E-COMMERCE AND THE FUTURE OF MODERN BUSINESS

BY
ALLE GAYATRI DASHRATH
TYBMS A
Department Of Lifelong Learning & Extension
Of
Bunts Sangha Mumbai
Anna Leela College Of Commerce And Economics &
Shobha Jayaram Shetty College For BMS
Shashi Manmohan Shetty Higher Education Complex,
Buntara Bhavan Marg,Kurla(E), Mumbai 400024
1 INTRODUCTION
2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF E-COMMERCE
3 FUTURE OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA
4 INDIA’S PROSPECTS IN E-COMMERCE
5 RESEARCH
6 CONCLUSION
7 REFERENCE’S

INDEX
 INTRODUCTION

The E-commerce Industry in India has come a long way since its early days. The market has
matured and new players have entered the market space. In the present dynamic scenario,
ecommerce market in the B2C space is growing in demand as well as in the array of services.
The transition to online purchasing from traditional purchasing is taking a long time in the
Indian market. E commerce includes not only buying and selling goods over Internet, but
also various business processes within individual organizations that support the goal. As with
ecommerce, e-business (electronic business) also has a number of different definitions and
is used in a number of different contexts.

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS : Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a wide

range of online business activities for products and services. It also pertains to “any form of
business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather than by physical
exchanges or direct physical contact.” A more complete definition is: E-commerce is the use
of electronic communications and digital information processing technology in business
transactions to create, transform, and redefine relationships for value creation between or
among organizations, and between organizations and individuals. DIFFERENT TYPE OF E-
COMMERCE: The major different types of e-commerce are: business-to-business (B2B);
business to- consumer (B2C); business-to-government (B2G); consumer-to-consumer (C2C);
and mobile commerce (m-commerce)
  DIFFERENT TYPE OF E-COMMERCE :

 Business-to-Business (B2B)
 Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
 Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
 Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
 Business-to-Administration (B2A)
 Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)

E-COMMERCE IN INDIA For developing countries like India, e-commerce offers considerable
opportunity. Ecommerce in India is still in growing stage, but even the most-pessimistic projections
indicate a boom. It is believed that low cost of personal computers, a growing installed base for
Internet use, and an increasingly competitive Internet Service Provider (ISP) market will help fuel e-
commerce growth in Asia’s second most populous nation. The first e-commerce site in India was
rediff.com. It was one of the most trafficked portals for both Indian and non-residents Indians. It
provided a wealth of Indian-related business news a reach engine, e-commerce and web solution
services. The past 2 years have seen a rise in the number of companies enabling e-commerce
technologies and the internet in India. Major Indian portal sites have also shifted towards e-
commerce instead of depending on advertising revenues. The web communities built around these
portal sites with content have been effectively targeted to sell everything from event and mouse
tickets the grocery and computers. The major in this service being Rediff.com and the net and India
plaza with started a shopping section after In spite of RBI regulation low internet usage e-commerce
sites have popped up everywhere hawking things like groceries, bakery items, gifts, books, audio and
video cassettes, computer etc. none of the major players have been deterred by the low PC
penetration and credit card.

Business-to-Business (B2B)
A B2B model of business involves the conduct of trade between two or more
businesses/companies. The channels of such trade generally include conventional
wholesalers and producers who are dealing with retailers.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Business-to-Consumer model of business deals with the retail aspects of e-commerce, i.e.
the sale of goods and/or services to the end consumer through digital means. The facility,
which has taken the business world by storm, enables the consumer to have a detailed look
at their proposed procurements before placing an order. After the placement of such
orders, the company/agent receiving the order will then deliver the same to the consumer
in a convenient time-span. Some of the businesses operating in this channel include well-
known players like Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
This mode of purchase has proved to be beneficial to the consumers when compared to the
traditional method, as they are endowed with access to helpful contents which may guide
their purchases appropriately.

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
This business model is leveraged by a consumer for selling used goods and/or services to
other consumers through the digital medium. The transactions here are pursued through a
platform provided by a third party, the likes of which include OLX, Quickr, etc.

Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
A C2B model is the exact reversal of a B2C model. While the latter is serviced to the
consumer by a business, the C2B model provides the end consumers with an opportunity to
sell their products/services to companies. The method is popular in crowdsourcing based
projects, the nature of which typically includes logo designing, sale of royalty-free
photographs/media/design elements, and so on and so forth.

Note – the term ‘crowdsourcing’ was coined in the year 2005 as a sourcing model that facilities
individuals/organizations to obtain goods/services from internet users.

Business-to-Administration (B2A)
This model enables online dealings between companies and public administration, i.e. the
Government by enabling the exchange of information through central websites. It provides
businesses with a platform to bid on government opportunities such as auctions, tenders,
application submission, etc. The scope of this model is now enhanced, thanks to the
investments made towards e-government.

Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)
The C2A platform is meant for consumers, who may use it for requesting information or
posting feedbacks concerning public sectors directly to the government
authorities/administration. Its areas of applicability include:

 The dissemination of information.

 Distance learning.
 Remittance of statutory payments.
 Filing of tax returns.
 Seeking appointments, information about illnesses, payment of health services, etc.
 FUTURE OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA:
India is developing rapidly and if development is to be measured, how can we ignore the role of e
commerce in it. The internet user base in India might still be a mere 100 million which is much less
when compared to its penetration in the US or UK but it's surely expanding at an alarming rate. The
number of new entrants in this sphere is escalating daily and with growth rate reaching its zenith it
can be presumed that in years to come, customary retailers will feel the need to switch to online
business. Insights into increasing demand for broadband services, rising standards of living,
availability of wider product ranges, reduced prices and busy lifestyles reveal this fact more
prominently thereby giving way to online deals on gift vouchers. Going by the statistics, the E
commerce market in India was worth about $2.5 billion in 2009. It rose to $8.5 billion by 2011 thus
depicting a definite surge in the last two years. According to a statement released by the Internet and
Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), these figures would reach up to $12 billion by 2012! To
understand this scenario, we can divide E-commerce into three broad categories which include
physical services, physical goods and virtual goods. Another category that is gradually making its
mark is the local commerce (couponing, yellow pages, classifieds etc.) which offers significant
overlaps with E-commerce. The 1st category of physical services is definitely the major contributor
which includes travel ticketing, jobs, matrimonial and event management websites with travel sites
accounting for 75% of all E-commerce industries! It provides attractive deals too. The 2nd category of
physical goods is the one currently gaining considerable attention, thanks to the hype created by new
startups/stores being launched daily. Leaders in this division are Flipkart, Infibeam, Homeshop18,
Indiatimes, Naaptol, Letsbuy etc. each of which offers everything from mobile phones to pet food.

The 3rd and final category of virtual goods and gift vouchers like online music, software's, movies,
games, Taj Hotel gift vouchers, Reebok gift vouchers, Pizza Hut gift vouchers etc. have been relatively
lagging behind in India as compared to Europe and America, primarily due to piracy concerns and the
social perspective of Indians. But the scenario is expected to change with the digital downloads
segment expected to grow in the Indian Ecommerce market due to the explosion of mobile devices
and the services available over the Internet at special discounts. Certain unique attributes of the E-
commerce industry in India such as cash on delivery mode of payment and direct imports that lower
costs considerably are probably going to bring about a speedy growth in this industry in years to
come. According to the latest research by Forrester, a leading global research and advisory firm, the
e-commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a CAGR of
over 57% between 2012-16. The report, titled “Asia Pacific Online Retail Forecast, 2011 To 2016,” has
been issued by Forrester Research Inc. Analyst Zia Daniell Wigder, with Steven Noble, Vikram Sehgal
and Lily Varon.

