Free E-Commerce Platforms – What Are the Disadvantages?
E-commerce can be regarded as a means of using the internet as a medium of online business transactions. The internet is creating a lot of momentum and the world is becoming digital-crazy. This make is very important for us to emphasize the various types of e-commerce or e-business.
E-commerce can be grouped into five major classes or platforms.
1. Business-To-Consumer: Otherwise known as the acronym B2C, this is the commonest part of e-commerce which involves both businesses and their consumers. When it initially sprang up, it didn’t really affect the market. After the year 1995, it witnessed an increase in growth. The basic rule guiding B2C is that retailers sell their stuffs to consumers via special tools used for marketing in an online community.
2. Business-To-Business: This is also called B2B and is the largest form e-commerce has ever witnessed. This class generates up to hundreds of billions of dollars. In this case, there are only sellers and buyers; and no room for consumers. If you know how a manufacturing company distributes their products to wholesalers, then you have an idea of what I am saying. Take for example, Dell, which purchases computer products from various business enterprises like Microsoft and eventually sells them.
3. Consumer-To-Consumer: The acronym for this class of e-commerce is known as C2C. C2C enhances transaction of business products between groups of just two persons online. A visible middle-man does not exist in this case. Such a free platform is very disadvantageous because both parties cannot carry out online transactions.
4. Peer-To-Peer: Also known as P2; it is not only an e-commerce platform. It involves a process by which people can share files and resources directly without the need of a central server. Using this platform requires that both parties install the necessary software required for communication. This is a free platform that shouldn’t be used for e-commerce website design and development because it generates low revenue.
5. M-commerce: This involves the use of mobile devices in transacting online business. Users of such mobile devices can comfortably complete any business transacting after contacting each other. The websites can also be properly viewed on these devices. The disadvantage of M-commerce is that is requires more time to complete because to the discomfort that can arise due to prolonged use.
There many more types of platforms used in the e-commerce business. We have the like of Government to Business; otherwise known; Government to Citizen, also known as G2C and the last but not the least Business to Employee, which can also be called B2E. There are no difference between these platforms and the ones I explained above. Free e-commerce platforms need not be implemented wholeheartedly in online businesses. A corporate web design consulting firm will tell you that your only business only needs just one of them. So it will pay off if you don’t consider going for the free ones.