Online business

Online Business or e-business is any kind of business or commercial transaction that includes sharing
information across the internet. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between
businesses, groups and individuals and can be seen as one of the essential activities of any business.
Electronic commerce focuses on the use of ICT to enable the external activities and relationships of the
business with individuals, groups and other businesses, while e-business refers to business with help of
the internet. Electronic business differ from electronic commerce as it does not only deal with online
transactions of selling and buying of a product and/or service but also enables to conduct business
processes (inbound/outbound logistics, manufacturing & operations, marketing and sales, customer
service) within the value chain through internal or external networks. The term "e-business" was coined
by IBM's marketing and Internet team in 1996.

Online business and covid-19

Online business, known as e-commerce, is the buying and selling of product or service over
electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Electronic commerce draws
on such technologies as electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing,
online transaction processing, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), inventory management
systems, and automated data collection systems.

Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at one point in the
transaction’s life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail,
mobile devices and telephones as well.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists
of the exchanging of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business transactions
Nature gives unlimited opportunities to everyone but how many of us understand the nature is
very limited. COVID-19 has brought in a disaster to the economy and people, but it also
generated several opportunities that Pakistan missed due to limited vision and poor governance.
Although it is uncomfortable for almost every Pakistani to be self-disciplined, but its blessings
are countless. I came out of quarantine yesterday and went for errands. I saw roads, streets and
markets were filled with people. Even markets and shopping malls were full of people without
precursory measures to avoid the COVID-19 pandemic in Islamabad. Especially, I saw markets
flooded with people in the evening. I think it is a difficult decision to detain people at home. The
government and people have readymade excuses to justify their actions. We cannot afford
lockdown but are we ready to pay the cost of COVID-19 .

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact not only on health and humanity but also on the global
economy. The drastic shift in consumer behavior has created an everlasting ripple effect on businesses
from all industries. The short-term behaviors of consumers coping with this crisis tend to last long-term
impacting business models, partnerships, and the competitive landscape.

Businesses that evolve and innovate to meet the growing customer demand, while adding value to
address the current crisis will stand to win.

Ecommerce – Consumer Shift towards Online Shopping

Waking up to a new economic reality has changed the consumer’s retail behavior in profound ways. In
fact, a recent study found that global online grocery sales reached 110% in April. While there is a high
demand for online shopping, ecommerce stores are facing the challenge of meeting their consumer’s
needs; inventory flux, time management and customer support. Needless to say, the responsibility to
provide a no-touch, hygienic experience in every sale.

This created a need for retail stores to stabilize their product management system; manage their
inventory flow; and provide on-time communication support to their customers – opening endless
opportunities for ecommerce outsourcing services to support the retail industry.

Online Payment Platforms

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends customers to pay contactless rather than with cash.
When the pandemic made every brick-and-mortar store adopt a curb-side pickup and eCommerce
module, online payment gateways turned to be the ultimate support for every retailer – big or small.

Online payment platforms are now creating more digital options and solutions for customers. Devising
an inclusive setup for the audience irrespective of their educational and financial background. Building
omnichannel payment solutions to accommodate varying ways of shopping – accelerating business
opportunities to collaborate with tech support in the future.
Delivery Industry – New Partnerships to Meet Customer Demand

COVID-19 is transforming the delivery industry – Food delivery services are expanding their warehouses
to integrate with neighborhood stores for hyper-local deliveries. New collaborations have started when
the on-delivery app provided a plethora of options. To meet the need of a hygienic delivery solution,
drone companies – Wings, UPS Freight forward and Zip line are all experimenting drone delivery trials of
medical and industrial goods.

Due to the challenges, regulations, and operating models, drones are not used for the delivery of
common goods. However, with technical support and innovative solutions, the industry will overcome
technical, social, and legislative hurdles to make drone delivery a common phenomenon.

Insurance Industry – Cloud and Digital Core System to Improve Customer Experience

Forbes recently reported a 30-50% increase in insurance sales for companies with insurance apps with
data/algorithms to improve customer experience. The Insurrect industry has long embraced digital
experience platforms, advanced data analytics and cloud API enabled core platforms to innovative
products that scale their business.

Development of partner ecosystem technology, data channels is not only building out insurers to work
with partners but also within new ecosystems like mobility, health, wealth, financial service, and more.

Marketing Industry – Setting the Fire Ablaze Through New Customer Experience

Though marketing will be an out-of-pocket expense for many businesses post-COVID, a data-driven
marketing approach is the only solution to meet the shift in consumer behavior. A recent report
suggests that 72% project overall 2020 B2B marketing budgets will increase, stay the same, or only be
cut moderately.

