Introduction

Handling a business successfully is interesting but challenging too. It is not like the regular 9 to 5 jobs where one has to do some mundane tasks and fulfill one’s duties and responsibilities. But with business, everything takes a different turn. When you are an owner of the business, only you are solely responsible for its success and failure, you tend to always think about the inherent risks and the constant need to satisfy your customers.

Now, earlier businessmen used to only rely on traditional marketing techniques by creating a physical presence and marketing their products & services through brick-and-mortar stores. But for the past few decades the vision of business owners have changed and besides traditional marketing, they have started marketing their products online. Here, the term Ecommerce and objective of ecommerce comes into the picture.

Ecommerce can be referred to as the process of exchanging goods and services in the form of online or digital mode where the payment for the goods and services are done in electronic form. But how ecommerce businesses work? What are the types of Ecommerce business? What is the Objective of Ecommerce? We will discuss all these and more in this article.

Let us start by understanding what ecommerce is all about and then others like types, features and the objective of ecommerce will follow suit.

What is Ecommerce?

No one exactly knows when people started trading with each other – or how. What we do know is that for about 2500 years now people have been using metal coins to buy and sell stuff. From horses and handcarts to trucks, airplanes, and ships, the necessity to trade goods has encouraged innovations in transportation for just as long.

Though, the scenario today has all changed. Now, many of us are buying and selling through a brand new advanced form of commerce that demands neither money nor transportation—at least not in the traditional sense. You just click your mouse a few times or surf through your mobile from the comfort of your couch, enter your credit or debit card number, and wait for the products to appear on your doorstep.

Ecommerce, as this is known, has flourished exceptionally in the last two decades, rendering life more convenient for consumers and uncovering all kinds of latest opportunities for businesses. Let’s take a closer look at what Ecommerce and objective of ecommerce is!

Electronic Commerce, in short Ecommerce, refers to the trading of goods and services through an online platform. It has been so named because Ecommerce involves trading i.e. buying and selling of products over an electronic network, primarily called the internet.

Ecommerce operates in various kinds of market segments and can be carried out over laptops, computers, smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices. Almost every product and service imaginable is available through ecommerce transactions, including movie tickets, flight tickets, train tickets, music, books, household goods, financial services such as online banking and stock investing and many more.

Now that we have understood what ecommerce is all about, let’s take a look at how ecommerce works and why the objective of ecommerce is important?

How does Ecommerce work?

To set up an ecommerce business, the first and foremost thing that a business should do is to lay down the objective of ecommerce system. Though not all Ecommerce systems work in the same way, they are similar in more ways than one. Here, we have tried to put forth an example for you to understand the workings of an ecommerce system.

A customer, sitting at his laptop from the comfort of his home, tries to order a pair of gym training shoes online. His Web Browser communicates over the internet back-and-forth with a Web Server that handles the Website of the particular store he is ordering from. The Web Server then forwards his order to the order manager, referred to as the central computer. This computer oversees the orders through every stage of order processing from placing of the order to its delivery to the customer.

The order manager then crawls the database to make certain of what the customer order is in stock. If the product is not available, the stock database system can place an order from the manufacturers or wholesalers for fresh supplies. This involves communicating in real time with the order system to ascertain an estimated time for the supply to be available. The stock database then confirms about the stocks’ availability or the expected time of supply, if not available.

Further to this, the order manager continues to process the order, assuming that stocks are in hand. The next step is to communicate with a merchant system (linked to a bank or a card processing firm) to receive payment using the debit or credit card number of the customer. In turn, the merchant system confirms with the customer’s own banking system whether there is enough funds in his account to purchase the said item.

The merchant system further authorizes the transaction to progress, while the order manager reaffirms that the transaction has been processed successfully and notifies the Web Server. Then the server displays a web page to the customer confirming that his transaction is successful and his order has been processed.

The order manager, further, sends a request to the warehouse to dispatch the product to the customer, a dispatch truck collects the product from the warehouse bay and proceeds for delivery. An email from the warehouse server reaches the customer stating that his goods are out for delivery, once it has been dispatched. The last step of this system is that the customer receives the order.

The most crucial point in this whole scenario is that everything happens virtually for the customer, except for the laptop that he uses to place the order and the delivery truck that arrives at his doorstep for real.

The History of Ecommerce – How did it all begin?

Over 40 years ago the history of ecommerce began, when early technology like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and teleshopping was introduced in the 1970s that opened the way for the modern-day ecommerce store as we see it today.

