The electronic commerce or e-commerce, consists of the purchase and sale of products or services, through electronic means, like Internet or other computer networks. This presents a series of benefits for both the consumer and the company:
For the consumer: Democratization of products and prices. Access to more product information. Immediateness. Customization of the offer. Comparison of more efficient prices. Consumer participation throughout the purchase process: inspiration, search, research, comparison and purchase.
For the company: Borders open beyond geography. Transactional and communication costs are reduced. 24x7 availability. Customization of the offers/clusters. Development of market niches. It allows a greater analysis of the business, and measurement of actions in shorter time periods.
The different models of e-commerce are the following:
Marketplace:
Business Model: B2B / B2C / C2C
Income generation model: Fixed sale percentage. Fixed value for each publication. Ad revenue.
Inventory: Third party inventory. Rapid stock. Category growth.
Logistics: Owner is in charge of the inventory and of external providers.
Main Player Worldwide: Ebay, Alibaba.
Hybrides:
Business Model: B2B / B2C / C2C
Income generation model: Fixed sale percentage. Fixed value for publication. Sales margin. Ad revenue.
Inventory: Third party inventory. Own stock and storage.
Logistics: Owner is in charge of the inventory and of external providers.
Main Player Worldwide: Amazon, Zappos.
E-Retail:
Business Model: B2B / B2C
Income generation model: Sales product margins.
Inventory: Own stock and storage.
Logistics: Own logistics. External supplier.
Main Player Worldwide: Netshoes, Dafiti.
Main E-commerce KPIs are:
• SALE = Total value sold
It is obtained by multiplying the quantity sold (Q) by the price (P).
• MEDIUM TICKET = Average sale value
It is obtained from the quotient: Total Sale / # Transactions.
• NET MARGIN = Sales result after subtracting the costs generated by the sale (CV) and operating expenses.
You get (Sale-CV-Operating Expenses).
• CPA = Cost of user acquisition
You get: Marketing Investment / #Transactions.
• ROI = Return on investment
You get: [(Net Margin - Investment Marketing) / Investment Marketing] * 100
• CONVERSION RATE = Reflects the achievement of the objective
You get: (Transactions / Sessions Generated by the Marketing campaign)
Another way to see it is (Sales / Number of visits)