COUNTRY SALES IN $ BINNION

2012 2016
INDIA 1.6 8.8
AUSTRAILA 23.2 35.4
JAPAN 63.9 97.6
CHINA 169.4 356.1
E-commerce in India to explode in 2012, Indian e-shoppers will have a good time getting great deals
and services online. A recent pan-India report released by Com Score Inc reveals that online
shopping in India has touched a growth rate of 18 per cent and is only likely to grow further. The
report found that nearly 60 per cent of citizens in India visited a retail site in November 2011, with
the number of online shoppers increasing by 18 per cent in the past year. E-commerce can became
an integral part of sales strategy while it is one of the cheapest medium to reach out the new
markets, if implemented successfully, it offer a smart way of expansion & doing e-commerce
attribute to the successful implementation to carefully understanding the products & services,
customers and the business process, easy -to-use system to extend the business on the web. A new
report by the Boston Consulting Group says online retail in India could be a $84- billion industry by
2016 — more than 10 times its worth in 2010 — and will account for 4.5 per cent of total retail. The
e-commerce platforms maximize its reach to the potential customers and provide them with a
convenient, satisfying & secure shopping experience. Segments that recorded growth Online
channels are playing an important role of connecting with consumers of unexplored markets. The
journey of online spending that started with an increasing number of buyers of travel and holiday
plans in the last decade has now extended to an increase in spends on household appliances and
luxury products. While segments like apparel and luxury products have registered unprecedented
growth in 2011, jewellery, electronic appliances and hardware products have shown promising
growth trends as well. “Indian consumers are showing greater appetite to transact online, fuelling
the e-commerce boom,” said Anuj Kumar, CEO, Affle. The report also found that coupon sites are
rapidly gaining popularity, with 16.5 per cent of the Indian online population visiting the category in
November 2011 – 27.2 million online users in India aged 15 and older accessed the retail category
from a home or work computer, an increase of 18 per cent from the previous year, as consumers
continue to turn to the web to shop for and purchase items and retailers continue to increase their
online visibility through active marketing campaigns. Increase in shoppers of the coupon sites
indicate that pricing is playing the role of catalyst in bringing more and more shoppers online. Many
of these shoppers have shown affinity towards affordable online goods, which was priced lesser than
the market price. Some of the largest retail subcategories revealed that coupons category was the
largest with 7.6 million visitors as consumers rapidly adopt daily deal sites. Consumer electronics
ranked next with 7.1 million visitors, growing at 12 per cent over the previous year, while 5.8 million
online users visited comparison shopping sites, an increase of 25 per cent from the previous year.
 INDIA’s PROSPECTS IN E-COMMERCE:
1. OPPORTUNITY FOR RETAILERS: A retailer can save his existence by linking his business
with the on-line distribution. By doing so, they can make available much additional information
about various things to the consumers, meet electronic orders and be in touch with the consumers
all the time. Therefore, E-Commerce is a good opportunity. 2. OPPORTUNITY FOR WHOLE
SALERS/DISTRIBUTER: In the world of Ecommerce the existence of the wholesalers is at the greatest
risk because the producer can easily ignore them and sell their goods to the retailers and the
consumers. In such a situation those wholesalers can take advantage of E-Commerce who are
capable of establishing contractors with reputed producers and linking their business with the on-
line. 3. OPPORTUNITY FOR PRODUCERS: Producers can take advantages of e-commerce by linking
themselves with on-line, by giving better information about their products to the other links in the
business chain and by a having a brand identity. 4. OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE: As more people are
getting linked with E-commerce, the demand for centre providing internet facility or cyber cafe is also
increasing. Hence, the people who wish to take advantage of it can establish cyber and have their
benefits.

Essential factors for growth of E-Commerce in India:  Customer convenience: By providing Cash on
delivery payment option service to customers.  Replacement guarantee: Should be Offers 30 day
replacement guarantee to their customers.  Reach: Enabling mobile-capable sites and supporting
M-Commerce services.  Location based services: Since customers these days are always on the
move, promoting the right product at the right time and location becomes an integral aspect 
Multiple payment option: standard credit cards, debit cards and bank payments option should be
there.  Right content: Getting the right content and targeting customers with crisp and relevant
information is of utmost importance to users on the move.

