other e-commerce related services as a major revenue model are also going ahead. A report tells that India Post transacted business is worth of 280 crore INR in the cash-on-delivery (CoD) segment. This is only for the firms such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon.

Both these developments will have significant impact on increasing the reach of e-commerce players to generally non-serviceable areas. Hence the expected growth is no more a vision only. India is leading towards it.

Another report says that India’s overall retail opportunity is substantial, and coupled with a demographic dividend. The major target in this segment is young population. India is the youngest country in the world. They are also raising standards of living. The upward mobile middle class and its rising Internet penetration is one of the factors that can bring smile on the faces of every interested business giant of this particular sector. Everywhere it is being said that strong growth in e-commerce sector is expected. From an investment perspective, the market is a primarily minority stake market, with maximum traction in early-stage deals. With such strong market prospects and equally upbeat investors, we look forward to many more e-commerce companies from India entering the coveted billion-dollar club.

Current Outlook

Today, there are two major outlooks that suggest the advantages of e-commerce and they are: mobile marketing and re-marketing ads. As we see, today more and more people are consuming information on their mobiles. The time they spend on using their mobile phones and surfing the Internet is increasing as the people as they are becoming more dependent on these devices. Thus, the concept of mobile marketing came into being and it will get bigger. Seamless integration that will allow customers to click on an ad on the mobile and complete a transaction without any issues will usher in the next level of instant gratification.

We have also seen larger both e-commerce players starting official channels. They are also using social media platform such as Facebook for this. On mobile chat platforms like Line and WeChat to both share promotions and content and this is expected to grow as well.

A report emphasizes on this concept regarding e-commerce in India. It stresses that everyone jumped on the re-marketing bandwagon. This is because this space is going to see even a higher uptake in 2015. It puts more light on it and observes that when we visit a product on a website. It’s going to follow you everywhere. This ability of the product and the brand to keep itself right in front of the customer is very effective.

It also gives an example of Facebook. It observes that Facebook is bringing its Atlas advertising platform into play. This is a concept in application that is only going to become much more effective. The reason is as it would enable a more accurate cross-device advertising. This will also help in tracking opportunity for advertisers. With one of the functions, Facebook’s mobile reach and active user base, this will also lead to an increase in mobile conversions.

Meeker’s 2015 Internet Trends suggest that 41% of India’s e-commerce sale is from Mobile.

What Giants Say About It?

“The rise of such digital activities and resulting data is the stimulating factor for formulating e-commerce strategies, thus affecting the business model and driving growth for e-commerce players in the Indian market”, – Divyan Gupta, Founder and CEO, Artanddecors.com

“Social Media has served as a good engagement medium for e-commerce industry. It has not been a significant revenue driver as compared to other channels such as search or digital ads”, – Mr Sachin Oswal, Co-founder, Infibeam.com & Member, ECAI.

“I guess it is apt to allow 100% FDI in e-commerce as this will ensure customers get a fair choice of best products across the world as well initiate healthy competition which will ensure that customers get the best rates and services in India. Ultimately all policy should be evaluated considering the customer in mind”, – Mr. Manish Kalra, MakemyTrip.com.

“E-commerce has been witnessing fairly strong top line growth and, hence, has attracted strategic and financial investor interest”, – Pramod Kumar, managing director and head of advisory at Barclays.

This phenomenon and its stage have been set for a while now. E-commerce organizations today continue to make an impact in terms of the digital shopping experience. As technology continues to grow rapidly, e-commerce players are adopting newer techniques to facilitate both sellers and buyers. The objective is always to sell and buy online more efficiently.

More recently, a flash sale has been introduced. Daily deals from various companies, e-commerce has brought forward technology and innovation in the retail sector. Nothing has surpassed the power of innovative e-commerce companies, which have proved to be as successful.

“The rise of such digital activities and resulting data is the stimulating factor for formulating e-commerce strategies, thus affecting the business model and driving growth for e-commerce players in the Indian market”, – Divyan Gupta, Founder and CEO, Artanddecors.com.

Key Trends

According to a news report, 2015 is going to witness an acceleration in the shift towards inbound techniques rather than outbound. The e-commerce industry and online shopping trends in India are set to witness greater heights in the coming years, not just owing to the increasing Internet population, but also due to the changing dynamics of the supporting ecosystem. There are some key trends. These trends will enhance branding and customer growth. If we name some, these are as follows:

