Electronic Commerce refers to the commercialization of products and / or services through the Internet, and can be applied to retail or retail trade of products, wholesale trade or distribution trade of products and trade in services. In this article we will cover the main elements related to retail electronic commerce and the other types will be covered in our two subsequent articles.
When we talk about retail or retail electronic commerce, we mean the sale of products to the final consumer (or B2C for Business to Consumer). In turn, on the Internet these types of businesses are also called Virtual Stores, E-Commerce Stores, Online Stores or Online Stores.
In general, when we talk about Retail Electronic Commerce, we are referring to an internet portal that basically consists of a catalog of products classified into categories and sub-categories, which can be browsed through said categories, by searching a search engine internal, or by clicking on the images of the products where they are displayed.
An Electronic Retail Business can fulfill multiple functions according to the commercial policies of the company that publishes it.
Firstly, it is possible to basically have a catalog without prices so that potential customers know the type of products available and communicate with the company through a contact form or by phone. It is like a virtual counter where to know the prices you must contact the company. This first level can be used to request quotes, when configuring a request by adding the products in what is known as a shopping cart (selection of products that are added to a list that will constitute the request for a quote).
Un segundo tipo de Comercio Electrónico al Detal es el que genera Cotizaciones Automáticas. En este caso se presentan los productos con sus respectivos precios, por lo que al agregarlos al carrito de compra se obtiene el listado de productos deseados con el precio total de los mismos. Esto no necesariamente debe generar un pedido, y los precios a presentar podrán variar de acuerdo al nivel del cliente que debe haber introducido sus datos para poder ubicar su nivel de precios. Los comercios que manejan múltiples niveles de precios lo hacen en función de los volúmenes de compra y la recurrencia en los pedidos de los clientes, a mayor volumen o recurrencia mejor clasificados serán los clientes y por ende tendrán mejores precios.
The third type of Retail Electronic Commerce is one that allows placing Orders. In this case, after placing the products in the shopping cart, the order is generated, which consists of four stages: the first is the registration of customer data, the second is the choice of the address and method of dispatch, the third is the choice of the form of payment (bank deposit, transfer or use of credit cards online) and the fourth is the issuance of the order after being satisfied with the order generated. In this case, after issuing the order, the payment method must be met. If payment by deposit or bank transfer is chosen, you must proceed with the bank procedures to then fill out a payment and / or transfer confirmation form. If the payment is with online credit cards,the transaction is then made through a secure system connected to the bank that will accept or reject the payment immediately. Once the effective payment is verified by the company that owns the Electronic Commerce, it can proceed to its dispatch to the destination desired by the client.
These types of versions of Electronic Commerce in turn can be mixed, that is, leave the catalog without prices for unregistered users (request for quotation) and present the list prices only to registered users themselves (automatic quotation), and prices with volume discounts, accepting orders, to registered users who have been assigned by the company that owns the store.
Something very important is to connect the Electronic Commerce to the Retail with the Administrative System of the company. In this case, the product lists, their categories, the price lists and the customer lists are loaded in batches from the Administrative System to the Electronic Commerce in the early morning hours, while the inventory stocks are consulted in real time (Instantly). In turn, orders and payments are issued from Electronic Commerce to the Administrative System just as they are generated by customers. This may vary according to the Business Rules that apply in each case.
On the other hand, all Retail Electronic Commerce must have a series of characteristics that maximize the potential of sales with each client, among these characteristics are: the management of offers, special discounts per product line, the cross-reference of products ("Whoever bought this product before also bought these others"), the management of option attributes (sizes, colors, etc.), featured products, new products, upcoming products to be launched, related by-products, etc.
Another of the fundamental characteristics is the possibility that the Retail Electronic Commerce generates the complete catalog in PDF format; that is to say, that from the database of the products managed in the online catalog, the document can be generated with a single click in full PDF format with all the products in their respective categories and sub-categories. In this way, Electronic Commerce will have its personalized printed catalog according to the product lines it commercializes without depending on the catalogs of its suppliers, which often do not obtain or present product lines that are not commercialized, thus avoiding confusion. of customers and positioning itself better in front of those customers by having its own catalog.This implies substantial savings in the production of the catalogs compared to the way they are traditionally created.
At the same time, it should be possible that when browsing the details pages of each product, these pages can be generated as separate PDF sheets, so that a customer can print or save only the pages of the products that interest them for Make your purchasing decision in meetings without requiring you to be connected to the Internet.
Finally, if you are the owner, manager or potential entrepreneur of a Retail Business and want to take advantage of the innumerable advantages of having an Electronic Commerce, be sure to select a professional provider that will provide you with all the technological tools that will help you achieve the success that Search for your sales supported on the Internet.
Success for all…