International Journal of Computing & Business Research:

 Price comparison: Providers offering instant price comparison are highly popular amongst the price
conscious customers.

 Shipment option: Low-cost shipment should be there. The convenience of collecting orders post
work while returning home should be there.

 Logistical challenges: In India, the geographical spread throws logistical challenges. The kind of
products being offered by providers should determine the logistics planning.

 Legal challenges: There should be legal requirement of generating invoices for online transactions.

 Quick Service: Timely service provided by the company

.  Terms and condition: T & C should be clear & realistic

.  Quality: The product quality should be same as shown on the portal.

 Customer care centre: A dedicated 24/7 customer care centre should be there
EXPERTS VIEW ABOUT FUTURE GROWTH OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA:

Leading e-commerce portals in the country include Flipkart.com, Futurebazaar.com, Ebay.in,

Homeshop18.com, Snapdeal.com, Indiaplaza.com, Starcj.com, Amazon.com, Fashionandyou.com,
Rediffshopping.com., inkfruit.com, myntra.com, futurebazaar.com, yebhi.com, zoomin.com and
hushbabies.com. Internet on mobile phones and e-commerce are set to lead the trend in the IT
sector, Google India MD Rajan Anandan saidon June 2012. Speaking at the 13th annual Confluence at
the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) here, Anandan identified trends such as
mobile internet, social networking, ecommerce and internet video as being the most important
trends for any technology company to take advantage of. "We have seen 80-90 per cent growth in
traffic month-on-month over the last three quarters. We have been gradually increasing the pace of
hiring and over the next six months, we will add about 500 people," Snapdeal Chief Executive
Director Kunal Behl said. "With the growing e-commerce industry in the country and major
international players entering the market, the number of job offers would certainly look up," e-
commerce firm Homeshop18.com CEO and founder Sundeep Malhotra said.

The online retail segment is expected to report strong growth in the coming years owing to growing
Internet consumer base thanks to increasing use of smartphones, laptops/PCs and availability of
Internet in the remotest part of the country. "e-commerce space is a booming space as Internet
audience are likely to double in the next two-three years and this industry will require talent from
various sectors like technology, product, analytics, sourcing, general management talent,
merchandising and marketing," online retailer Fashionandyou.com co-founder and CEO Pearl Uppal
said. Another e-commerce player HomeShop18.com has grown by over 70 per cent in headcount
terms in 2011 over the last year and is further poised to grow by a similar percentage this year,
including an augmentation of the technology team. Meanwhile, the e-commerce sector is fast hiring
the best talent available in the country and this placement season saw e-commerce companies
recruiting big numbers at premier institutions like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and
Indian Institute of Technology (IITs). According to a report by industry body Assocham, online retail
segment is likely to be worth Rs 7,000 crore by 2015 due to rising broadband availability and
increasing Internet penetration, from the Rs 2,000 crore at present. It is growing at an annual rate of
35 per cent.
LIMITATIONS OF E-COMMERCE Technical Limitation  Lack of universally accepted
standards for quality, security, and reliability.  Insufficient telecommunications bandwidth.  Still-
evolving software development tools.  Difficulties in integrating the Internet and EC software with
some existing (especially legacy) applications and databases.  Need for special Web servers in
addition to the network servers.  Expensive and/or inconvenient Internet accessibility for many
would-be users Nontechnical Limitations  Unresolved legal issues (see Section 9.7 and Chapter 15).
 Lack of national and international government regulations and industry standards.  Lack of mature
methodologies for measuring benefits of and justifying EC.  Many sellers and buyers waiting for EC
to stabilize before they take part.  Customer resistance to changing from a real to a virtual store.
People do not yet sufficiently trust paperless, faceless transactions.  Perception that EC is expensive
and unsecured.  An insufficient number (critical mass) of sellers and buyers exists for profitable EC
operations.

BENEFITS OF E COMMERCE To Organisation • Expands a company’s marketplace to national

and international markets. With minimal capital outlay, a company can quickly locate more
customers, the best suppliers, and the most suitable business partners worldwide.