• Content Marketing. Content marketing is a trend that is gaining prominence. The target is on producing original and informative content rather than generic content. A report highlights the example of Google Search engine. Google gives more importance around original and unique content. It ranks them higher in search results. Therefore, businesses will need to revisit their content strategy. Customers are starting to demand more detail when purchasing. Along with this great navigation and ease of paying will prefer brands that give them the knowledge of the product that they seek to acquire.
• Search Engine Optimization. Popularly known as a process, in SEO Search engines like Google continue their push to provide the most relevant content to the consumer. This is within their interest as well as it impacts online advertisement rates. For the marketer this will mean paying a very close attention to having great content that is relevant and is shared by their consumers — a brand advocacy focus that has not been really cared for till now. With most brands trying to move away from the discount-led sales model to developing consumer loyalty, content and social signaling will play an important role in attracting more customers at a lower acquisition cost.
• Social Media Marketing. In present a majority of e-commerce brands are using Facebook to drive a bulk of their potential customers. Facebook is going to treat newsfeed pushes, marketers will have to start investing more time in other platforms while investing more money in Facebook itself to continue driving traffic that they were seeing before the changes.
• Pay for Exposure. This particular trend is likely to see a higher adoption by other social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest etc. As these platforms start monetizing their networks. For brands, it means that they won’t be able to depend on just one/limited channel for traffic and will have to therefore diversify their networks.

Little Statistics

Major Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart raised fund of $1-billion in July 2014. This was led by Tiger Global. According to a news report it was the 10th largest deal in 2014. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal table tells, other large deals in e-commerce included the $700-million fund-raising by Flipkart in November. Other than Flipkart, Snapdeal got a $636-million investment. Other than this, Unitech IT Park SEZ got $563-million investment by Brookfield Asset Management. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board had invested $373-million in Kotak Mahindra Bank. The $4-billion Sun-Ranbaxy merger was the largest deal.

Conclusion

This report has attempted to look at the current outlook of the e-commerce landscape in India and industry concerns. With this it is also the interpretation of the industry’s key drivers and challenges. This report also suggests efforts which will be helping e-commerce companies accelerate and sustain growth.

References

1. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/E-commerce-may-dominate-marketing-trends-in-2015/articleshow/48404165.cms
2. https://www.pwc.in/en_IN/in/assets/pdfs/publications/2015/ecommerce-in-india-accelerating-growth.pdf
3. http://yourstory.com/2015/09/ecommerce-logistics-small-town-focus/
4. http://www.firstdata.com/icicimerchantservices/icici-insights/ecommerce-in-india-unique.pdf
5. http://www.ecai.co.in/eVyapar/ECAI-eVyapar.pdf
6. http://www.digitalindia.gov.in/
7. http://mashable.com/category/e-commerce/
8. http://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/41-of-india-e-commerce-sales-is-from-mobile-mobile-wallet-usage-surging-meekers-2015-internet-trends/47452981
9. http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/large-pe-deals-in-e-commerce-give-a-push-to-2014-m-a-table-115010700181_1.html

Introduction

What is E-commerce actually? It is exchange of values. In simpler way of describing, it is the buying and selling products online although E-commerce term is very wide. However, for most companies today electronic E-commerce is more than just buying and selling products online rather it encompasses the entire online process of developing marketing, selling, delivering, servicing and paying for products and services trans acted on internet work global marketplace is of customers with the support of a worldwide network of business partners. E-Commerce has changed our lifestyle and with its existence today we are enjoying everything at our doorsteps. It is a platform where the business transactions are carried over the internet.

E-Commerce is vital in business market and it establishes business to business relationship. It enables easy exchange of data online and enables easy exchanges inside limited capacity to focus time. E-commerce likewise enables online payment reducing the hassle of physical payment. E-commerce reduces the expense of advancement and other services. It provides better connectivity as it tends to be accessed basically through internet and is much convenient to customers as they can sign on to the internet from anywhere anytime and can purchase and sell the items at a single click.

Today many entrepreneurs from brick and mortar became click and mortar as because there is no entry barrier and gives profitability. Along these lines the online business gives intuitive and easy to use administration to its clients. This mind-boggling administration has made the business to achieve its high pinnacle. So as to endure and remain in this aggressive and changing business sector we ought to pick to web-based business.

The characteristics of E-Commerce.

Business-to-Business E-Commerce: Among the different classes of web-based business, business-to-business (B2B) trade is the biggest classification. This includes organizations transmitting e-acquisition, store network the board, arrange partnerships, and arranging buy exchanges over the web or web. One of the significant purposes why organizations use internet business is to reduce cost.

Business-to-Consumer E-Commerce: Business-to-buyer (B2C) web-based business is the second biggest classification and includes organizations acquainting items and administrations with customers by means of web innovations. This incorporates organizations selling programming and equipment through the web, taking requests for items that are thusly conveyed to the shopper, and giving computerized administrations, for example, online magazines and web indexes.

Customer to customer E-Commerce: Consumer to Consumer, C2C, online business movement is later, and more often than not requires a business to play the mediator. Organizations like eBay and Amazon have made C2C increasingly famous. The manner in which it works is organizations that have items to sell show them through an outsider site. Consumers hoping to buy items visit the site and pursuit the accessible items. The consumer buys the item and the dealer is in charge of conveying the item. The business that plays the agent more often than not requires an exchange charge from either the merchant or purchaser.

