Some of us might even be more familiar with the nail biting thrill of a shopping spree from the couch  than milling around physical stores for the best deal!From the spam in our inbox to sprawling billboards across highways, we want everything within the click of a mouse or the idle tap on the phone screen.

The digitization of commercial platforms, especially within the context of the pandemic has been the new ‘in’ like never before! Be it beating the Monday blues at 2 AM with an indulgent bite, (courtesy of Zomato) or that wistful wish list on Forever21, we have been explicitly instrumental in the gigantic boom of the Ecommerce scene. however , first we must familiarise ourself anew to a space that has seamlessly transitioned from the digital to the physical.

Electronic Commerce mostly abbreviated as E- commerce or simply ecomm can be defined in the layman’s understanding as a business enterprise that allows companies and individuals to buy and sell goods as well as services  or skill sets over the Internet.

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Types of E-Commerce Apps

Boasting as the biggest consumer of the electronic advancements and the miscellaneous miracles of the microchip, this industry is heavily reliant on factors including mobile commerce, inventory management systems, automated data collection systems, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI)  and so on. E-commerce transactions may involve one or the other or even a combination of the following modes-

1. Business to business (B2B), which is the direct sale of goods and services between businesses or companies. LinkedIn is an excellent instance of integrating the B2B model into social media for building connections and showcasing opportunities.
2. Business to consumer (B2C), which involves sales between businesses and their customers. This mainly covers most of the popular instances of ecommerce like Alibaba, Amazon and so on
3. Consumer to consumer ( C2C), which allows individuals to sell to other individuals, usually through a third-party site like eBay that uses an auction-like platform.
4. Consumer to business (C2B), which lets individuals sell and promote to businesses . An example for this would be a popular blogger recommending a product on their personal social handles and linking the website or the link of the product of the website.

The term e-commerce  was coined and first used by Dr. Robert Jacobson in the California E Commerce Act in the 1980s.

History of E-Commerce Apps

The United States definitely was the pioneer in breaking ground in the ecommerce sector and the Boston Computer Exchange in 1982 served as the first online market for the sale of used computers.

First Successful E-Commerce App in USA

The elephant in the room forging the historical development and the future of any ecommerce platform is eponymously considered to be Amazon – Jeff Bezos’ brainchild that took the world by storm with its advent and revolutionized the ecommerce game as we now know it- accessible, affordable, a one stop solution for almost any and all needs market based.

Facebook rolling out its sponsored stories was a very well received marketing strategy that would soon lead to the plethora of digital marketing and sponsored stories immensely popularised by various social media. Some of the leading game changers for the Indian ecommerce scene are Amazon India with an estimated number of monthly visitors clocking at a whooping  322.54 million and an audience reach of 89%.

First Successful E-Commerce App in India

As the Indian audience primarily leans to an electronic ecommerce market so does Amazon’s primary goods. Flipkart is an indigenous ecommerce success story with a truly magnificent 242.62 million monthly visitors on the website. Both Amazon and Flipkart offer a pretty broad spectrum of goods ranging from electronics to furniture, books, utensils and so much more.

The United States is leading the ecommerce game with their very own Amazon (boasting a  total of 2.73 billion per month) that has in fact gone against the grain by acquiring physical retail outlets too! Yet another  pioneer of e-commerce is eBay, for individuals and for businesses to communicate directly through an online auction platform and shows an impressive stat of 855.82 million users per month. Walmart is also a common household name and in a very Yankee spirit, is the epitome of a gigantic warehouse (468.96 million users per month frequent the website)and the third largest ecommerce website in the States that is definitely worth taking note of.

Amazon maintains its impressive streak as the largest ecommerce website even in the United Kingdom with 220.7 million monthly consumer visits. eBay has a huge number of products that successfully  attracts customers from a variety of different demographics at 146.3 million.

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First Successful E-Commerce App in UK

The UK in fact shows a slightly different consumer behavior with smaller web retails stores also having a niche yet dedicated followers along with the mammoth American  and UK origin ecommerce  companies.

E Commerce is the way to go for any small business that wishes to have an online presence. With the rise of social media influencers and digital marketing, the reach of small businesses can transcend the physical limitations and reach out to a large consumer base. Instead of the arduous bore of marketing messages and email messages that very well may never be explored by the target consumer, the eCommerce business model makes the business more easily accessible with the implementation of Search Engine Optimization and thus increase an online footfall and attract more people to the store. A larger consumer base would ensure an increased revenue and of course, increased revenue for the company. The website can have an easy to navigate, interactive base providing scope for user reviews and greater interaction with the brand that intrinsically brings better customer satisfaction. The costs of the online store are also a lot less than the construction of a physical store which generally presents an attractive offer for a fledgling business looking to seek favor with a dedicated and large customer base with reduced production costs.