Introduction to E-commerce E-commerce is the process of buying and selling goods or services online. It has evolved from traditional commerce, which was limited by geographical location and personal interaction. With e-commerce, sales can happen globally with limited personal interaction and delivery time may vary. Mobile commerce allows transactions through smartphones or tablets, while social commerce promotes products on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.
Payment Methods in E-commerce "There are multiple ways to make payments online in e-commerce: credit/debit cards (Mastercard/Visa), prepaid cards/gift cards, net banking for direct bank transfers (NEFT/IMPS), e-wallets like Paytm Wallet, mobile payments using UPI (Google Pay/PhonePe), and upcoming trends include digital currencies like Bitcoin/Ethereum."
Advantages of E-Commerce E-commerce provides a global reach with 24x7 availability. It eliminates intermediaries, offers more options for comparison shopping at lower costs than traditional methods. However it lacks personal touch & faces security concerns such as identity theft & malware attacks.
Types of E-Commerce Models 'B2C' involves businesses directly selling products to customers; 'B2B' model sells products to intermediate buyers who then sell them further; 'C2C' enables consumers to sell their assets on websites; 'C2B' occurs when consumers provide valuable services/products that businesses consume.