E-commerce essentially means buying and selling on the web. It is Mainly when you complete a transaction on the web by making a payment online.

It is that aspect of e-business which deals with sales and facilitates financing and payment within an online transaction.

You can either buy products online or go to the store first to test the product and then buy it online at a lower price.

Why do I need an e-commerce website?

With e-commerce website you can sell both globally and locally. You have to remember though that e-commerce is more about fulfillment rather than offering.

Given that fact that your competition is only one click away, you have to make sure that your offering and website welcomes the customer to make a decision and purchase.

E-commerce websites broadly fall into 2 categories:

• B2C (e.g. Amazon, Comet)
• B2B (e.g. Viking, Staples)

You can even sell your products to dealers all over the country by having a special trade login area and give trade prices by selling unbranded items to them, which they can sell further on.

Meanwhile you can still be selling to your own customers from the main consumer website. For e.g. vikingsdirect.co.uk which does both, B2C and B2B e-commerce.