Today while coming to college from my residence I received a call from one of my good friends who informed that there is heavy discount sale going on a particular ecommerce website. After his phone call, I hooked on to the website through my smartphone device and bought two shirts for me. Wow! What a simple way to shop.
I can’t even imagine if this was not the case and I had to actually visit the place where the discount was being given on clothes. I perhaps might have lost on it as it would have required me to visit the store in person. E-commerce came to my rescue, and thus made me curious to do some readings on this topic and here is what I found.
E-Commerce platforms are proving to be of great help to people across the world, and making profits for companies as well. Through online ordering customers are having more opportunity and access to various product offerings made by a company. Click, compare and get what you want at your doorstep. Now shopping is all about convenience.
In India the concept has picked up since the last six odd years and is increasing rapidly with many new startups coming in this sector. The pioneers are Flipkart and Snapdeal which are leading examples for many other small entrepreneurs. However many of the e-commerce startups are not still in profits in spite of big advertisements and mega sales.
Many e-commerce sites such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Ask-me.com are incurring heavy losses but still trying to sustain in the market in the midst of fierce competition. But the lesser ones like Local Baniya or Tinyowl could not survive and had to shut their shops; companies like Zomato, foodpanda have closed partially and limited their operations to certain cities.
In this competitive world, firms have to use e-commerce in some form for their commercial ventures as it gives advantages to both the consumers and the company. The customers’ advantages include convenience, easy to compare and find reviews. Advantages for businesses include increasing customer base, rise in sales, expanding business reach and instant transactions.
However, there is certainly a sort of risk or disadvantage for customers such as privacy and security, delay in receiving goods and lack of personal interaction. Disadvantages for businesses are security issues, extra expense and requirement of expertise for e-commerce infrastructure and needs for expanded reverse logistics.
The 21st century will be the century for the people who embrace technology to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency. E-commerce is an integral part of our life. It’s a challenge for all of us but it throws immense opportunities for our growth and better living. It can become a blessing or curse depending on how we manage all the opportunities this sector has thrown open.