e commerce

To many people ecommerce means shopping on the part of the internet called World Wide Web. But ecommerce encompasses many more business activities than just web shopping. For decades banks have been using electronic funds transfers (EFT). Businesses also have been engaging in a form of electronic commerce known as electronic data interchange EDI. EDI occurs when one business transfers, computer readable data in a standard format, to another business. Businesses that engage in EDI with each other are called trading partners. But one serious problem with EDI was the high cost of implementation. It required expensive computer hardware and software and direct internet connections to all trading partners. So many smaller firms were unable to afford to participate in EDI. In addition to buying and selling, online firms engage in many other activities that keep them in business. For e.g. a seller of the product must identify demand, accept orders, deliver product, bill and payment of the product etc.