Business-to-Government E-Commerce: Business-to-government (B2G) online business is worried about the requirement for business to pitch products or administrations to governments or government offices. Such exercises incorporate providing the military, police power, medical clinics and schools with items and administrations. Moreover, organizations will regularly contend in an online domain for contracts to give administrations to the general population in the interest of the legislature.

Online Payment: In E-commerce online payment is a very important matter. If we do shop online but have to go out for payment so what’s the use of it then? So online payment i.e. digital payment was included in e commerce and PayPal was the first to invent this method. Later many other methods were established from using debit/credit cards to mobile banking. So thus, the online payment has to be in any E-Commerce site. In Bangladesh SSLZ commerce links the payment gateway with other banks and mobile payment. money exchanges are as yet the dominating budgetary exchange technique for most of the populace.

Business Processes: Business process alludes to the utilization of web-based business to tailor the inward exercises of a business so as to expand their productivity and adequacy. Using internet business, organizations can adjust supply chains and other benefits.

The business forms are extensively isolated into five principle classifications to be specific:

• Market item and administrations,
• Sell and convey items and administrations,
• Process installments,
• Manage relationship,
• Manage the work.

Why E-Commerce for Bangladesh

The internet is very much easily accessible to the people of Bangladesh now a days and the whole world is connected via internet. Internet made our life much easier especially when the search engines became much stronger. And that’s when E-commerce happened. People get to buy/trade items virtually without going out. In 2006 cellbazaar was made with help of Grameenphone which the first E-commerce site in Bangladesh was. I myself have purchased and sold mobile phone through it and it was such easy and profitable. People’s buying capacity has now been increased than before they want to have foreign products also so without E-commerce it is very difficult for them. And government can also benefit from this as well from earning import taxes. Since Bangladesh is pursuing an economic policy of export-led growth. To cope up with the rest of the world the domestic companies should also start business through E-commerce as this will help them exposed together with the foreign products. Another reason why Bangladesh should adapt E-commerce because in many districts of Bangladesh, many of them are specialized and unique in producing commodities. And many people cannot buy from other districts even if they know about it. Simply because being geographically distanced. So, if those commodities get mobilized through E-commerce then the living standard will increase hence increasing the disposable income of those manufacturers from the poor and far districts. Two issues are becoming particularly important for Bangladeshi export sectors –one, whether businesses are automating their internal processes with the use of ICTs to become increasingly efficient and competitive in a global on text, and two, whether businesses have effective presence and participation in the cyber world. International organizations such as UNCTAD (United Nations Center for Trade and Development) and WTO (World Trade Organization) have, over the last several years, put much emphasis on the importance of e-Commerce for developing countries. UNCTAD has special programs to facilitate developing countries to transition into e-Commerce.

Challenges of E-Commerce for Bangladesh

• Network accessibility for rural communities in getting an internet connection.
• Inadequate Skilled IT professional.
• Lack of Trustworthiness on IT infrastructure.
• Low bandwidth and unreliable connection.
• Lack of sufficient electronic payment services.
• Costly and limited internet connection.
• Consumer dissatisfaction due to inability to delivering correct product on time.
• Unconsciousness about online based services.
• Inherent tendency toward traditional transaction systems.
• Frequent change in government policies regarding ICT and ecommerce.
• Insufficient legal law against deception arising from online transactions.
• E-Culture recognizability

Recommendations

The followings are some of the recommendations that will ensure the smooth working just as the widespread use of e-commerce in Bangladesh.

• Bangladeshi e-commerce sites ought to provide greater layers of security for their payment procedures.
• E-commerce businesses require rapid internet, which is absent in the rustic areas. The government should take the internet as a fundamental element of business, especially e-commerce business. It must ensure minimal effort, rapid internet for rustic people to transform its vision of Digital Bangladesh into reality.
• Bangladeshi e-commerce sites should concentrate more on timely deliveries.
• Bangladeshi e-commerce sites should plan to improve customer service and address areas of concern to reach out to the piece of the populace which isn’t selecting e-commerce yet.
• To penetrate into the worldwide market, the government needs to reform its regulations regarding online exchanges and upgrade the entire system.
• The Bangladesh Bank ought to formulate policies to ease the credit process for e-commerce entrepreneurs.
• It is essential for Bangladesh to update the ICT law relating to e-commerce. It ought to be done concentrating on international practices.

Conclusion

A key reason why e-commerce, especially the business-to-business segment, is developing so rapidly is its huge effect on expenses. If the cost is reduced, then through E-commerce can the companies can gain competitive advantage. Achieving these additions is therefore contingent on a number of elements, including access to e-commerce systems and the needed aptitudes. To reap the potential cost investment funds completely, firms must open up their internal systems to suppliers and customers. Ultimately if the domestic companies make profit the economy gets better.

