eCommerce terminology and definitions
eCommerce, Ecommerce, e-commerce; however you
spell it, the term is now firmly lodged in
our language. So just what is it?
At it's most simplistic level; eCommerce is
simply the buying and selling of goods,
services or information via the World Wide
Web, email or other pathways on the Internet.
Ecommerce and Ebusiness are interchangeable
terms. As with any other industry, ecommerce
has introduce new terms into our language.
The following are definitions of the more
widely used terminology relating to
ecommerce, followed by links to other related
tutorials and learning resources on Taming
the Beast.net.
B2B (Business to Business)
The exchange of goods and services between
business.
B2C (Business to Consumer)
The exchange of goods and services with the
end consumer being the target market.
Chargeback
Where a transaction is debited against a
merchant account in cases of refunds and
fraud. Chargebacks usually attract a fee that
is debited against the merchant.
Certificate Authority
A third party company that issues digital
certificates that confirms a company or
individuals' identification. A digital
certificate is a crucial part of secure
ecommerce
Cobranding
Where two companies identify a partnership
between them through one company displaying
their logos, color schemes etc on another
companies application.
Cookies
Small text files stored on your computer when
visiting a site that record preference for
that particular site's usage. Cookies are
also common in shopping cart applications in
order to remember visitors as they move
throughout product pages.
CRM - Customer Relationship Management.
The entire process of a pre-sales, sales and
service relationship with a customer. Many
software applications are now available that
permit you to record this relationship from
the time the clients asks their first
question. Good CRM software is much more
efficient than fragmented records as it can
save time in tracking communications and
transactions with a particular person.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
This is the business to business (b2b) flow
of information between companies or within a
company itself. The 90's saw the concept of
information equaling power. Whatever creates
power also generates money and therefore
creates new enterprises to supply this
information.
Encryption
Process of transforming data into a type that
prevents casual observers from deciphering.
Etailing
These are mainly "virtual" storefronts which
act as a catalogue of products of merchants
and usually include a "shopping cart" system
to enable consumers to purchase online with
the use of credit cards.
Firewall
Software/hardware used to prevent
unauthorized access from a computer system or
network of computer systems.
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