Use Of E-Commerce In The Online Business World

1. Understanding E-Commerce
E-commerce is a business activity that is carried out through cyberspace (internet), by
utilizing technological advances e-commerce users can make sales, sales and others. E-
commerce is very profitable for its users because it makes it easy for buyers who want an
item without having to travel to buy it.
Lately the use of the internet that leads to cyberspace seems to be dominating all
activities on the surface of the earth in the present and future and in general will turn into a
tool for competition between companies with one another. This will also have a huge impact
on every company. So the company must have the ability to quickly adapt to changes that
occur so that the company will be able to compete with its competitors. The use of
technology is expected to provide great benefits to the competitive business world.
Companies that are able to compete in the competition are companies that are able to
implement technology into their companies. One type of technology implementation in terms
of increasing business competition and product sales is to use electronic commerce (e-
commerce) to market a variety of products or services, both in physical and digital form.
Now more and more online shops are popping up or companies that sell a variety of
goods through e-commerce media by just making a website. Without having to bother to go
to the market or other shopping centers to buy the desired items we can easily get these items
with e-commerce media and we can make buying and selling transactions with e-commerce
media as well. Internet media are increasingly being looked at by producers to sell or promote
their products to consumers. In the e-commerce process there is an efficiency in the use of
fax, document printing, re-entry of documents, and courier services. This efficiency will
show a reduction in cost and time / speed of the process. The quality of data transfers has also
improved, because no re-entry has made it possible for human errors to occur.

2. History of E-Commerce
The beginning of the journey of e-commerce began in the 1960s, when businesses
began using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to share business documents with other
companies.
In 1979, the American National Standards Institute developed ASC X12 as a universal
standard for business people to share documents through electronic networks.
After the number of individuals sharing electronic documents grew in the 1980s, in
the 1990s the emergence of eBay (www.ebay.com) and Amazon (www.amazon.com)
revolutionized the e-commerce industry. Consumers can now buy unlimited quantities of
goods online. Since the 1960s until now e-commerce has grown and has various types, from
B2C (Business to Consumer), B2B (Business to Business), and most recently O2O (Online to
Offline).
3. Benefits of E-Commerce for Business Owners and Consumers
In general, E-COMMERCE is trading activity through internet media. With this service there
are many benefits that can facilitate the buying and selling process or services provided,
including benefits for business owners:
• Can do sales globally
The first benefit is that it allows an entrepreneur to trade his merchandise more widely
and even worldwide. This allows them to get more customers because the true nature of the
web is global. So, your company or business can cover a wider market.
• Reducing Company Infrastructure
In addition, with e-commerce, you as a business owner can certainly reduce the
company's infrastructure. That is, you do not need to open a lot of branches because there is
already a field for the promotion of your product with wider and global goals.
• Helps to Increase Net Profit
With e-commerce, you can certainly increase your net profit because that can reduce
the cost of corporate expenses. For example, adding a lot of employees, opening a lot of
shops and so on. This will certainly increase your company's profit.
• Reduction in Product Prices
By using an e-commerce system, you can certainly reduce prices as cheaply as
possible because it is not through distribution and so on. This will certainly be more attractive
to customers because the price is more skewed compared to others.
The benefits of E-Commerce to consumers include:
• Can Shop All Day
If you buy goods in conventional stores, of course there are time limits when it is
open and when it is closed. But not the case with e-commerce. E-commerce allows you to
shop whenever you want. Without having to wait for open or rush because of chasing the lid.
• Can Save Time
Furthermore, with e-commerce you can save more time because you don't have to
bother coming to the location, not to mention traffic jams and so on. You can also buy it
while relaxing at home.
• Cheaper Items
The benefit of e-commerce for consumers is to be able to obtain goods at cheaper and
more affordable prices compared to those sold in conventional stores.
• Transactions can be without limits
In addition, the other benefits of e-commerce are that you can also make cross-global
purchases without having to throw money around. For example you want to make a purchase
while the goods are sold in America, you can already buy without having to visit America.
Really easy right?

4. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using E-Commerce

E-Commerce has the advantages of:
• Buying / selling procedures are faster and easier for searching goods.
• Buy / sell with 24-hour service (24/7)
• Reach more to customers.
• Low operational costs and better service quality.
• Easy to start and manage a business.
• Customers can easily choose products from different providers without physically moving.
Besides having advantages, E-Commerce also has disadvantages. Consisting of :
• All types of fraud are still widespread
• The buyer cannot see the physical condition of the goods
• There is no guarantee of product quality
• Lost business opportunities due to service interruptions such as electricity that suddenly
goes out
• Hacking or hacking on a site

5. E-Commerce Application
E-commerce is carried out using various applications, such as e-mail, online catalogs
and shopping carts, EDI, File Transfer Protocol, and web services.
All of this includes business-to-business transactions and marketing using emails with
unwanted advertisements (usually considered spam). These emails are sent to consumers and
business prospects, as well as sending e-newsletters to users who have subscribed.
Nowadays more companies are trying to attract the attention of consumers directly online by
using promotional tools such as digital coupons, marketing through social media and targeted
advertising.
Many benefits can be obtained with e-commerce, such as fast access to transactions,
the availability of goods and services, ease of access for consumers and their ability to reach
consumers internationally.
But that does not mean e-commerce has no drawbacks. For example, when purchasing goods,
consumers can not see or touch the product to be bought directly. In addition, consumers also
have to wait a bit longer to be able to get the product they bought.
The market generated by e-commerce activities has continued to grow. Online sales
of goods and services accounted for more than one third of total retail sales growth in the
United States in 2015.
Sales activities via the website in the US reached a value of $ 340.61 billion in 2015, an
increase of 14.6 percent compared to the previous year. While projected to increase every
year, even in 2019 it could reach $ 534.95 billion.