E-Commerce

The impact of ICT has also changed the way we buy and sell, the act of purchasing, selling and handling goods using electronic equipment & systems is known as E-commerce. This now means there had to imply new laws to ensure you are protected and have your rights, also try safe guard your money this is the Data Protection Act and the computer Misuses Act. Ecommerce have also affected businesses, there are massive savings to be made as the business does not need to worry about having an expensive shop premises which include the cost of insurance and electricity, also less staff are needed when it is an online business and customers from any part of the world can access and purchase your products. However online businesses can also be difficult to manage as you would need staff with certain expertise to be able to keep the website functioning and opens the door for online fraud to occur. But now you are relying fully on the internet you have to be aware the website may go down which would mean customers are unable to purchase that could potentially lose the company a lot of money. There are many pros and cons for the businesses in the world of ecommerce but you also have to take the customers themselves into consideration, now you don’t have a store which has to open and close the online business is open to shop at any time of the day, any day of the year. They also save money by not having to buy petrol to travel which tackles the rising cost of petrol itself, this means you get shop from the comfort of your own home and have access to shops that might not necessarily be within your area. Although you are restricted in some areas such as being able to physically check the quality of the product before purchasing but simply rely on pictures which could cause problems as receiving what you order, as the colour may be different to what you expected  or it may be slightly bigger or smaller then what you thought you ordered. It also adds to how ICT impacts society as this removes the social opportunities such as when friends go out for a shopping day.

Ebay is a site that wouldn't have been so successfully if it was not for the ability to Ecommerce.