Introduction of E-commerce

What does e-commerce mean? E-commerce is an outstanding buzzword in the online business revolution. It captures the excitement and focus of this fast-growing market. However, it is more than just a slogan or glib party route. Its core embodies the concept of online business. E-commerce is the exchange of paperless commercial information using electronic data interchange (EDI), e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, fax transmission, and electronic funds transfer. It refers to Internet shopping, online stock and bond trading, download and sale of ‘software’ (software, documents, graphics, music, etc.), and business-to-business transactions.

The concept of e-commerce is to make use of the Internet better and conduct business faster. It is to enable customers to control access to computer systems and allow people to serve themselves. This is about getting a company to work online seriously and integrating the website with the core of the business. If you do, you will see the result! This is a way for people to communicate with each other. This is also a way for consumers to communicate with the company’s computer system without manual intervention. In fact, the Internet is a medium of communication, just like many other mediums we use in business every day.

When you cannot meet face-to-face, you can use any of a variety of different ways to communicate with telephones, fax machines, FedEx, postal services and even messenger services. These are all ways to transmit or receive information, authorization and even goods and commodities. The Internet is a reasonable alternative to all these communication methods. Any place and any way your business communicates with customers should consider how to do it online. This is the power of e-commerce.

When you need to pay for goods, please use a secure server to pay by credit card or even digital cash! The opportunities and circumstances for conducting online business are limitless. (Arumugam)

Components of an Internet Business

In every business era, new strategies and new ways of doing business are bound to emerge. With the advent of radio and television, the first mass market advertisements appeared. Now, the Internet has fundamentally changed the business, so that the past 50 years (since the birth of TV) have been adhering to the company’s strategic rules have begun to collapse.

Any transaction must have some commercial text content, which is the case for regular physical transactions and e-commerce. First of all, whether you are doing business online or in the real world, you must have the product to sell or the service to provide, and then you must have a place to do business. In the traditional business world, this can be a physical store, or in a more visual sense, it can be a catalog or phone number. In the world of e-commerce, where you do business is your website.

Adding a website is a means of enhancing your business. For Internet start-ups, the website is the only place where they do business. In both regular business and e-commerce, you need to find a way to attract customers to your business location. Your marketing strategy reflects this, everything from advertising to word of mouth falls into this category. In order to start a business, you also need a way to accept orders and process payments. In retail stores, there are no orders. Customers only need to find the products they want, line up at the cashier, and then pay the cashier. In e-commerce, orders must be placed and items must be shipped. Orders are usually processed through interactive online forms. Money is another issue that is easy to deal with in traditional business.

Customers in retail stores pay by check, cash, credit card or debit card. Online customers cannot pay by cash or check only electronically. In addition, the security issues surrounding online payments have not played a role in the traditional physical world. E-commerce transactions must be conducted through a secure electronic connection and a special merchant account to accept payment.

After receiving the payment, the product must be delivered. Realizing internal storage is as easy as putting goods in a bag and handing over to the customer. Realization in the e-commerce world is more difficult, requiring transportation, shipping and mail order services similar to catalogs. For companies that integrate e-commerce into their existing business plans, completing orders is as easy as hiring additional staff to send online orders. In Internet start-ups, it is often necessary to outsource fulfillment to facilities that can handle order processing and transportation in a more timely and professional manner.

Business Model

For a successful business model effectively addresses have eight key elements, which are:

Value Proposition

The typical of e-commerce value propositions are including the personalization, customization, convenience, and reduction of product search and price delivery costs. In the Website, there will be listing of the cup cakes flavors, feeling and varieties ideas of decoration believe. We also believe that you can offer a wide selection of different cup cakes as this will give the customer more choices and not just a selected items only.

Revenue Model

Major e-commerce revenue models are including:

• a) Advertising Revenue Model – The site will provide users with some content, services and/or products, such as Wattie’s cupcakes. Customers can easily see the product. We can also provide forums or blogs for advertisements and charge advertisers. For example, Yahoo derives considerable revenue from search engines and other forms of online advertising.
• b) Subscription Revenue Model -The site also provides subscription fees for Wattie cupcakes to facilitate consumers’ access to certain products.
• c) Transaction Fees Revenue Model – On the contrary, Wattie will charge a transaction fee like activation or execution. For example, Amazon provides online successful sales trends for selling products.
• d) Sales Model – In the future, Wattie can also own a company, and the company can also profit by selling products, information and services.
• e) Affiliate Model – Alliance is a kind of party that can charge introduction fee, so Wattie adopted to establish alliance with other companies. Referral fees as a percentage of all sales revenue generated.

