The idea of Ecommerce and Mcommerce have very different meanings, aiming at making customers’ lives even easier. 

Ecommerce is an umbrella for selling and buying online, while the concept of mobile commerce is complete e-commerce based that focuses on purchasing mobile devices.

Ever since the internet has stepped into our lives, it has affected humankind in different ways. And the idea of online shopping has only made it more convenient for people to purchase their products whenever they want to, and also for those who want to start their own business.

You will find the availability of every single product, over the online platforms. The idea of selling and buying products through the internet is known as E-commerce or Electronic Commerce. Also, users can also pay their bills online, order anything while just sitting at one place.

Order online, paying bills and purchasing things have become a part of our lives. It has reached a level where living without the internet and e-commerce seems unimaginable. 

 WHAT IS COMMERCE?

The word ‘commerce’, is derived from the Latin word commercium. People started following the methods of commerce in the year 1970 which has paved the way for modern-day E-commerce today. And the era of commercialization has made the process of E-Commerce even swifter and smooth today.

STEPPING INTO ECOMMERCE

Ecommerce started 40 years ago, with the introduction of early technology like Electronic Data Interchange. And slowly the existence of teleshopping came into being. This paved the way for the modern-day e-commerce store that we know today. The concept of e-commerce means, buying and selling things, making the internet the medium. It can take many forms as well as includes different kinds of transactions.

Let’s have a quick look at the early Ecommerce Timeline

1960-1982: Invention as well as the early days

With the development of electronic data interchange (EDI), the idea of electronic Ecommerce came into existence. This replaced both the mailing and faxing of the documents by allowing the digital transfer of data from one computer to the other.

Early Ecommerce Platforms 

It was very clear from the initial stage the early advancements would make business-to-business online shopping much easier. B2B would not be successful without the emergence of computers and WWW or the world wide web. In 1982, France launched the Minitel. Minitel is an online service that was used as a videotex terminal machine that could be accessed through telephone lines. But by 1997, over 7 million homes had Minitel terminals.

The emergence of the World Wide Web:

World Wide Web was published by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau in the year 1990. And that same year Berners-Lee created the first web server and wrote the first web browser.

From the beginning, there has already been a lot of concern over the safety of online shopping. However, a security protocol, Secure Socket Layers which is also called SSL created by Netscape in 1994, provided a safe means to transmit data over the internet. The web browser was able to identify whether a site had an authentication SSL certificate and whether or not a site could be trusted. 

The Scenario Today: 

Marketplaces Emerge: Amazon, eBay and eCommerce Platforms

After there were major advancements in the commercial use of the Internet, one of the first eCommerce was Amazon that began in the year 1995. It was as an online bookstore initially but over the days grew to become the largest online retailer in the world. Amazon being an online-only store without any physical limitations was able to offer a lot more products to the shopper. 

Other Ecommerce marketplaces stories include eBay, an online auction site that emerged in the year 1995, and by 2019 it showed gross merchandise sales a total of $4.97 billion globally. 

In 2005, Amazon launched Amazon Prime, a membership offering free two-day shipping within the contiguous United States on all eligible purchases for a flat annual fee. The membership quickly became popular, putting pressure on other merchants to offer fast and inexpensive shipping options.  

The Rise of Mobile Commerce 

Mobile commerce was first introduced in 1997 when two mobile devices enabled Coca-Cola vending were installed in Finland. Mobile Commerce gained speed over the next two decades, as more users began conducting transactions from their mobile devices and websites were introduced to provide a better user experience.

But today, both consumers and business buyers use their cell phones for product research and coupons, with engagement on social media becoming increasingly popular 

The business buyers are expecting more consumer-focused features like personalized and responsive design and demanding the ability to quickly locate product details, secure pricing and receive online help.

Role of inventory management system in both Ecommerce and Mcommerce

The Ecommerce Inventory management system is the activity of measuring the amount, location, pricing, and mix of products available from your business.

Having an elevated inventory management system for eCommerce is very mandatory, as it helps the business to rise above the competition and make the customers satisfied. But unlike marketing, the sales strategies, inventory management system often takes longer to implement and needs ongoing maintenance and observation to ensure that everything runs effectively. 

eCommerce Inventory management system helps the business to understand the quantity of the product-whether they are in stocks, understock, or overstocked. 

Whereas in Mobile inventory management system will help keep track of the inventory, while it is transported from one place to another! Managers usually keep track of their inventory in the process of Mcommerce. 

Conclusion: Be it Mcommerce or E-commerce, the process of inventory management is essential in both to keep a track of the stocks in a structured manner,