What is Ecommerce? Electric commerce: the conducting of business communication and transactions over networks and through computers. Specifically, ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, and the transfer of funds, through digital communications with no barriers of time or distance. Any time of the day or night, you can go online and buy almost anything you want. E-commerce is the beginning of building your global image by launching your company's products to billions of near and far customers without the need of new stores, additional employees. How Ecommerce works? The consumer moves through the internet to the merchant's web site. From there, he decides that he wants to purchase something, so he is moved to the online transaction server, where all of the information he gives is encrypted. Once he has placed his order, the information moves through a private gateway to a Processing Network, where the issuing and acquiring banks complete or deny the transaction. This generally takes place in no more than 5-7 seconds. There are many different payment systems available to accommodate the varied processing needs of merchants, from those who have a few orders a day to those who process thousands of transactions daily. With the addition of Secure Socket Layer technology, eCommerce is also a very safe way to complete transactions. Benefits of Ecommerce? Expand Geographical Reach The most apparent benefit of eCommerce is the ability to acquire customers across the country and around the world. Expand Customer Base By providing your customers another purchase channel, your business can attract and retain customers that may have never purchased from you. Increase Visibility Consumers are increasingly searching for information on the internet prior to making a purchase. Make your business available to them with the help of ecommerce solution. Provide Customers valuable information about your business Easy to find contact information, store hours, product information, and answers to common questions all add to creating a positive customer experience. Never Close Yes, your customers can purchase products from you at 3:00 AM when you are asleep due to ecommerce solution. Build Customer Loyalty Ecommerce solution can provide the means to create an effective, automated customer retention program. Reduction of Marketing and Advertising Costs Internet marketing can be highly targeted to your specific customer; it is more effective and provides a higher return on investment than traditional media advertising. Collection of Customer Data eCommerce by the very nature of the transactions automatically collects valuable customer data and relates purchases to that customer. You can leverage this information to increase future sales from your customers.