E-commerce offers benefits to the sellers as well as the customers they are:
A) Advantages to e-marketers:
- Global Markets – The online marketer can communicate with the buyers in the world markets through the internet. They can get orders from buyers across the world and thus online marketing gets away with geographical location problems.
- Audience sizing – Marketers an find out the number of persons that have visited their site and the number of persons that have stopped at a particular place on their site without placing an order. This information helps the marketer to improve the promotional offer and information.
- Lower investment – The e-marketers require lower investment as compared to traditional businessmen, who require huge investments to set their business in cities where real estate costs are high. The e-marketers only need to design an effective website to provide information about their products.
- Quality procurement – E-business facilitates procurement of quality materials and other items. The buying firm can obtain bids from several potential suppliers, and select the supplier that can provide the best quality materials at best possible rates.
B) Advantages to Customers:
- Anytime shopping – The customers can place orders anytime as per their convenience. One can place orders 24 X 7 i.e., anytime during the day or night. Such is not possible in physical stores.
- Lower prices – Customers can get the goods and services at a lower price from the online store. This is because in online marketing there is less number of intermediaries. The online marketer maybe the only intermediary between the customer and manufacture.
- Loyalty incentives – Online marketers provide loyalty incentives to regular online shoppers. These incentives may contain loyalty points or special discounts which can be used on a later date.