What is E-Commerce?
E-Commerce can simply be defined as buying and selling goods
and services across the Internet. An e-commerce site can be
as simple as a catalog page with a phone number, or it can range
all the way to a real-time credit card processing site where
customers can purchase goods and have them shipped on the spot.
E-Commerce merchants can range from the small business with
a few items for sale all the way to a large online retailer.
How does an On-Line Store work?
Your customer arrives at the entrance to your store and is
assigned an order number to track their purchases while they
are shopping. Once inside, customers can search for products
typically by category, description, or other parameters defined
in the search criteria. After the search is conducted, a list
of products matching the search criteria is displayed to the
customer. At this point, the customer can enter a quantity
to order, or may select an item and click on a link for detailed
information and photos of the product if made available. The
customer enters the quantity they wish to purchase and clicks
on a button to add the items to their order. The current order
status is displayed allowing customers to change the quantities
or delete items they may not want to purchase. When the customer
has completed shopping, they will "checkout" of
the store. They will be required to enter shipping information,
and then will connect to a Secure Server (SSL) to submit credit
card data in a secure, encrypted manner. Also, applicable
tax and shipping charges can be calculated here.
Once the order is finalized, the customer clicks on a submit
button, and receives an order confirmation via e-mail summarizing
their purchase, with a copy sent to the store owner as notification
of a sale.
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