• Enables companies to procure material and services from other companies, rapidly and at less cost.
• Shortens or even eliminates marketing distribution channels, making products cheaper and
vendors’ profits higher. • Decreases (by as much as 90 percent) the cost of creating, processing,
distributing, storing, and retrieving information by digitizing the process. • Allows lower inventories
by facilitating pull-type supply chain management. This allows product customization and reduces
inventory costs. • Lowers telecommunications costs because the Internet is much cheaper than
value-added networks (VANs). • Helps small businesses compete against large companies. • Enables
a very specialized niche market. To Customers • Frequently provides less expensive products and
services by allowing consumers to conduct quick online comparisons. • Gives consumers more
choices than they could easily locate otherwise. • Enables customers to shop or make other
transactions 24 hours a day, from almost any location. • Delivers relevant and detailed information in
seconds. • Enables consumers to get customized products, from PCs to cars, at competitive prices. •
Makes it possible for people to work and study at home. • Makes possible electronic auctions. •
Allows consumers to interact in electronic communities and to exchange ideas and compare expe
riences. To Society • Enables individuals to work at home and to do less traveling, resulting in less
road traffic and lower air pollution. • Allows some merchandise to be sold at lower prices, thereby
increasing people’s standard of living. • Enables people in developing countries and rural areas to
enjoy products and services that are otherwise are not available. This includes opportunities to learn
professions and earn college degrees, or to receive better medical care. • Facilitates delivery of
public services, such as government entitlements, reducing the cost of distribution and chance of
fraud, and increasing the quality of social services, police work, health care, and education to
 CONCLUSION

The future of E-Commerce is difficult to predict. There are various segments that would grow in the
future like: Travel and Tourism, electronic appliances, hardware products and apparel. There are also
some essential factors which will significantly contribute to the boom of the ECommerce industry in
India i.e. replacement guarantee, M-Commerce services, location based services, multiple payment
option, right content, shipment option, legal requirement of generating invoices for online
transactions, quick Service, T & C should be clear & realistic, the product quality should be same as
shown on the portal, dedicated 24/7 customer care centre should be there. We found various types
of opportunities for retailers, wholesalers/distributors, producers and also for people. Retailers meet
electronic orders and should be in touch with the consumers all the time. Wholesalers can take
advantage of ECommerce who are capable of establishing contractors with reputed producers and
linking their business with the on- line. Producers can also linking themselves with on-line, by giving
better information about their products to the other links in the business chain and by a having a
brand identity. As more people are getting linked with E-commerce, the demand for centre providing
internet facility or cyber cafe is also increasing. Hence, the people who wish to take advantage of it
can establish cyber and have their benefits. People could found various opportunities of
employment. On the behalf of above said reports and experts view showed that the future of e-
commerce in India would be bright in the upcoming years if all essential factors would be
implemented .
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Bansal, Rashmi, Growth of the Electronic Commerce in China and India: A Comparative Study Dubey
Rahul, E-Commerce poised for a leap in 2012 Emmanuel Lallana, Rudy Quimbo, Zorayda Ruth
Andam, ePrimer: An Introduction to eCommerce, 2000), 2 Ernest A. Capozzoli, Thomas K. Pritchett, E
Commerce: A Conceptual framework, Journal of Asia-Pacific Business Kaur Pradeep, Dr. Joshi
Mukesh, E-Commerce in India: A Review, IJCST Vo l. 3, issue 1, 2012 Kaur, Ramneet, E-Commerce in
India, Asian journal of research in business economics and management, vol. 2, issue 6, 2012 MK,
Euro Info Correspondence Centre (Belgrade, Serbia), “E-commerce-Factor of Economic Growth.”
Rosen, Anita, The E-commerce Question and Answer Book (USA: American Management Association,
2000), 5. Sharma Shweta, Mittal,Sugandha,“Prospects of E-Commerce in India”.

Websites
 E-Commerce Guide.Com
 E-Commerce Times
 WWW.BUSINESS.COM
 WWW.FORRESTER.COM
 WWW.IAMAI.COM