The internet has made accessing anything and everything so easy! The Internet has changed how we work, the way we socialize and the use of e-commerce has transformed the way we shop. Technology has also made it easy for people to conduct businesses from the comfort of their mobile devices and homes too. Look around you, how many e-commerce businesses do you see springing up? Quite a number, right?

If you’re therefore looking to amp your buying and selling game from the usual (Makola style, lol), and also not forgetting you’d be joining the millions of eCommerce entrepreneurs around the world, here’s an article to get you started

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?

First of all, Electronic commerce or better still eCommerce refers to any type of business or transaction that involves the transfer of information across the internet. This is further facilitated by payment systems such as cash on delivery, wire transfer, and the use of credit cards and mobile money from the various telcos. eCommerce also covers a wide range of businesses ranging from retail sites, music sites, auction sites to the exchange of goods and services between corporations.

CATEGORIES OF E-COMMERCE

Knowing your target audience or market and the people you’d like to reach with your product or service is vital to any business. This same principle goes for an e-commerce business. There are four categories of e-commerce namely which we would dive into shortly!

B2B (Business to Business): Just as the name implies, this is a transaction between a business and another business. For example, mobile phone manufacturers selling to wholesalers and retailers.

B2C (Business to Consumer): This is also another form of e-commerce. It refers to businesses selling to the general public via e-commerce websites with the help of a shopping cart software. This is done without physical contact between the business and the consumer.  typical examples are  Amazon, Netflix, and the likes.

C2B (Consumer to Business): This refers to a business model where the consumer sells a product to businesses that are willing and ready to purchase them. In this category, consumers post projects, and proposals online together with budgets for businesses to bid. The consumer then reviews the bids and picks a winning company. For example, a consumer can place her requirements for companies to bid.

C2C (Consumer To Consumer): This kind of business takes place via online classifieds, forums, and marketplaces. Individuals are then given the opportunity to showcase their goods and services for other consumers to purchase. A typical example of C2C e-commerce is eBay.

IMPORTANCE OF E-COMMERCE

• eCommerce saves time and effort.
• eCommerce is very convenient.
• eCommerce helps broaden the scope of your business, product or service

EXAMPLES OF E-COMMERCE BUSINESSES IN GHANA

• CHECKI

• SOLUSHOP GHANA LIMITED

• JUMIA

To end this lengthy article, if you wanted to start an online store but didn’t know where to start, we hope this article will help you make an informed decision. Also, you can contact us for further consultation on setting up your online business or leave a comment about your experience with e-commerce.