Market Opportunity

The company must anticipate potential revenue in the market space. The company must ensure that the marketing plan remains active, and social media (such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr) can make people aware of this. And this is the easiest way to contact customers. Even if Wattie operates without a storefront, she can still concentrate all her management efforts on personal services. Before they even call her, she must have a good conversation with them online on social media. In the future, our goal will be that 90% of its business will come from social media, which will far exceed the initial revenue target figures.

She should build relationships with clients so that they may invite her to company events, birthday parties, weddings and girl nights. Even if she mainly sells goods online, she still needs to sell to local restaurants and cooperate with other companies that provide supplier services to offices and companies.

Competitive Environment

The direct and indirect competitors doing the business in the same market space. It might be includes how many there are and how many profitable they are. In the current market trend study, they just only have few competitors in cupcake business, which goes online. Due to this, competitors cannot compete with Wattie’s cupcakes business.

For example:

• a) The service will only be a door-to-door delivery service
• b) Product quality is different and unreasonable product pricing

Competitive Advantage

The new move to enter the corporate market is mini custom cupcakes, so it can take advantage and achieve great success. Unlike most products, these products need to be delivered in the form of ‘certificate of express delivery’. Wattie can launch cupcakes of these new ideas, which can include an edible company logo. This is a great tool for marketing, because when the cake disappears from the customer’s mouth, Wattie’s cupcakes are the last thing the customer sees.

Market Strategy

The marketing budget may be small, but this method works very well. The product is made by skilled craftsmen, so the order flow is very stable and ideal, and there is no significant increase. It is very suitable for our business model to send promotional information to customers via email. In addition, all product packaging and delivery vehicles must be clearly marked on the website address to facilitate delivery by the staff. You can also use social media to upload all the photos and join the group there. In addition, write a blog on the website so that people can know what Wattie is doing. Wattie can use cupcakes as a canvas to show people professional themes and custom designs to attract customers’ attention.

Organizational Development

The worries of hiring the team are also very smooth, because she can develop the team with her friends, thereby expanding the business with a smaller scale and lower cost. The problem that bothered her was keeping up with demand, but now she has overcome the situation of also forming her own small-scale team, and now she does not have to be so tired and can relax a lot.

Management Team

Working remotely means that Wattie can live where she wants to go and play an active role in raising young children, while her partners are looking for websites, deliverables and needs. In addition, every month,

Wattie will email us a photo of the latest cupcake design via email, which has been uploaded to the website immediately-this is a good example of how the Internet works, especially in E-commerce.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Basically will changes the menu weekly – Every day of week will changes some available cupcakes and others will completely in random days of week.
• Brand Value – The brand value, popularity and ease of use of the business have proven to be strong advantages of the company’s.

Weaknesses

• Operating without a storefront – Wattie’s weakness is to run a business without the concept of a store or cafe nearby.
• Delivery range – The weakness of the Wattie’s is the delivery range are limited because that delivery just only for nearby the Wattie only.

Opportunity

• Demand of the product – It must increasing the demand of the cupcakes when doing the wedding, birthday party and so on. These are the opportunities for the business.
• More choice – Mostly people are likely eating outside because at outside have more choice for them. The expanding demand of more flavor and various also in the opportunity for the business.

Threats

• Various competitor – Nowadays have a lots of the competitor are selling their product in any price and also in the market introduce the product.
• Fast food outlets – As the number of food stores and restaurants increases, customers can switch from other sources or businesses (such as KFC, McD, Burger King, etc.) to other high-quality, affordable products.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

For a business must have the major of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages for those who are starting to do a business at home are:

Low start-up cost because you don’t have to rent some space for your business so you can deduct the rental from your budget list. Then, the cake supply is relatively cheap and definitely easy to obtain. In addition, as your business grows, your supplies and equipment will also increase because customer favor.

Flexibility in your schedule for you to decide when and how many order want to take. Then you have more time to accompany your children and you not need to take vacation.

Disadvantages

Before starting a business must aware some of the things and must keep in mind to do business.

Most activities are scheduled on weekends when people are off work, so you need to make sure you have enough time to deliver cakes or pick up in times.

Depending on the size of the kitchen, you may need additional storage space to store supplies. This may require purchasing additional cabinets or rearranging your kitchen.

In this business have many advantages and disadvantages of the cupcake business. Cupcakes businesses are very fun because you can do by own and can decide the avenue you want to take.

E-commerce is used all over the world and now it is becoming famous in Bangladesh. E-commerce is still in its early age in Bangladesh and is in the process of developing. Recently due to technological advancement in Bangladesh and increase in use of smartphones the number of users in E-banking and E-retailing sector is showing an upward trend. But compared to our population size it is not enough because E-commerce services are still available only in some major cities in Bangladesh. But now Covid-19 has placed a revolutionary effect in our E-commerce sector. Because of lockdown and social distances people are getting more interested in E-commerce services recently. The number of E-banking users and online shoppers has increased in the last few months. Many banks are expanding their E-banking services for their customers and banks which didn’t had any E-banking system they are also going to start provide E-banking services. Now people prefer to order online rather than visiting the market that’s why the number of consumers in E-retailing sector has also increased in last few months. E-commerce sector in Bangladesh should grab this opportunity and expand their operation.

