Electronic Commerce (2)

Electronic commerce is an emerging model of new selling and merchandising tools in which buyers are able to participate in all phases of a purchase decision, while ..... through those processes electronically rather than in a physical store or by phone (with a physical catalog).

Electronic commerce is coming .....: electronic sales in a recent quarter are double those of the entire previous year.

In some instances, companies create electronic-commerce capabilities out of a fear of falling behind competitors or as a result of the general ..... to expand the use of an existing Internet presence.

But the primary value proposition is the ..... of increased revenue from new markets and creation of new, lower-cost, electronic-distribution channels.

From a customer's perspective, the purpose of an electronic-commerce system is to enable that customer to locate and purchase a desired good or service over the Internet when the customer is interested in making the purchase; its function is no more or less than providing a ..... store.

From a merchant's perspective, the key function of an electronic-commerce system is to generate higher revenues than the merchant would achieve ..... the system.

The benefits to the service provider of hosting electronic-commerce services include ..... revenue for helping clients develop electronic-commerce offerings (Web sites, catalogs, storefronts) for the customer's hosted offering.

In this scenario, the home shopper still needs Internet access and an access ....., but the service provider could provide any or all of the remaining components on behalf of the merchant.

The electronic-commerce platform chosen by the service provider must support a variety of tasks: the creation of a standard environment for storefronts and advertising sites, the provision of a secure transaction environment, the authorization of credit and ..... payments, and the provision of billing systems.

Many small- and medium-sized businesses are struggling with the high cost of ..... to electronic commerce: creating a complete on-line selling environment can require considerable time, money, and technical expertise.