The history of ecommerce is interlinked closely with the history of the internet. In 1991, when the internet was opened to the public, online shopping became possible. In the United States, Amazon became one of the first ecommerce sites to start selling products online and thousands of businesses have followed since. The safety, convenience, and enjoyable user experience of ecommerce have rapidly improved ever since the inception of online shopping.

Let’s retrace the history of ecommerce from the time it first came into existence till date. This will also help us analyze the objective of ecommerce.

The first American online service provider, CompuServe or CompuServe Information Service, was founded in 1969. Michael Aldrich, English inventor and entrepreneur, in 1979 invented teleshopping or online shopping to enable online transaction processing between businesses and consumers, or from business to business. It didn’t become viable economically until the origination of the Internet. His
idea later came to be known as Ecommerce.

In the 1980s, Boston Computer Exchange (BCE), the world’s first ecommerce company, dominated electronic trading in used computers. Even before the Internet became extensively available to the general public, the BCE was in full operation in the US. In 1992, Charles M. Stack founded the American online bookstore, the Books Stacks Unlimited and followed by the launch of Books.com website in 1994, attracting half a million visitors every month eventually.

The year 1994 also saw the launching of Netscape Navigator, a flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corp, as a web browser. It helped make the web graphical rather than a text-only experience. Referred to as one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world, Amazon, an American multinational technology company was launched in 1995.

In 1998, PayPal was launched as an ecommerce payment system and the year 1999 saw the launch of the Chinese multinational technology company focusing on ecommerce, Alibaba. Google introduced Google Adwords in 2000 as an online advertising tool. In 2004, the Canadian ecommerce multinational company Shopify Inc. launched its proprietary ecommerce platform for online stores.

In 2005, Etsy, an American global online marketplace was introduced and Amazon also introduced its prime membership. Google introduced Google Wallet in 2011 as a digital payment method and in the same year Facebook rolled out Sponsored Stories as a source of early advertising.

2014 saw the introduction of Apple Pay as a mobile payment method. In 2016, Facebook launched Marketplace for its users to buy and sell products and in 2017, shoppable Instagram was introduced. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, the contagious disease caused by a virus, drove the growth of the ecommerce sector even more.

Features of Ecommerce

Ecommerce businesses are the need of the moment and almost all large and small companies are taking the online route to enhance their sales and to effectively compete with similar businesses online. To turn your online business into a successful one, it is mandatory to have an in-depth understanding of how ecommerce business works, its features and characteristics and the objective of ecommerce.

There are various features of an ecommerce business and you should be aware of all of them to set up business online. Let us understand what these features are all about.

Technology-Enabled Ecommerce

Traditional commerce has been taking place since times immemorial but Ecommerce is the result of the integration of digital technology with commercial transactions and business processes. The technological foundations of E-commerce are the internet, World Wide Web (WWW) and various other protocols.

Ubiquitous in Nature

The number of customers for a traditional business is restricted in the city where it is located, whereas an ecommerce business can reach globally. Ecommerce can be defined as a virtual marketplace that can be accessed online by customers through devices like mobile phones and computers.

Thus, an Ecommerce marketplace motivates customers to buy products & services from any corner of the world where internet connection is available and then can pay the payment online. Due to the ubiquitous nature of the Ecommerce business, the working hours and geographical boundaries of catering enhance.

Large Customer Reach

Objective of Ecommerce for Ecommerce businesses have reached customers located all around the world. The Internet connects national boundaries. Ecommerce, without being limited by national and cultural boundaries, provides an opportunity to businessmen to cater to the customers seamlessly. This kind of marketplace has the capability to reach millions of worldwide customers.

Technology Mediated

In Ecommerce businesses, buyers and sellers meet in cyber space rather than physical place. Hence, Ecommerce does not involve face to face contact.

Universal Standard

Commercial trading of products takes place through websites in Ecommerce. An Ecommerce website must be created based on the universally accepted methods and systems. Maintaining global standards aids the users of an Ecommerce website to efficiently use the website. Thus, universality of the website is one of the most essential features of an Ecommerce business.

Interactive Platform

Interactivity serves as another important feature of an Ecommerce business. It refers to the two-way communication between the businesses and users of the Ecommerce website.

Customers feel comfortable to place their orders from websites where they can interact before, after, and even during the purchase. Besides this, businesses can get aware about the problems faced by the users on their Ecommerce platform and can rectify them so as to make up for the losses and help in attaining the objective of ecommerce.

