Electronic business refers to the buying and selling of goods and services performed electronically over the Internet. The process can include businesses selling to each other, businesses selling to consumers, or even consumers selling to other consumers. Most commonly, websites are set up by businesses advertising their products and services and allowing consumers to make purchase right over the Internet. Technological advances on the Internet have allowed electronic business, also known as e-business, to reach such a high level that very few companies can compete without some sort of attempt to conduct e-business themselves.
The growth of the Internet has occurred at such a rapid pace that it now affects just about every aspect of modern life. It makes sense then that the way people do business has been forever altered by the Internet and its many applications. Except perhaps at a local level, it is unlikely for a modern business to be successful by ignoring the worldwide web. As that is the case, most companies now devote a great deal of their focus to conducting electronic business.
For consumers, electronic business has been a very valuable advance because it allows them a great deal of convenience. Simply by having a computer with an Internet connection, an individual can conceivably do most of the major tasks associated with daily life, like paying bills or buying necessary items or transferring money, with just a few clicks on the computer mouse. Improved measures afforded by technological advances allow ordinary people to do these things with a much greater sense of security than in the past.
Modern businesses often devote much of their marketing efforts to their websites and other online applications because practically every step of a business transaction can be done online. Whether making a sale to a consumer or providing a service online to another business, the payment can be received and the delivery of the product can be made without any physical meeting of the parties involved. Electronic business may lack in the trust gained from human interaction, but the convenience of the process is undeniable.
Consumers can also conduct electronic business among themselves via auction and classified websites, as one consumer offers up a product and another connects to make the purchase. E-business has also branched out beyond computers, and highly advanced devices like cell phones provide limitless possibilities for business applications. Such technology allows businesses to reach consumers wherever they are at any time, a benefit that is invaluable in the competitive business world.
