The document discusses several major e-commerce companies and their business models. It begins by defining different types of e-commerce like business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer, and consumer-to-business. It then provides details on the largest e-commerce companies by gross merchandise value including Alibaba, Amazon, JD.com, eBay, Shopify, Rakuten, and Walmart. For each company, it outlines the type of e-commerce they engage in as well as their competitive advantages like logistics networks, exclusive benefits like Prime membership, or platforms that allow small merchants to sell online.
The document discusses several major e-commerce companies and their business models. It begins by defining different types of e-commerce like business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer, and consumer-to-business. It then provides details on the largest e-commerce companies by gross merchandise value including Alibaba, Amazon, JD.com, eBay, Shopify, Rakuten, and Walmart. For each company, it outlines the type of e-commerce they engage in as well as their competitive advantages like logistics networks, exclusive benefits like Prime membership, or platforms that allow small merchants to sell online.
Q1. Enumerate the different companies in e-commerce industry. ANS :- definition, is any transaction of goods and services done over the internet. More colloquially, it refers to buying an item or service online with an electronic payment method, such as a credit or debit card or a digital wallet service. The item could be physical (a vinyl record), digital (an mp3 download), or a service (a music streaming subscription). When talking about e-commerce companies, there's a broad range of businesses involved in making online stores work. Payment networks and digital wallet services ensure payment processing. Shipping and logistics companies make sure packages are delivered. And online stores connect buyers and sellers. For the purposes of this article, we're focusing primarily on online stores. But those stores may operate in any one of the several flavors of e-commerce:
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C): This is the kind of e-commerce that comes to
mind when most people hear the word. B2C e-commerce is when a business sells a good or service to an individual consumer. Some examples of B2C e- commerce operations include Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart's (NYSE:WMT) online stores, JD.com (NASDAQ:JD), and Alibaba's (NYSE:BABA) TMall.
• Business-to-Business (B2B): A business selling a good or service to another
business. This can be done in the form of wholesalers like those found on Alibaba.com. It could also be businesses that offer software-as-a-service to other businesses to help manage their companies. Software-as-a-service is a term used to describe a software product offered to customers on a subscription basis and generally accessible through the internet. • Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): C2C e-commerce businesses create a marketplace to connect buyers and multiple sellers online. eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) originally got its start as an auction clearinghouse for consumers to sell their unwanted items to other consumers, and it's a prime example of C2C e-commerce. Amazon also offers a marketplace for consumers to sell unwanted items, and Alibaba operates similar online marketplaces in China. In the context of this article, consumer-to-consumer e- commerce companies are businesses that merely facilitate e-commerce through their platform.
• Consumer-to-Business (C2B): A consumer-to-business transaction is when a
consumer sells an item to a business. Instead of listing an item on a marketplace like eBay, C2B e-commerce companies buy items directly from consumers. They might then turn around and sell them on an online marketplace. An example would be companies that buy used smartphones, including eBay and Gazelle. • Here's a table of the world's largest e-commerce companies sorted by GMV:
Type(s) of E- Company GMV (TTM) commerce
Alibaba >$768 billion B2B, C2C
Amazon $239 billion B2C, C2C
JD.com $215 billion C2C, B2C
Type(s) of E- Company GMV (TTM) commerce
eBay $93 billion C2C, C2B
Shopify $33 billion C2C
Rakuten >$31 billion B2C
Walmart >$19 billion B2C, C2C
Alibaba's core commerce business also consists of:
enabling small businesses and entrepreneurs to reach individual consumers. Founded in 2003, it's now the world's biggest e-commerce website. It generated $428 billion in gross merchandise volume in Alibaba's fiscal 2017.
• Tmall: A spinoff from Taobao dedicated to business-to-consumer e-commerce in
China. It's the second-largest e-commerce website in the world after Taobao, generating $340 billion in GMV during fiscal 2017.
• AliExpress: Aimed at international shoppers, enabling small businesses in China
to sell to customers all over the world, particularly the U.S., Russia, Brazil, and Spain. Alibaba doesn't report GMV on AliExpress Amazon • Amazon is the largest online retailer in the United States. Amazon started as an online bookstore, but it quickly expanded to all sorts of different verticals, including electronics, fashion, and home goods. • Perhaps its most innovative and successful contribution to online retail is Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime is a subscription service that provides shoppers with unlimited 2-day shipping from Amazon. The company has continually added new benefits such as video and music streaming, exclusive access to certain items, early access to deals, free ebooks, unlimited cloud storage for photos, and more. As a result, Amazon now has over 100 million Prime members worldwide.
JD.com JD.com is very similar to Amazon, but operating in China. The company has built out an unparalleled logistics network with over 500 warehouses and 7,000 delivery stations. Unlike Amazon, though, JD.com operates the entire logistics operation itself, not handing off packages to third parties for last-mile delivery. That enables JD.com to ship 90% of orders to customers by the next day. Amazon is notably investing in its own delivery network. JD operates a first-party retail segment just like Amazon's, but it also partners with international brands, including Wal-Mart, to help them reach Chinese consumers. JD operates more like an online mall in that way than a centralized retailer. Wal- Mart is notably a 5% stakeholder in JD.com after the American company sold its Chinese online store, Yihaodian, to JD.com in 2016 eBay eBay started as an online auction house in the 90s for people to sell collectibles and used goods to one another. Today, 80% of items sold on the platform are new, and 89% of items are sold at a fixed price. eBay is taking steps to make its platform look and operate more like Amazon. It's encouraging sellers to offer free guaranteed 3-day shipping. It's combining product listings from sellers with the same item, enabling consumers to find the best price more easily. It also launched a Best Price Guarantee, offering customers a 110% rebate on the difference between an item they bought on eBay and an identical listing on a competitors' website. eBay is operating more and more like a business- to-consumer retailer instead of a marketplace for other businesses.