Rich in Content and Delivery of Information

Ecommerce also acts as the best channel for communication. These technologies make sure of speedy information delivery at very low cost and considerably enhanced information density as well. The richness of content and information depicts that the content and information can be presented in the form of text, images, audio, and video on the website.

A customer feels comfortable if he can see the usage and features of the product he is willing to purchase, through a video on the website. Learned and conscious customers always seek such information before taking a purchase decision. Besides this, such lucrative content makes the Ecommerce website attractive to the consumers.

Virtual Communities

Virtual Communities are referred to as online communities created by ways such as chat rooms and specifically designed platforms like, where people having common interest can interact with each other using the internet.

Personalization

The one characteristic of Ecommerce businesses which differentiates it from the physical businesses is its ability to offer customized services to each customer. With the aid of the technology and keeping track of past purchases history of a customer, companies can recommend personalized products and offer to an individual.

The same platform will display different recommendations and offers for different individuals. Customization or personalization of products ensures that items are tailor made as per the preferences and requirements of customers.

Interdisciplinary in Nature

Implementation of Ecommerce requires a lot of knowledge of technological, managerial, social and legal issues. Additional to this, understanding of marketing tools, financial aspects and most importantly consumer behavior, is as crucial as designing interactive Ecommerce websites.

Ease of Checkout

Internet connectivity has enabled the Ecommerce platform to be easy for people to access at their own time and from any location in the world. 80% of the time people just browse through different websites either when they have no other work to do or just to check things out.

To convert these users into buyers, you require an easy to use Ecommerce platform and provide ease of checkout. If it takes too much hassle and time to go through the final checkout, then the customers might lose interest in the purchase and you will lose business. Hence, one of the primary features of an Ecommerce business is different payment options such as payment through Debit cards, Credit cards, Netbanking, PayPal, and cash on delivery, etc.

Reporting Tool

The reporting tool is not a mandatory characteristic for an Ecommerce business, but one can certainly employ it to improve the user experience on the Ecommerce platform. The reporting tool will make you aware of the problems faced by your users instantly, and you can analyze and fi
x them quickly before it leads to any more problems for the other users of your Ecommerce platform. Reporting tool helps in increasing the reliability of your users when they have the knowledge that they will get help in case something goes wrong with their transaction.

Integrated Blog & Articles Section

Another method to attract today’s intelligent customers is by integrating blogs and articles in the Ecommerce platform. Your business image will improve when they get to learn great things from you. It also serves as an excellent method to upsurge the traffic on your Ecommerce website.

It is not necessary for the blogs and articles to be relevant to the products that you market and sell. It can convey knowledge about any other topic which is not directly related to the marketed products.

All these above discussed features play an important role in helping achieve the objective of ecommerce business.

Types of Ecommerce

Nowadays, the thought of surviving without Ecommerce seems immeasurable, complicated and a cause of inconvenience to many. It wasn’t until only a few decades ago that the idea of Ecommerce and the objective of ecommerce had even appeared. For many people, Ecommerce represents something we are a part of in daily life, like paying our bills online to purchasing milk online.

Based on the products, services, and organization of an ecommerce company, the business can choose to operate in multiple different ways. Here are a few of the popular types of Ecommerce or business models.

Business to Business (B2B)

Business to Business or B2B is referred to as one of the most common types of Ecommerce. The objective of ecommerce business is to be able to sell goods directly to a user. However, this user is not the consumer but rather it is another company. B2B type occurs when a transaction of products or services takes place between two businesses.

B2B transactions often necessitates greater specifications, larger quantities, and longer lead times. B2B ecommerce deals with relationships between and among businesses, for instance,  Amazon, Indiamart, Alibaba.

Business to Consumer (B2C)

The objective of ecommerce for Business to Consumer or B2C model companies is to directly sell to the consumer of the product/service or the end-user. Rather than distributing goods to intermediaries, a B2C organization performs transactions directly with the consumer that will ultimately use the product.

The consumer can browse the company’s website and go through their product portfolio, their images and the product reviews. Then they put forward their order and the company sends the products or services directly to them. This is the most common business model and people are more familiar with this concept of ecommerce. Popular examples of B2C platforms are Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Netflix.

Consumer to Business (C2B)

The objective of ecommerce for consumer to business or C2B model of ecommerce isn’t all that traditional. The concept  here is that businesses are purchasing from consumers, although more frequently those consumers are found to be operating a business of their own. The consumer offers a product or some service to the Company.

