that little-big word called e-commerce
That little-big word called e-Commerce
Just what do major online retailers such as Amazon, BargainBrute, and Etsy have in common besides, Deals of the Day? They are, of course, all members of the online community trading under the e-Commerce umbrella.
Today we take a whimsical look at this little big world, from its first inclusion into the English dictionary to what it has become today, the mighty word we now know as e-Commerce.
The word or phrase e-commerce, meaning “any commerce conducted via the Internet” first appeared in the English dictionary just 27 years ago.
The year was 1993, and along with the word “e-commerce”, only 49 other words or phrases were added.
Words like “access provider” “Cyber Surfer” “Click-Through” “Digital Video Disc” “Key Logger” “V-Chip” “Webmaster” “Web Page” “Website” “Yotabite and “Zettabyte” were all also added that same year.
As you can see, the dawn of the computer and the e-commerce age greatly impacted the English Language as it has on how we now go about our shopping.
Yes, this simple sometimes hyphenated word covers a wide range of online services, some of which today we take for granted.
Whereas the academic meaning of the word is cloaked under the broad term of e-commerce, and I quote “the pursuit of purchasing or trading of manufactured goods or online services, over the Internet.” It also has far more ranging meanings and services, all of which fall under the same umbrella.
Of course, without the help of other modern-day technologies such as electronic funds transfers, this little big word would not have lasted as long as it has. The same can be said about an online companies supply chain management system. This system enables even the smallest of companies to set up shop and deliver a meaningful product.
We should also not forget that e-commerce has become so successful over the years solely because it also depends on a marketing strategy that is both affordable and professional.
Today online companies can and do have an online presence which would have been unheard of just ten years ago, and once again, it is all thanks to that little big word called e-Commerce.
Internet marketing. Any person who has, in the past, mainly because of lack of choice, has had to rely on the local newspaper or even the national press to promote any form of business, and as such will surely remember just how much it costs for an excellent regular marketing platform.
Yes, thinking back in many circumstances, it did indeed break the bank. However, with the help of that little big word “e-commerce”, today this is no longer the case.
However, a word of caution, all reputable online retailers should never forget their local community. With this in mind should when affordable and beneficial, continue to use local advertising agencies whenever possible. After all, these are the people who gave you your start in the first place.
Now we get to what is the most essential segment of that little big word e-Commerce the ease of how even the smallest of online businesses can receive or pay for any of the services or products it has listed within their portfolio.
Whereas in the past, getting paid could take weeks or sometimes even months with the result that many companies were then left with depleted stocks simply because they did not have the luxury of being able to order new stock until payment was received for previous sales.
Today, however, with a bit of help from that “little big word,” even small companies can put in place an electronic payment system, better known to us as an e-commerce payment system, thus enabling them to accept electronic payments for most of, if not all their online transactions.
The benefit of the above cannot be underestimated as the retailer does not only get paid quickly, but if he links this payment system with his instore stock, as items are sold, they can then be automatically reordered, thus ensuring that their popular items are always in stock, it also makes the end of year stocktaking much more straightforward to complete.
How a person pays for a product from an online retailer is, of course, up to them. However, for obvious reasons, cash is out of the question for most, if not all online retailers, meaning that “Credit or Debit Cards” have become the most accepted way to pay for items when purchasing from an online retailer today over 90% of all e-commerce transactions are made using a credit, or debit cards.
It is here that the “little big word.” eCommerce comes into its own as not all online retailers are given the option to accept credit or debit cards, they must first pass stringent rules and regulations before significant credit card companies like “Mastercard” and “Visa” will allow an online retailer to use one of their branded cards to accept electronic payments.
Furthermore, the regulations for these stringent rules and regulations can be different from country to country. What’s more, they can also differ from state to state. Just why these stiff regulations are put in place is quite simple: “protect the online buyer.”
So yes, our “little big word eCommerce” has, in its short 27-year life span grown into one of, if not the most significant and most used word anywhere within the global e-commerce trading platform, as said quite an achievement in so little years.
Well, folks, that’s it for our whimsical look at that “Little Big Word known as eCommerce. Where we would be without it, I have no idea.
However, I know that today, it has become clear that thanks to the e-Commerce electronic payment cycle, online retail is here to stay and will do once this terrible COVID-19 pandemic finally reaches its end.
So on behalf of the Vandergraph family and every employee at Bargainbrute.com, together we “Thank you for taking the time to read this short narrative and of course for shopping with us today.”
Kind Regards and stay safe.