Before we start discussing elaborately on E-commerce sector, at first we must know what E-commerce really means, in which market segment it operates and types of E-commerce are operating in Bangladesh. Electronic commerce or e-commerce is a business model that lets firms and individuals buy and sell things over the internet. E-commerce operates in all four of the following major market segments:

• Business to business
• Business to consumer
• Consumer to consumer
• Consumer to business

Type of E-commerce in Bangladesh

Currently, three types of e-commerce are popular in Bangladesh. They are-

• Business-to-Business (B-2-B)
• Business-to-consumer(B-2-C)
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C-2-C)

We know in Bangladesh E-commerce is still in the developing phase, though it has started in the late 1990s (e-cab, 2016). During the time of late 90s, small numbers of non-resident Bangladeshi used E-commerce services to send gifts and books to their dear ones in Dhaka. After that later in the year from 2001-2008, it experienced a little growth due to lack of knowledge and infrastructure. After that the situation of E-commerce in Bangladesh started changing in 2012-2013 when the two E-commerce sites Akhoni and Ajkerdeal introduced themselves to the E-retailing sector of Bangladesh. After starting their operation in Bangladesh Akhoni and Ajkerdeal has received good appreciation from the consumers mainly in Dhaka city. The outcome of the E-commerce ventures not only encouraged business entrepreneurs to invest also encouraged to grab the market in foreign countries. Besides local investors and some foreign investors like Olx, Daraz, and Kaymu has joined the competition along with locals. There has been a decent growth in E-commerce in the last couple of years as a result lots of E-commerce service providers has launched their own services. As an example a site like rokomari.com, who have adopted a similar business strategy like Amazon, rokomari.com started to sell books in Bangladesh. Another example is Bikroy.com, they adopted a unique business model. They provide both buying and selling options for the consumer goods in their platform. Recently the FMCG and grocery sector has also stepped into the E-commerce industry in Bangladesh Like othoba.com, Pickaboo and chaldal.com. Recently in Bangladesh renowned business conglomerates and business groups of the country have showed interest in joining E-commerce trade. Besides online food delivery services is also getting a very positive response from food lovers. For high traffic congestion and inadequate driving condition in Dhaka and other major cities consumers prefer to order food online then visiting the restaurant. Hungry Naki and Food Panda are two very well-known food delivery E-commerce platforms in Dhaka and Chittagong (International Trade Administration, 2017).

E-commerce entered late in Bangladesh comparing to other developing countries. It entered in the late 90s in Bangladesh and the history of E-commerce since late 90s are described below.

• Late 90s: As I have mentioned before E-commerce started in the late 90s in Bangladesh. The earlier E-commerce sites were actually gift sites targeted towards the Non-Residential- Bangladeshis (NRB) living in abroad. All of the sites were based in abroad and had branches in Bangladesh (e-cab, n.d.).
• Year 2000-2008: During this time period in Bangladesh, the E-commerce sector observed a slow growth and there were very few E-commerce websites but there were no system for online transaction and it was the first condition for E-commerce in Bangladesh. In addition in Bangladesh, high cost of internet services and low penetration means that few people knew about these E-commerce sites. According to Bangladesh Bank, payments and transactions by credit cards were nearly Taka 11 billion in June 2008 and it is one of the lowest in the world. Bangladesh had only about 400,000 credit card holders from June 2008 to the end of June 2009. After that from the year 2008, things started to look bright as Bangladesh Bank took various initiatives including implementation of e-Payment Gateway (e-cab, n.d.).
• Year 2009: After all these years the real change came in 2009 when Bangladesh Bank allowed online payment in the country and by officially opening up the E-commerce sector in Bangladesh. In this timeline another major development was the introduction of WiMax internet in Bangladesh, it became quite popular in the country (e-cab, n.d.).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Shopify is considered one of the industry leaders when it comes to e-commerce solutions, giving it an advantage over competitors. The Canadian company founded in 2004 is worth $1.7 Billion today. Some of the key attributes that Shopify believes in are security, scalability, reliability, performance, and deployment.
• The Canadian company has grown immensely, making Shopify an industry leader when it comes to e-commerce solutions. The company stands by the product that they offer by providing clients with great customer service, thus increasing client retention and satisfaction. As of December 2018, there are over 4000 Shopify employees all situated in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Kitchener, and 2 in the United States. They offer 24/7 customer support to clients making customer satisfaction a guarantee.
• They provide employees with extensive training & learning which aid in their growth and development of theirs. Their core culture and values aid in creating a positive work culture which in turn causes employees truly believe in Shopify’s vision thus creating a sense of unity within the workplace. Shopify gives employees the freedom to take a break from their regular jobs and experiment with a different area that is of interest to them. These days are called “Hack Days”, they add value to the company by coming up with new ideas which will help Shopify grow. Shopify has been awarded one of the best places to work by Glassdoor.
• “The Shopify Ecosystem” is a concept of a dealer community whereby the need for competition is eliminated and promotes working together and continuously growing. The event brings together people, networking that is interested in sharing knowledge and picking ideas off of one another’s brains. The ecosystem helps with creating new insight into new and innovative ideas. The community Shopify has built has given so many new and refreshing opportunities for like-minded individuals everywhere.
• Shopify also has a strong cash flow, making it easy to invest in new and coming projects and the opportunity to grow bigger. In 2018 the company grew 54% in revenue, $343.9 million compared to 2017. As of December 31, 2018, Shopify now has over $1.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. The company has made history by becoming the first eCommerce giant to cross the $1 billion dollar threshold and will continue to grow at its current growth rate.

