What is E-Commerce?

When I first heard the word e-commerce I had no idea what it was. I new it had to do with selling or marketing on the Internet, but really had no idea. So I first looked up the definition of the plain old commerce. I figured that if I could understand commerce, then e-commerce would just be an easy extension.

A few definitions of commerce:
com.merce n [MF, fr. L commercium, fr. com- + merc-, merx merchandise] (1537)
1: social intercourse: interchange of ideas, opinions, or sentiments
2: the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place. So commerce is, quite simply, the exchange of goods and services, usually for money.

We see commerce all around us in in millions of different forms. When you buy something at a grocery store you are participating in commerce. In the same way, if you cartt half of your possessions onto your front lawn for a yard sale, you are participating in commerce from a different angle. If you go to work each day for a company that produces a product, that is yet another link in the chain of commerce.

When you think about commerce in these different ways, you instinctively recognize several different roles:

Buyers – these are people with money who want to purchase a good or service.
Sellers – these are the people who offer goods and services to buyers. Sellers are generally recognized in two different forms: retailers who sell directly to consumers and wholesalers or distributors who sell to retailers and other businesses.
Producers – these are the people who create the products and services that sellers offer to buyers. A producer is always, by necessity, a seller as well. The producer sells the products produced to wholesalers, retailers or directly to the consumer.

Then we move on to the E in e-commerce, which actually stands for Electronic. It is a term that is used for any type of business, or commercial transaction, that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. For example: buying, selling of products or services, invoices, orders, transfer of funds, exchange of inquiries etc. E-commerce covers a range of different types of businesses, from consumer based retail sites, music sites, to business exchanges, trading goods and services between corporations.

At Next Space Solutions or NS2Online,  you can create an unlimited number of products, then organize them in catalogs. NS2 has limitless customizability which makes it easy for you to sell your e-Products, and manage them. NS2 has a Integrated Customer Database that allows you to customize and extend the Customer Database to suit your business (All-in-One solution only) and keep a history of all past customer purchases & much, much, much more. Our hosted and easy-to-use system is designed to meet your specific business needs – allowing you to focus on your goals, not mastering the technology behind it.

E-commerce has expanded rapidly over the past few years and is predicted to continue at this rate or even accelerate. It is currently one of the most important aspects of the Internet to emerge. When implemented properly, e-commerce is often faster, cheaper and more convenient than traditional methods or bartering goods & services. In the near future the boundaries between “conventional” and “electronic” commerce will become increasingly blurred as more and more businesses move sections of their operations onto the
Internet.