Shopify Shopify is very different than the other companies mentioned in this article. Instead of operating its own centralized marketplace, Shopify provides a platform for small merchants to sell items on their own websites and on other third-party marketplaces including Amazon and eBay. At the core of its business, Shopify provides an easy way to manage a retail business from one central location, tracking sales and inventory, helping fulfill orders, and helping customers create their own websites.
Rakuten Rakuten is very similar to JD.com and Amazon. The Japanese e-commerce company operates an online mall for big brands in Japan, but it also owns several e-commerce operations in other countries, including the U.S., France, Brazil, and the U.K., which are more unbranded marketplaces like Tmall, eBay, or Walmart's marketplace. Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is the world's largest brick-and-mortar retailer, generating revenue of nearly half a trillion dollars per year. But just a small portion of that revenue comes from online sales. The company has been investing heavily in e-commerce over the past few years. It acquired Jet.com in 2016 along with a string of small U.S.-based e-commerce companies. It's also rapidly expanding its online grocery operations following Amazon's big push into groceries in 2017. As a result, Walmart has seen strong online sales growth over the past couple of years. It generated $11.5 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2017, and it expects to hit 40% online sales growth this year.
Q2. What are their competitive advantages? Explain with suitable
examples.
ANS :- ecommerce has changed the face of business. If you have an eCommerce business, you need to know your weapons. You need to nourish it properly to reap the benefits. Anything sells on the internet but you do need to make sure that you are promoting your brand or business in the right way. There is so much competition that businesses with zero marketing will not make the cut.
1. Pick a specific niche & target audience
People are becoming more and more dependent on technology and exploring more possibilities of the internet. As a result, they are getting used to online shopping instead of physically getting up and going to a shop. This made their life easier as it should have, especially for people who tend to be busy with their jobs and household chores. This includes people who have a 9 to 5 job, moms, double shifters, startup entrepreneurs, and elderly people who don’t feel like going out for small things. And also, teenagers are already into doing things online.
2. Personalize your website
Since you got your niche selected, it’s time to personalize your website based on your niche and your target audience. This ease-of-use also comes with device compatibility. If a website is not compatible with a certain device that your visitor is accessing your website with, the person might not find the contents in places where you’d want them to find. That’s why it is important that your website is compatible with all devices including mobile, PC, tablet, etc.
3. Prepare the right content
Whatever your niche may be, one thing that is true for every niche is content really matters. Also, implementing SEO friendly keywords is important for your website. Otherwise, your contents won’t be able to bring traffic to your sites. So, remember these three things when producing content for your site. Quality, relevancy, and SEO optimization.
4. Go beyond your website – Use different channels to showcase your brand
Internet not only brought people closer. It brought everything in your reach so that you don’t miss out on any opportunities. One of such opportunities that an eCommerce store owner should not miss is utilizing social media and other channels to promote and showcase the brand.
5. Create new partnerships
6. Interact with your customers
7. Use social media as your weapon
Social media is the most powerful platform today. You will get to identify all your potential customers by peeking into their personal lives. You will get to see their interests and habits.
Examples of Competitive Advantage
1. Access to natural resources that are restricted to competitors 2. Highly skilled labor 3. A unique geographic location 4. Access to new or proprietary technology 5. Ability to manufacture products at the lowest cost 6. Brand image recognition Q3. Discuss the market share maintenance strategies applied by the e-commerce industry ANS:- These are the ecommerce marketing strategies 1. Content Marketing No matter whether you’re ooh-ing over the latest BuzzFeed post, laughing at a GIF you found on Twitter, or seriously contemplating about your life after a mind-blowing personal development article, the Internet IS content. 2. Referral Marketing One of the most powerful (yet underrated) eCommerce marketing strategies is referral marketing (also known as word-of-mouth marketing). The reason is simple – we’re all social creatures, and we love sharing our experiences with our family and friends. It benefits us too – we help each other avoid bad experiences, and encourage each other to support places that provide an excellent experience. That also means, whether you like or not, people are going to share about you with their friends. Wouldn’t you prefer that sharing be something positive about your brand and product? 3. Email Marketing Who still reads emails? Everyone. Despite the popularity of social media and chat apps, email remains the #1 communication channel for many. 91% of consumers check their email daily. The global retail e-commerce market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period, favoured by growing digital dependency and convenient online shopping channels. E-commerce evolved amid a busy lifestyle and a plethora of options available to shop from the comfort of home. Convenience is the major factor driving the overall online shopping market growth. Moreover, lower prices compared to brick-and-mortar retail stores further attracted price-conscious customers to browse online. Customers can find their interested products by visiting the website and gain additional insights on various products.
E-Commerce Market growing at a rate of about 17% in 2018-19. As per the
Economic Survey 2017-18, the electronic commerce (eCommerce) market in India is estimated at US$ 33 billion, with a 19.1% growth rate in 2016-17. As per the Economic Survey 2017-18, the electronic commerce (e-commerce) market in India is estimated at US$ 33 billion, with a 19.1% growth rate in 2016-17. As per the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) Strategic Review 2018, in the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector in India, the Indian e-commerce market was US$ 33 billion in 2017-18 and reached US$ 38.5 billion, growing at a rate of about 17% in the financial year 2018-19. As per extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, FDI up to 100% is permitted under automatic route in companies engaged in e-commerce provided that such company engaged only in Business to Business (B2B) e-commerce. Further, 100% FDI under automatic route is permitted in the marketplace model of e-commerce but FDI is not permitted in inventory-based model of e-commerce. Moreover, an entity is permitted to undertake retail trading through e-commerce.