Weakness

• Shopify’s lack of choices available to the different demographics is one of the main weaknesses they deal with. The products they offer have a huge gap which gives its competitors an advantage. As shown on the price breakdown below it takes a jump in the price, which may not appeal to all the clients

Here’s a breakdown of the pricing for each plan:

• Lite Plan – $9 per month + a Buy button
• Basic Shopify Plan – $29 per month + 2.9% and 30¢ per transaction
• Shopify Plan– $79 per month + 2.6% and 30¢ per transaction
• Advanced Shopify Plan – $299 per month + 2.4% and 30¢ per transaction
• Shopify Plus – pricing plans start around $2000 per month + 1,6% and 30¢ per transaction
• As part of a company that uses Shopify daily, one of the weaknesses it carries is the limited access available to the user. The Back-end server is not available, and the information is not shared. When uploading pictures on Shopify, there is an issue of the images becoming more pixel and blurry.
• Another weakness that Shopify struggles with is the lack of investment in new technology. Shopify does have a higher amount of equity to invest with in comparison to a large majority of its competitors, however, since technology is growing so fast the demand to invest and come up with new innovations is hard to keep up with. They need to do their due diligence in investing in the proper research and development in order to grow any further.

Opportunities

• Shopify currently leads the space in providing online stores with a safe and measurable way to continually expand. Perhaps they should exploit their systems for other businesses that are not only limited to e-commerce
• They should invest and open up their space to have the capability of more drop shipping companies that are not only limited to Aliexpress, Alibaba and Oberlo
• Changes in technology can make it so their GUI interface runs as smoothly as possible
• Expansion of eCommerce all over the world, not just in North America
• Opportunities to create new revenue streams and diversify into selling other products because of their well-known brand
• With the United States rapidly expanding its economy, this will allow Shopify to integrate itself more fluidly into the US economy.
• Shopify Plus is their answer to large eCommerce businesses wanting to use their service. By having the capability to handle more than 10,000 orders per minute. Perhaps expanding this service to an even broader audience will aid in the expansion
• Increasing the capability of supporting multi-currencies for users to shop with will aid in strengthening their position internationally and opening the door to a larger market
• Expansion through the use of VR and AR-based shopping experiences could be a start of a new revolutionary way that people shop because you would have the capability to preview products in your home before buying them

Threats

• Given the nature of Shopify and the lack of skilled workers in human resources can lead to a challenge in the near future
• Increased number of competitors in the online space of eCommerce such as Godaddy.com etc. That allows clients to create and build websites for their businesses. How can Shopify separate itself from this?
• Regulations by the Government and increased threats of legal actions are causing Shopify’s expansion to slow down
• From an international standpoint, if Shopify is looking to expand. The possibility of Brexit currently still looming in the air threatens their overall business
• If Brexit occurs, there may also be a huge disruption in products being delivered due to products having to go through customs. This may cause longer than normal wait times for consumers waiting for the product to arrive. For example, when Canada Post went on strike, consumer deliveries were delayed for weeks
• Newer technologies being created have the possibility to disrupt the way their supply chain model runs such as blockchain
• Shopify has no other line of products other than creating online businesses which threaten the business to become a one-stop shop
• In terms of demographics, millennials are always looking for the next best thing to invest in, they do not have loyalty to companies like Baby Boomers. As more and more Baby Boomers begin to retire, Canada’s growth rate will continually decline.

