e-Commerce

E-commerce. Commerce that’s transacted electronically, commonly in the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) marketplaces.



E-commerce sites come in all manner of complexity and cost, but the thing they have in common is that they all permit their owners and visitors to transact business over the Internet.

Card payments

With most e-tail (electronic retail) transactions, it’s imperative that the site owner receives payment for the goods ordered. This is almost always done via credit/debit card.

At the point of order, the site connects with the payment provider/gateway, and the customers’ card details are passed for checking with their issuing bank. If payment is approved, or declined, the site is informed of the decision, and the appropriate response is returned to the customer, with the appropriate email confirmation.

‘Cardless’ e-commerce

Although e-tail orders are transacted online, through cards, e-commerce doesn’t necessarily have to involve cards. E-commerce can more readily be used by B2B traders to trade with their credit-approved clients, via an online ordering system.

A credit limit can be set at the site (by you), which will permit your trade clients to order directly through the site up to that limit, thereby reducing the amount of time you have to spend writing out orders face-to-face, or over the phone. The Internet will never completely remove the human element, but as customers are increasingly under time pressures, it’s certainly a good idea to have e-commerce ordering as one of the choices you offer them. If you don’t, you can bet your competitors will!

Accounts integration

It’s even possible to integrate accounts packages with web sites, to ensure that the information flows between accounts and ordering, reducing/eliminating the time needed for order input into office systems.

Stock

How can you prevent your customers from ordering what you don’t have? That's easy to do, if you have constant stock replenishment, or if you have a small number of items that can be switched off manually. If your business doesn’t allow for either of these, then a stock/inventory system will be an invaluable addition to your e-commerce site.

Stock systems will prevent customers from buying items, if the last one was sold within the last fraction of a second. Checks prevent the item being sold twice, and can take the item off display once sold out. If you’d prefer, you could offer the next customer back ordering, or even an email to let them know when the item is back in stock.

Shipping

Skylight Media have built many types of sites that use complex systems to perform the necessary checks and stock controls to enable an order to be received and approved for shipping. Over the last 5 years we have developed a considerable number of useful tools to assist the business owner in reducing workload and administration, thereby making the web work harder for your business.

Support

We have experiences in most major retail sectors, and can offer support and guidance through the maze of payment service providers, how to best manage your stock, and how to market your site more effectively to the UK, to Europe and beyond.

To find out more visit our E-commerce portfolio and request a demo.