The impact of e-commerce on business activity

Selling through websites is the fastest growing method of trading worldwide. There are two main forms of e-commerce:

• Business to business (B2B) trading where companies trade and exchange information using the World Wide Web.

• Business to consumer (B2C) trading where companies deal directly with customers through web pages, and ordering is carried out online.

Trading online

Trading online enables businesses to reach much wider audiences while cutting the costs of traditional retailing methods. For example, an e-tailer does not have to spend so much on an expensive High Street presence.

Until recently The Times 100 was a paper based resource that was used by every school in the United Kingdom. Now the resource appears in two formats - in a photocopiable folder of materials, and online. The online presence has opened up viewing of The Times 100 to a global market and a large number of hits are recorded from students in almost every country in the world. Existing users are able to benefit from the convenience of quickly accessing case studies online and a range of additional online features have been added such as a theory section, and a range of tests and questions for students.

Although the outlay on developing a good website is substantial the potential benefits are enormous in providing most types of business with a competitive advantage. One group of businesses that have been particularly successful as a result of the development of the web are specialist suppliers of items such as paintings, photographs, confectionery, and other items. An individual working from home can now advertise and sell their produce worldwide.

A web page is a single document. A website is a collection of related documents. The World Wide Web consists of graphic and text documents that can be connected together through clickable 'hypertext' links.