Class Exercise 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Commerce Platforms

As every other thing, E-Commerce has both advantages and disadvantages.

(chameleoncollective, 2021)

Advantages of E-Commerce:

Large market which gives businesses and individuals the ability to reach customers around the world.

Lower costs, as businesses do not need to spend money on shops nor real estates or big advertisements such as billboards.

More opportunity for smaller businesses: Small businesses have a large opportunity to grow, as there are many factors that can help. Customers are also clicks away from seeing what a certain website has to offer.

Customer insights via tracking and analytics which helps businesses to track a customer's whole journey and use cookies to help advertise what exactly the customer is looking for.

Orders can be placed from anywhere at anytime: Internet does not sleep. Thus, customers will be ordering anytime from anywhere regardless the time difference between countries.

Proper product description: Customers can find detailed description for the products they are willing to order, which will result on the customer being happy as they found what they need.

Easy to use: Ordering online is not rocket science, it is quite straight forward, and there are unlimited tutorials to help.

Clearly states its policies: A legit website is required to state its policies. This shows that the business is following laws and regulations. Thus, the customer will feel safe and confident when placing an order.

Disadvantages of E-Commerce:

Lack of personal touch: Some customers appreciate and prefer a face to face conversation with sales associates.

Product and price comparison: On the internet, customers have all the time they need to compare products and their prices, which makes businesses compete and reduce their profits.

Requires internet: Obviously since it is a website, customers must have internet in order to place orders.

Payment methods frauds: It is common for a customer to fall as a victim of fraud, this leaves a bad reputation and image on the website.

IT security breaches: If a company's website is not secured, it can lead to hackers easily stealing customers data from the websites database. This will result in legal implications and penalties and also losing customers.

Importance of the website: E-commerce businesses rely solely on their websites, if the website server is down or there are some technology glitches, the customer will just leave and visit a faster website. 

Reference List:

• A Plus Topper. 2022. Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Commerce | What are E-Commerce Advantages and Disadvantages?. [online] Available at: <https://www.aplustopper.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-e-commerce/> [Accessed 20 January 2022]

• chameleoncollective, 2021. https://chameleoncollective.com/hire-an-e-commerce-director-avoid/. [image] Available at: <https://chameleoncollective.com/hire-an-e-commerce-director-avoid/> [Accessed 20 January 2022].