Modern platforms have empowered consumers to interact more easily with companies and offer their services or products, especially related to short-term gigs, contracts, or freelance opportunities. For instance, consider listings on Upwork. A consumer may ask for bids or engage with companies that require specific jobs done.

Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

Consumer to consumer ecommerce or C2C model is just commerce between individuals or consumers. Ecommerce platforms such as online marketplaces help consumers interact with other consumers who can enlist their own products and execute their own sales.

The objective of ecommerce for C2C platforms, enabled by technology, is to authorize consumers to both buy and sell without the interference of companies. These platforms allow people to directly sell their personal assets and goods to an interested party, for instance, eBay, Olx, Quikr.

Business to Government (B2G)

Business to Government (B2G) ecommerce is referred to as any kind of trading between companies and the public sector. Some organizations serve as government contractors offering products or services to administrations or agencies. The objective of ecommerce for the B2G model is to use the Internet for licensing procedure, public procurement, and other government-related operations. For instance, businesses sell products and services to government agencies, pay taxes, or file reports.

Consumer to Government (C2G)

Unlike any other traditional ecommerce relationship, consumers can engage themselves with government agencies, or administrations through Consumer to Government or C2G partnerships. For instance, paying your tuition fees online to your university or making payment for property tax assessments to your concerned municipality corporation. Alternatively, uploading your tax return to the digital website serves as an ecommerce transaction concerning an exchange of information.

Government to Business (G2B)

G2B ecommerce is referred to a business model wherein all the services and information are offered by the Government to the Companies. This information is shared through an extensive network of various government websites. The companies in turn use that information to apply for various permission required for establishing a new business, and other specifications.

Government to Consumer (G2C)

The objective of ecommerce for Government to Consumer (G2C) business model is to perform electronic activities between the government and its citizens or consumers, that include registering vehicles, paying taxes, registration for birth, marriage or death certificates and providing information and services.

Government to Government (G2G)

The objective of ecommerce for Government to Government (G2G) business model is to electronically share data and/or information systems between government agencies, organizations or departments. The objective of ecommerce in the G2G model is to support e-government initiatives by improving communication, data access and data sharing.

Mobile Commerce ( M-Commerce)

Mobile Commerce (M-commerce) refers to the buying and selling of products and services through handheld wireless devices such as tablets and smartphones. Experts contemplate the objective of ecommerce for the mobile commerce model of ecommerce as the future of eCommerce, as it empowers consumers to buy products or services online, but at any time and from anywhere.

Objective of Ecommerce

The Objective of Ecommerce might differ based on the business, but generally they comprise lower costs, increasing sales, and improving customer satisfaction.

Sales can be increased by attracting more customers through improved marketing strategies or by lowering the cost of products sold. Costs can be lowered by determining ways to reduce manufacturing and distribution expenses or by developing new products that are cheaper to produce. Customer satisfaction can be improved by offering a quality product that is easy to use and fulfills customer needs.

Now, before going into the depth of the objective of ecommerce, first we need to understand why it is important to lay down the objective of ecommerce before starting any business.

First and foremost, businesses set aims and the objective of ecommerce to aid in decision making. This allows the companies to comprehend what their main focus should be on. The objective of ecommerce helps in defining goals, guiding elements of the decision-making process, identifying conflicting activities, and e
nsuring accountability of an individual within an company.

The objective of ecommerce will provide you with guidance and direction to drive growth and achieve success in the ecommerce industry. When developing the objective of ecommerce, it is imperative to be clear and concise. It is also important for the objective of ecommerce to be specific and measurable.

Few of the important objective of ecommerce has been discussed below:

Building More Customer Base

In today’s time, it has become mandatory for companies to increase their customer base. This can be achieved by maintaining the quality of products and services and by offering some additional value-added services. Hence, this acts as the primary objective of ecommerce companies as it supplies impetus for the rapid growth in sales and overall profit.

Improved Customer Service

As ecommerce businesses work round the clock, the customers will always receive help online regarding the products. Since all the information about the products and services are furnished, it becomes easier for the customer to select the best product among all the available options.

Now, as services are also readily available over the internet, the customer service experience provided by the companies also gets enhanced. Improved customer service acts as another objective of ecommerce, the highlighting of which helps companies capture a bigger portion of the market share.

Development of Business-Relationship

Ecommerce being the primary and the basic object, the business development can be done through it. Because of ecommerce, as there is direct contact between the company and the consumer, their business relationship is enhanced. Therefore, this objective of ecommerce also leads to an increased serviceable area of the market for the company.