The contemporary era seems to rapidly fashion itself into a fast-paced world where favorable effortless alternatives are normally explored in reaction to laborious tasks. Similarly, in such laid-back times, maximum individuals demand. Either they should be given shortcuts regarding their everyday life, or the need for an hour is to provide individuals with the best possible tasks. The attainment of this requires minimum effort, energy, and most significantly, less time consumption. Moreover, with the advent of cutting-edge technology, progressive e-commerce, digital marketing, and widespread social media resources, the world becomes a better place as the aforementioned mechanisms massively assist in online shopping. Thus, the trend of conventional shopping centers starts to deplete, hence giving rise to the trend of selling goods and products in electronic mode regarding exporting products. However, to operate commercial transactions, business organizations usually utilize the Internet as the foremost tool in this regard. Moreover, the following are the advantages of online shopping.

Buyer’s convenience is the first. Globalization roots are embedded in every nation and its civilians. In the electronic selling of goods and products, buyers could easily excess to various online shopping centers anywhere across the globe with just one click. There is no hassle, time convenience, less consumption of time, and no overly-crowded stores and shops. Also, online shopping is significant for its unmatchable factor that an individual could shop 24/7, regardless of where they are.

The second benefit is lower rates. These online stores usually contain several discount rates on their pages, non-physical stores, to attract maximum clients. It’s the tactics of any organization or highest reverenced brand. To add discounts to value their clients. A motto of ‘customers choice first’, a manifestation of value concerning clients. Subsequently, the best and most profitable way is a requirement of every buyer. Therefore, a massive significance is attached to electronic buying.

And the last one is veracity. Every individual could find detailed information that is given by the brand. These electronic online stores provide their clients with the slightest informational data regarding products and brands. Even after an individual finishes shopping, he/she can easily be updated with the advent of new products. Unlike conventional stores, non-physical stores’ truthfulness could be confirmed via word of mouth by various clients on the platform.

In a nutshell, one of the most significant and trustworthy modes is an online-shopping across the globe. Through this, the buyer could timelessly buy products regarding his/her preferences anywhere in the world. Its utility surpassed the conventional stores’ approach. The requirements of the modernized era go hand in hand with basic features of the aforementioned non-physical store. As per several surveys, a massive audience of clients seems to be contented regarding electronic buying of products as it saves one’s time, no suffocated crowded stores, online shopping provides a customer with endless choices, individual control, reliable way, multiple discounts, no pressure, convenience, and better rates. Hence, no individual is stranger to its importance nowadays across the globe.

I read an article/blog entitled “Future of Ecommerce in 2019: 10 International Growth Trends.” With the arrival of e-commerce, many consumers and businesses in the world are now able to compete, buy and sell in global markets regardless of language, culture and distance. This helps countries become known globally and grow economically. An entrepreneur can sit at his/her table and create a business all through e-commerce. You can buy almost anything online, just by clicking a button, it is one of the greatest trends in the 21st century.

“New studies projected that the worldwide retail eCommerce sales will reach a new high by 2021. Ecommerce businesses should anticipate a 265% growth rate, from $1.3 trillion in 2014 to $4.9 trillion in 2021. This shows a future of steady upward trend with no signs of decline. But, what’s even more interesting is the global eCommerce sales have been steadily eating up the worldwide retail market. In fact, by 2021, it will account for 17.5% of the total global retail sales.” (Future of Ecommerce in 2019: 10 International Growth Trends, Jan. 2019).

I look at how much money e-commerce businesses are making, it is extraordinary; but what will happen to the brick and mortar stores? Online shopping is a brick and mortar stores greatest competition, yet I don’t think they are going anywhere anytime soon, at least not all of them. As a consumer I want to still be able to buy products at a physical store, you want to see and touch things to make sure it is good quality; I would never buy a car or jewelry online. I want to ‘have my cake and eat it too’ and I think most consumers have that with shopping in front of a computer/cell phone or driving to the mall (omni-channels). “As the lines blur between the physical and digital environment, multiple channels will become more prevalent in customers’ path to purchase. This is evidenced by 73% of customers using multiple channels during their shopping journey” (Future of Ecommerce in 2019: 10 International Growth Trends, Jan. 2019).

“Shoppers are increasingly looking for products online outside their home country. In fact, 57% of online shoppers reported having made an online purchase from an overseas retailer in the last six months. The average percentage of consumers who made overseas purchases by continent: 63.4% Europe, 57.9% Asia-Pacific, 55.5% Africa, 54.6% Latin America, and 45.5% North America.” It is great that you can purchase a product from a different country that you may not be able to find in your neighborhood store, but as I feel there may be disadvantages to shopping online domestically, I am more cautious of shopping outside of the U.S. because I would be unsure about the quality of the product, security issues regarding my credit card information, technical difficulties on their website and waiting for your delivery to get to you; since it is in another country it will take much longer to receive. I am kind of spoiled due to Amazon’s fast delivery, so the pain of tracking what I purchased and waiting for it to get to me is not what I want to do. Overall, I think e-commerce connects people and businesses globally and they are getting stronger every year; I can’t wait to see what’s next!