Question

E-Commerce course

Question 1: List four major benefits of B2B for buyers, and four major benefits of B2B for sellers, and four major benefits of B2B for communities.

Question 2: What are virtual e-tailers? List two advantages and two disadvantages of them.

Question 3: Why are trust verification sites important to online sellers and to online buyers?

Question 4: Identify five social shopping models, with examples from the real world.

Question 5: List four ways in which e-marketplaces have changed the processes used in traditional trading.

Answer 1

1. A. 4 MAJOR BENEFITS OF B2B FOR BUYERS:

a) Easy product discovery

b) Customization

c) Take advantage of Platforms Customer Service and Policies

d) Ease of doing business/ transactions online

B. 4 MAJOR BENEFITS OF B2B FOR SELLERS:

a) Tap more business opportunities

b) Boost sales by increasing scalability

c) Low operational cost, inventory cost, marketing cost with web presence

d) Better customer experience

C. 4 MAJOR BENEFITS OF B2B FOR COMMUNITY:

a) Network better with the help of the community

b) Gain insights about the product, industry & competition

c) Helps maintain a competitive market

2. Virtual e-tailers used as a synonym for companies which have a online presence only. The companies tailor their business model to cater to handle their business appearance, the sales process and the customer service completely online. The retailers provide information about their products and prices on an online shop or a similar platform, where the customer can buy products or services. The platform confirms the transaction to the customer and sends the order to the retailer. The retailer ships the products to the customer and raises the invoice.

Advantages -

1. No investments for physical presence

2. Information

3. Convenience

Disadvantages -

1. Higher cost for logistics

2. Huge investments on customer centric softwares

3. Security concerns

5. FOUR E-MARKETPLACES:

a) Facebook - Paleo and gluten free snack retailer You Fresh Natural is selling products through the comment section of its Facebook page.

b) Instagram -Nordstrom leverages Curalate’s recently launched Like2Buy feature, which enables the retailer to link its Instagram page to a gallery of shoppable Instagram photos.

c) Twitter - Forever 21 leveraged the Chirpify platform during the 2013 holiday season as a way to amplify its social commerce efforts.

d) Pinterest - When retailers like ASOS incorporate Rich Pins into their website, it ensures that any time a consumer pins a product from the retailer’s site it will include all of the necessary purchasing information so that ASOS has a better chance at receiving social conversions.

3. Trust impacts buyer decisions at every step of the purchase process. Specifically, trust influences the decision to visit your site, buy your product, promote your brand, and return to the site again. If they don't trust you, visitors won't do any of those.

4. SHOPPING MODELS:

1. Group shopping sites

2. Shopping communities bring like-minded people together to discuss, share, and shop.

3. Recommendation engines allow shoppers to provide advice to fellow shoppers.

4. Social Shopping Marketplaces which bring sellers and buyers together to connect and transact

5. Shared Shopping mechanisms for catalog-based e-commerce sites