Objective of Ecommerce in Online Business

Few of the top objective of ecommerce in online business is discussed below:

Increasing Sales in Ecommerce Store

There are few objective of ecommerce that businesses should aim for when trying to upscale sales in their ecommerce store:

One needs to improve on the conversion rates. A high rate of conversion means that more people are clicking through from the homepage to make a purchase. This can be attained by creating attractive content and making sure that the site is easy to navigate.

Another objective of ecommerce might be that one have to increase the average order value. This can be done by offering exclusive deals and discounts, as well as creating an engaging customer service experience. Customers who make a purchase once will also be likely to spend more money on future purchases.

Increasing Brand Awareness

One of the most common reasons businesses opt to use online marketing is to enhance brand awareness. When customers, through online channels, are introduced to a company or product, it creates a stronger connection between them and the brand.

This can steer you towards sales opportunities, as well as enhanced loyalty among customers. Hence, for online marketing campaigns to be effective, businesses must comprehend their goals and objectives. This serves as another objective of ecommerce.

Attracting more Visitors

A variety of methods can be employed to increase traffic to a website, such as developing user profiles that target specific demographics, optimizing the site for search engine optimization (SEO), and creating attractive content. Increased conversions can be attained by implementing effective marketing campaigns and offering customers with the best possible buying experience. Attracting more visitors to your website poses another objective of ecommerce.

Improving Customer Satisfaction

There are a few objectives that can assist with this, such as offering a good customer experience, fulfilling customer needs, and reducing complaints.

Satisfying customer needs, one objective of ecommerce, includes ensuring that the products and services provided fulfills the requirements of the customer. This can be done through making sure of accuracy in product information, providing useful guides and tutorials, and responding quickly to questions.

Reducing Shopping Cart Abandonment

One common objective of ecommerce businesses is to reduce shopping cart abandonment. There are a number of ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment, and each business will have its own preferences and methods.

Some common methods involve providing useful tutorials or videos on how to use the site, offering easy access to returns and refunds, and making it comfortable for customers to find what they’re looking for. By implementing certain effective strategies, ecommerce businesses can help in improving their customer retention rates.

Increasing Conversion Rates

The primary objective of ecommerce businesses is to increase the conversion rates. One way to do it is to ensure that the website has a simple, effective design, pages load quickly and it is easy to navigate, along with it a compelling content and effective marketing strategies in place.

Attracting Repeat Customers

Establish a loyal customer base by offering unique products and services and by providing excellent customer service. Product prices should be competitive and your customers should be provided with value for their money.

Improving the User Experience

The primary objective of ecommerce site is to offer a great user experience for its customers. This means making sure that the site is easy to operate and that all features are accessible without difficulty.

It also means ensuring that the website looks and feels good, both on desktop and mobile devices. Finally, it means offering help and support to customers, if needed. By improving the user experience, the conversion rates can be increased and attract more repeat customers to your ecommerce business.

How to write the objective of Ecommerce for Companies?

Writing the objective of ecommerce can pose to be challenging, but it is imperative for delivering the goals set for the business. To write the objective of ecommerce effectively, it is essential to comprehend your audience and what they desire from your company.

It is useful to know your competitors’ objectives in order to target specific audiences. This information can be gained through a thorough research of their websites and/or by performing surveys with customers who have previously bought similar products from other companies.

Once you have recognized your customer’s requirements, it is essential to offer solutions that fulfill those needs. Research your competitors and comprehend what they are doing well and where they could improve; this will assist you in creating targets that are relevant to your business. Concentrate on resolving customer problems rather than selling products and this will create loyalty among customers and increase sales.

Conclusion – The Way Ahead

Ecommerce is an industry that’s ever-changing and ever-growing. Trends are shifting constantly in an attempt to shape the way people purchase products in every corner of the globe. Ecommerce giants like Alibaba, Amazon, Flipkart and eBay have changed the way the retail industry works, compelling major traditional retailers to alternate the way they do business.

I will again come back to the point where I started. The role of COVID-19 pandemic in th
e upsurge of Ecommerce businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has unsettled daily life and alternated the way we shop. It’s not like people did not shop online before the pandemic  but more people are purchasing their goods online after the pandemic. Ecommerce saw a 30% surge in 2020, and the impact of this shift to online purchasing will likely be long-lasting. This makes the future of ecommerce exciting. A lot of big things are expected to change in the ecommerce market over the coming years.

Frequently Asked Questions