Definition of an E-commerce website

(freepik.com, 2021)

E-Commerce

The purchasing and selling of goods and services, or the sending of money or data, over an electronic network, typically the internet, is referred to as e-commerce (or electronic commerce). These commercial exchanges might be either B2B (business-to-business), B2C (business-to-consumer), C2C (consumer-to-consumer), or C2B (consumer-to-business). E-business and e-commerce are frequently used interchangeably. 
Customers use their own devices to access an online store to browse the selection and place orders for goods or services. The customer's web browser and the server that houses the e-commerce website will exchange information as the order is placed. A central computer known as the order manager will receive information about the order. After that, it will be sent to databases that control inventory levels, a merchant system that uses tools like PayPal to control payment information, and a bank computer. It will then go full circle and return to the order manager. To ensure that there is enough client money and store inventory to fulfill the order, this is done (Lutkevich et al., 2022).

The order manager will alert the store's web server once the order has been confirmed. The customer will see a notice stating that their order has been successfully handled. The order manager will then notify the warehouse or fulfillment department that the product or service can be delivered to the customer by sending order data to those departments. A customer may receive actual or digital goods at this moment, or access to a service may be granted.

Online marketplaces where sellers register, like Amazon, software as a service (SaaS) tools that let users "rent" online store infrastructures, or open source tools that businesses run using their in-house developers are some examples of platforms that host e-commerce transactions (Lutkevich et al., 2022).

Reference

Free vector: Ecommerce web page concept illustration (2021) Freepik. Available at: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/ecommerce-web-page-concept-illustration_21727022.htm#query=Ecommerce&position=1&from_view=search&track=sph (Accessed: January 17, 2023).

Lutkevich, B., Chai, W. and Holak, B. (2022) What is e-commerce? definition and meaning, CIO. TechTarget. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/e-commerce (Accessed: January 17, 2023).