Ecommerce

E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products

on online services or over the Internet. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as
mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing,
online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems,
and automated data collection systems. E-commerce is in turn driven by the technological
advances of the semiconductor industry, and is the largest sector of the electronics industry.

Ecommerce, or electronic commerce, refers to transactions conducted via the internet. Every
time individuals and companies are buying or selling products and services online they’re
engaging in ecommerce. The term ecommerce also encompasses other activities including online
auctions, internet banking, payment gateways, and online ticketing.
1971 or 1972: The ARPANET is used to arrange a cannabis sale between students at the Stanford
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

The first ecommerce transaction was made in 1994. A guy named Phil Brandenberger used his
Mastercard to buy Sting’s Ten Summoners’ Tales via the internet for $12.48
The rise of ecommerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba in the mid -1990s changed the face of the
retail industry.
The most imThe most important ecommerce statistics portant ecommerce statistics 
 experts predict that retail ecommerce sales will reach $4.13 trillion in 2020

It is expected that by 2040, 95% of all purchases will be via ecommerce

The world’s fastest-growing ecommerce market is China with an estimated ecommerce   value of
$672 billion in 2017
The world’s fastest-growing ecommerce market is China with an estimated ecommerce value of
$672 billion in 2017
It is expected that mobile ecommerce retail sales will reach $3.5 trillion by 2021
•
Eighty-one percent of shoppers research their product online before purchasing.
• Sixty percent begin their search for their products using a search engine
• 61 percent will read product reviews before making any purchase.
• On average, an online shopper  will visit 3 websites before making their purchase.
• Retail Sales from shopping online predicted to grow to $370 billion in 2017
• In 2013 57% of Irish Internet users shopped online. This figure has increased steadily since
then.
• 71% of online shoppers believe that will get better value than shopping in the high street.
• Mobile ecommerce was up 35% for the first quarter of 2014,compared to the previous year.
This includes purchases made on both mobile phones (8.2% of total) and tablets (10.3% of
total).
• Mobile Phone add to cart and conversion rates are much lower than Desktop Computers
• 27% of UK online sales  in 2014 were made using via a tablet device
• 33% of UK online sales take place in the evening  after 6pm
• 47% of all online orders include free shipping
• Visitors are more likely to abandon their shopping cart if free shipping is not offered.
• 51% of people who did not complete a purchase on a mobile device stopped because they did
not feel comfortable entering their credit card details
• Which device a visitor uses makes a huge difference to conversion rates:
• Desktop is 3.11%, Tablet is 2.59% and Smartphone is 1.01% of concersions in the Fourth
Quater of 2013
• 60% of Irish Shoppers who added an item to their shopping cart completed the sale.
• Shoppers aged 18 to 34, spend more money online than other age groups.
• Irish People spend €8.5 million a day online on websites in other countries
• 95% percent of tablet users and 72 percent of smartphone users who make a purchase do so
at home.
• 46% of mobile users say they are less likely to comparison shop when using an app.
• Multi-step forms in WordPress can lead to 300% more conversions. (Venture Harbour)
• The eCommerce industry is growing 23% year-over-year, yet 46% of American small
businesses still don’t have a website. (BigCommerce)
• Globally, credit cards are the preferred method of payment, being used in 53% of transactions,
followed by digital payment systems (43%), and debit cards (38%). (Kinsta)
• 68% of small businesses don’t have a structured or documented conversion rate optimization
(CRO) strategy. (State of Conversion Optimization Report)
• Mobile shopping hit $2 billion for the first time on Cyber Monday in 2017. (Practical
eCommerce)
• 69% of B2B businesses say they expect to stop printing catalogs within 5 years. (B2XPartners)
• Amazon is making an AI-based, real-time product recommendation engine available to sellers
who use the AWS console. (Absolunet)
• 32% of online shoppers own at least one connected home device. (UPS)
• Only 2.86% of eCommerce website visits convert into a purchase. (Invesp)
• In the US, 2 in 5 consumers (41%) receive 1-2 packages from Amazon per week and that
number jumps to 50% for consumers ages 18-25, and 57% for consumers ages 26-35. (Walker
Sands)
• The #1 reason people shop online is that they’re able to shop at all hours of the day. (KPMG)
• In the last year, businesses have lost $756 billion because of poor eCommerce personalization.
(OptinMonster)
• 6 out of 10 American shoppers use self-service tools for their concerns including websites
(24%), mobile apps (14%), voice response systems and VoIP (13%) or online live chat (12%).
(Amex)
• Globally, 57% of online shoppers buy from retailers who are overseas. (Nielsen)
• 61% of online consumers in the United States have made a purchase based on
recommendations from a blog. (Content Marketing Institute)
• 59% of Millennials will go to Amazon first when online shopping, making the giant online
retailer one of your biggest competitors. (Inviqa)
• By the year 2040, it’s estimated that 95% of all purchases will be through eCommerce.
(Nasdaq)
• In 2017, Amazon accounted for 44% of all US eCommerce sales. (CNBC)
• 55% of online shoppers tell friends and family when dissatisfied with a product or company.
(UPS)
• 93.5% of global internet users have purchased products online. (OptinMonster)
• Around 50% of people say they’d purchase something from a website’s chatbot using
conversational marketing. (Drift)
• 76% of people prefer to go to a physical store for holiday shopping. (GeoMarketing)
 Types of ecommerce businesses
1. Stores that sell physical goods
2. Service-based e-tailers
3. Digital products

Classifying ecommerce according to the parties involved

1. Business to consumer (B2C) 
2. 2. Business to business (B2B)
In the B2B ecommerce model both parties involved are businesses. In this type of a
transaction, one business provides the other with products and/or services.
Slack, a platform for communication between remote businesses, and Xero, a cloud-based
accounting software for businesses, are examples of B2B companies.
 3. Consumer to business (C2B)
The C2B business model represents a transaction in which individuals create value for
businesses, unlike the traditional business-to-consumer model where companies are the ones
that deliver value. Consumers provide companies with products and/or services, co-operate on
projects, and ultimately help businesses increase their profits.