With a considerable decrease in impulse buying, the retail industry should seek the support of B2B
marketers to innovate solutions for customer experience. With the communication moving online, the
Chabot assistance has become an undeniable part of customer service.

Gaming Industry – Widening Monetization through Subscription Models:

The online gaming industry is being resilient to the pandemic. With a shift in consumer spending
preference for fewer games than the previous decade, the gaming business model moved from the
single unit sale to resourcing revenue from the base of active users.

Delivery of games via mobile and cloud-based platforms enables the consumers to play streamed games
in multiple devices without the need for expensive hardware. Widening monetization avenues through
subscription free-to-play models let small quality games break into the mainstream. Activision Blizzard
earned 50% above analyst expectation based on the mobile edition “Call of Duty” title.

With low-cost and high value offerings, the gaming industry is expected to increase in partnerships with
other entertainment sectors

Advantages
When looking at e-Business we have many advantages, which are mostly connected to making doing
business easier. The benefits of implementing e-Business tools are in the streamlining of business
processes and not so much in use of technology. Here are some:

Easy to set up: electronic business is easy to set up even from home; the only requirements are
software, a device and internet connection.

Flexible Business Hours: There are no time barriers that a location-based business can encounter since
the internet is available to everyone all the time. Your products and services can be accessed by
everyone with an internet connection.

Cheaper than Traditional Business: Electronic business is less costly than a traditional business, but it is
more expensive to set up. Transactions cost are also cheaper.

No Boundaries: The greatest benefit is the possibility of geographically dispersion. Anyone can order
anything from anywhere at any time.

New market entry: It has a great potential to enable an entry to a previously unknown market that a
traditional business could not.

Lower levels of inventory: Electronic business enables companies to lower their level of inventory by
digitalizing their assets. (i.e.: Netflix does not sell anymore physical DVD's but proposes online streaming
content instead).
Lower costs of marketing and sales: E-commerce allows the actors of the industry to advertise for their
product/service offer (i.e.: house rental) at generally lower costs than by promoting physically their
business.

Disadvantages
Despite all the advantages there are also some disadvantages that we need to address. The most
common limitations of electronic business are:

Lack of Personal Touch: The products cannot be examined or felt before the final purchase. In the
traditional model, we have a more personal customer experience, while in electronic business that is
mostly not the case. Another missing factor of personal touch could also be in online transactions.

Delivery Time: Traditional business enables instant satisfaction as you obtain the product the moment
you purchase it, while in electronic business that is not possible. There will always be a waiting period
before you receive the product. For example, Amazon assures one-day delivery. This does not resolve
the issue completely, but it is an improvement.

Security Issues: Scams could be mentioned as a factor for people's distrust in electronic business.
Hackers can easily get customers’ financial and personal details. Some customer still finds it hard to trust
electronic businesses because of the lack of security, reliability and integrity issues.

Risks accompanying online business and e-commerce

With the impact of COVID-19 increasing and more restrictive anti-COVID-19 measures being
introduced, recent research shows that online grocery and healthcare purchases have grown for
more than 20%, with an expectation for online sales to surge an additional 20% in the near
future. Following the limitations on the offering and sale of goods and services to consumers in
Slovenia, switching to e-commerce has become the only option for certain businesses and for
some (even) their last resort. The current situation also represents a motivation for the
digitization of regular commercial routes. E-shopping is increasingly popular in the EU, with the
proportion of individuals aged 16-74 having shopped online in 2019, according to Eurostat,
being 63%.

The decision to close markets at 5pm can also reduce the rush of the vehicles on the roads in the
evening. It can reduce carbon emissions, road congestions and air and noise pollutions. This will
not only improve the public health, but it can improve the quality of life of the general public
which Pakistan already never realized. This decision during covid-19 can be a blessing in
disguise to spend quality time with family, capacity building, relatives and also generate even
better economic opportunities.

This decision can enhance the online business which is limited right now in Pakistan. Youth,
who needs jobs and employment, can be trained entrepreneur to start online businesses. For
online businesses, nonetheless, we may need fresh legislation to protect both buyers and sellers
as there is mistrust and misuse of the online work. Federal as well as provincial governments can
have a legislation to protect the online business and regulate it. Even the government has better
chances to collect taxes on the online business with a limited manpower. Young people can start
online business with a few amounts, but they can earn huge money and pay taxes to the national
exchequer. They can spread their online business and become a business tycoon. They do not
have to pay rent and electricity bills and buy online shop from the government or from a private
website to start it. While selling items, they may pay tax as an essential requirement of the
business.