E-commerce has a huge impact on every trade nowadays, but when E-commerce initially came into existence, it was met with a rebellion. Scepticism was at its peak when E-commerce first came into the picture. Even EXPORT IMPORT is unimaginable without E-commerce. E-commerce has now become an inseparable part of any business. For most of us, it’s hard to imagine modern life without E-Commerce. It would not only be inconvenient but also much more complicated.   Lets first define E-commerce. E-commerce, also known as Electronic commerce or Internet commerce, deals with buying and selling goods and/or services using the internet, and the transfer of money or data to execute these transactions.   Micheal Aldrich, in 1979, introduced E-Commerce. He is also considered as founder or inventor of E-Commerce. Micheal connected a transaction-processing computer with a modified TV Through a Telephone connection. To secure data, Micheal connected these devices. E-commerce affects the Export business in a lot of ways. E-commerce can elevate export by highlighting the export product’s quality or can state the ugly truth in a harsh way that adversely affects the exporter.   Before jumping to how E-commerce affects export business, let’s first see the different types of E-commerce. There are about 6 established types of E-commerce, they are:

• Business-to-Consumer (B2C):

B2C is one of the most popular sales models of E-commerce. The meaning of B2C is the transaction made between a business and a consumer, as the name suggests. An example of this type of E-commerce would be when you buy clothes from an online retailer.

• Business-to-Business (B2B):

B2B E-commerce, unlike B2C, includes sales made between businesses, that is trade between a manufacturer and a wholesaler. Consumers are not involved in this type of commerce. B2B, more often than not, focuses on the repackaging of products that are sold to customers or sales of raw materials.

• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C):

C2C is one of the earliest forms of E-commerce and it mostly deals with sales of product or services between customers. The best example of this would be UBER & OLA. The way it functions is it puts the car owner in touch with the people requiring its services.

• Customer-to-Business (C2B):

C2B is the exact opposite of what traditional E-commerce is all about, with individual customers offers their services for business buyers. This means that customers have special products or services that can be valuable to businesses. In this type of E-commerce, customers are not investing their capital in anything but the business organization investing in the individual or product.

• Business-to-Administration (B2A):

B2A encompasses the transaction between Businesses and Administration bodies. This type of commerce can be understood by an example of filing taxes. When you fill the form to pay tax online, which is paid to the Government, through a third party involved, is called a B2A transaction.

• Consumer-to-Administration (C2A):

Consumer-to-Administration type of E-commerce is similar to B2A, the only difference being a consumer directly offers services or sells products to a Government organization. The above example will fit perfectly when you remove the involvement of a third party in filing online tax to the government. 

nother example can be booking an appointment online at the hospital for a health check-up. E-Commerce serves every sector and affects every small to big businesses because of its ready involvement and ease of promoting any business. Many websites not only use E-commerce but runs effectively because of E-commerce.  E-commerce helps small and big businesses to reach out to a greater number of people which leads to the generation of greater profit. The impact of E-commerce can not be denied on any business but let’s look at how it specifically impacts Export Import Businesses.

• Small Business can reach out to Global Customers:

Adopting E-commerce can be a slow process for a small business but those who welcome it with open arms unlock a whole new realm of possibilities and opportunities. E-commerce is particularly useful for small business owners because it not only helps small businesses reach diverse customers all around the world but also poses a fair chance at competition.   

In India, E-commerce immensely helps promote small businesses, because the need to buy items within the economic range is always there but not a lot of people are aware of small businesses in the local market.  

• Huge offline businesses are turning to E-commerce:

Small and local businesses are mostly online which poses competition to established, big businessmen. They are forced to turn to E-commerce to promote their hereditary business. Big businesses, for their growth and expansion, need to promote their business online with the help of E-commerce.

• Increase in the E-commerce marketplaces:

Only a decade or two ago, a person living in India could not dream of wearing US fashion, unless that person visits the States. With the advent and growth of international E-commerce marketplaces like Alibaba and Amazon, this everyone who dares to dream is actually living that dream. These Giants have offered customers a broad range for selection of products and by delivering those products home, convenience is at par. Such can be some of the reasons for the success of E-commerce Giant Marketplaces. India has adopted a few policies to support and secure E-commerce. The National E-commerce Policy uses various strategies to promote Export through E-commerce.

• Introduction of E-commerce Policy under Logistics Policy:

 To promote the growth of E-commerce, the Indian Government introduced this policy under Logistics Policy. For all the shopping done online, it becomes necessary to have a physical platform for the products to be collected in one place.  Thus when Indian goods are Exported such infrastructure is built to promote Export. It is proposed that E-commerce will be separately handled under Logistics Policy. 

• Policies Supporting Courier Export:

According to the extant Courier Import and Export (Clearance) Regulations, 1998, the export is done by courier services and costs within 25 k INR, only is passed to use courier services. Packages costing beyond this range is exported through Cargo mode, which increases the expenses significantly.    

Indian Government proposed to extend this limit and make Indian e-commerce Export more attractive even for high-value packages export through courier mode.

• International Freight Carriers: 

The exporting body bears the cost of International Logistics. Such International Logistics providing companies may charge huge sum which might be unaffordable for small businesses, thus creating a difficult situation for small businesses to export. Private courier companies provide end to end delivery services that ensure sustainable and continuous export for small businesses. Indian Post bears the responsibility to negotiate for lower costs with International Freight Carriers.  The government is putting in efforts to promote and expand E-commerce in India. With India’s fast-growing business and convenience seeking youth, acceptance and spread of E-commerce is unstoppable.  Even the Exim Industry is making full use of E-commerce’ potential to increase trade exponentially in International Markets.     If you are interested in reading EXPORT IMPORT related blogs, click on the link below and enter the kingdom of EXIM BLOGS.   https://digitalexim.com/blog/   If you are inspired enough to actually learn to expand your business or start a business of your own, click the link below and be enlightened.   https://digitalexim.com/advanced-export-import-program/