One of the very first questions I receive in my eCommerce courses is if it’s possible to sell any kind of articles or services by electronic means. The plain answers is yes… well, most of the time!
If we consider the broad eCommerce concept, we need to make a clear distinction with eBusiness. eCommerce is usually associated with commercial transactions of products and services through electronic means. eBusiness, on the other hand, includes additional activities such as promotion, procurement, distribution and administration of several aspects of the business, using digital tools.
Considering the above… is the Internet ready to be a complete eCommerce platform for all kinds of products and services?
We all have heard the legends about Jeff Bezos and how he decided to start Amazon.com when everybody told him that no one will ever buy books online… well, reality proved them wrong as books are currently the best online selling product.
Some people proposed the theory that only intangible products such as software, were the only products that could be sold online… well, wrong again! New developments in logistics and distribution currently allow you to ship almost any product to almost every part of the world.
Some experts in fashion and clothing were sure that nobody will ever buy their products online because customers like to touch and feel the product, and more importantly, try them on before purchasing… strike 3: the huge success of several clothing manufactureres selling online proved them wrong again and again!
And what about services? How can you promote them online? Well, basically in the same was as with any product. Prom a practical perspective, it is easier to promote an intangible service with broad descripcions and details included in a web page. This is even simpler when you include other media such as videos, references and endorsements. Banking, insurance, education, training and consulting services have boomed on the web, offering their products without geographic boundaries thank you to these new technologies. The best example of intangibles sold online are airline tickets and hotel reservations, the service bestsellers of the Internet!
But not everything is a s easy as it sounds… there are plenty of barriers for online commerce that go together with every product or service promoted online and are affected negatively by:
- Customer accesability to new technology
- Lack of knowledge
- Perceived risks (real or imaginary) of online security
- Limitations in the payment methods available (i.e. credit cards)
- Complex logistics, customs and import restrictions
- Lack of trust in the seller, annonimity, fraud, etc.
In the end, we can only say that there are no specific limitations for a (legal) product or service that cannot benefit form online promotion and selling. Furthermore, niche markets are the most succesful areas of eCommerce as these customer segments are more inclined to overlook the above mentioned barriers. Nowadays, many home-based entrepreneurs succesfully compete with large corporations for online customers.
The time has come to finally think seriously about your old dream of becoming an entrepreneur as new technology has virtually eliminated most of the entry barriers for new business!