Freelancer, a freelance platform that connects remote workers and companies, is an example of
a company that brings two parties to engage in C2B transactions
4. Consumer to consumer (C2C)
C2C ecommerce happens when the two parties involved are consumers that trade with one
another. eBay and Craigslist are examples of online marketplaces where individuals buy and sell
products to each other.

5. Government to business (G2B)

The G2B ecommerce models happen when the government provides companies with goods and
services. Government procurement, data centres, and e-learning are all examples of G2B
ecommerce.

6. Business to government (B2G)

The B2G model refers to companies and businesses that provide goods and services for the
government. For example, OpenGov is a company that offers governments cloud-based
platforms for communication, reporting, and budgeting.
 7. Consumer to government (C2G)
Every time consumers pay taxes, health insurance, electronic bills, or request information
concerning the public sector, they’re engaging in C2G.

Make note that we’ve included all these sections to give you a general idea of ecommerce
classification, although models like G2C or C2G are part of ecommerce only in its loosest
definition. 80% of the time, when we’re talking about ecommerce, we’re talking about the B2C
or the B2B model
 AMAZON
Founded in the US in 1994, Amazon started as an online bookstore that later diversified to
products including media, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. Having
expanded to many countries, including the UK, Amazon has become the uncontested global
leader of e-commerce with the world’s largest sales and profits. It develops further into brick-
and-mortar retail with the acquisition of Whole Foods Market, as well as in publishing,
electronics, cloud computing, video streaming, and a number of other businesses.

Website: amazon.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 2.012 Billion visits

 EBAY
A pioneer of e-commerce, eBay is an online marketplace that allows people and businesses to
sell directly through its online auction platform. Founded in 1995, eBay has expanded to more
than 20 countries, organizing the sale of products ranging from cars and vehicles to electronics
and fashion, home and garden to sports and toys, and even business and industrial products.

Website: ebay.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 746.5 Million visits

 WALLMART
Walmart is the world’s largest retail corporation, operating hypermarkets, department stores,
and grocery stores. A leader in the United States, it is also engaged in Canada, Mexico and a
number of other countries through subsidiaries. Its online shop sells a diversified range of
products, from food to electronics, from fashion to pharmacy, from home equipment to auto-
parts.

Website: walmart.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 294.5 Million visits

 ETSAY
Etsy is a marketplace focusing on handmade or vintage products and unique factory-
manufactured items. It enables people and companies to sell directly to the website’s users a
wide range of art and photography products, clothing and accessories, food, bath and beauty
products, toys and diverse other items.

Website: etsy.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 222.5 Million visits

 Home Depot
Home Depot is the largest hardware and home improvement supplies retailing company in the
United States, with more than 2,200 stores throughout the country. In its brick-and-mortar shops
and online store, Home Depot sells tools, construction products, home and garden equipment
furniture and associated services. Home Depot also operates in Canada and Mexico.

Website: homedepot.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 129.5 Million visits

 6 TARGET
The second-largest department store retailer behind Walmart, Target operates more than 1,800
stores throughout the United States. Also proposing a diversified online store, Target sells
products ranging from fashion to home decoration and furniture, from groceries to electronics
and hygiene products.

Website: target.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 128 Million visit

 7 BESTBUY
Best Buy is a leading retailer specialized in consumer electronics, computers, appliances, cell
phones, video games, tech and gadgets in the United States, also operating in Canada and
Mexico, and China through a subsidiary. Having developed its e-commerce shop, Best Buy sells
its electronics and home appliances online to American digital customers.

Website: bestbuy.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 92.4 Million visits

 8 wayfair
Wayfair is an e-commerce company specialized in furniture and home-goods. Founded in 2002 as
CSN Stores, Wayfair provides an open marketplace where more than 10,000 global suppliers sell
millions of products directly to digital customers. To support its digital activities, Wayfair has
developed offices and warehouses throughout the United States, and it has also expanded its
operations abroad in Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Website: wayfair.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 77.7 Million visits

 9. Macy’s
9. Macy’s
Macy’s is a leading department store chain in the United States with products ranging from
women and men fashion, accessories and children clothes, as well as home and decoration
products. Having also launched its online shop to sell products to digital customers, Macy’s also
ships its products to more than 200 locations worldwide.

Website: macys.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 74.9 Million visits

 10 lowes
Lowe’s is the second-largest home improvement and hardware chain in the United States, with
more than 2,000 stores throughout the country. Besides its brick-and-mortar locations, Lowe’s
also sells a wide range of construction materials, home and garden equipment, furniture and
tools online through its own e-commerce platform.

Website: lowes.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 70 Million visits