An Analysis on FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ECOMMERCE RETAILERS

An Analysis on FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ECOMMERCE RETAILERS

Introduction

This project report tries to explore all possible factors that are affecting the competitiveness of e commerce retailers. Competitiveness is one of the popular and yet controversial concepts in the literature. Not only its definition, but also its measurement is on debate. Because the concept has a multifaceted nature, there are some methodological challenges that make measurements difficult. Here, is an exploratory study & in-depth analysis by using an integrated approach to study competitiveness such as resources, abilities, processes, etc.

The availability and continued growth of Internet technologies have created great opportunities for users all over the globe to benefit from IT services and use them in a variety of different ways. The use of IT to conduct business online is known as E Commerce (Electronic Commerce). According to me globalization is one of the biggest reasons for the rise of E commerce industry due to globalisation now our reach is extended. E commerce simply refers to buying & selling of products, services & information via computer network including internet. E commerce is a very vast industry in which there are different types of e commerce business exists i.e., B2B, B2C, C2B, C2C, G2B, G2C, C2G, B2G. they all the working or can be worked on an e commerce business model. And with the help of an e commerce their operations are so smooth & effective. There are many big players exists when it comes to an e commerce industry for example, Amazon, Flipkart, Udaan, Zomato, etc. E commerce industry is an emerging industry which is growing every day by some percentage, but with the growth percentage the competition, problems & challenges is also increasing. For that the analysis of the industry as well as the competitor is very crucial thing to do. We have to observe the industry very closely to understand the factors that are affecting the competitiveness of e commerce retailers.

The rapid development of Internet technologies and the rise of the Web 2.0 paradigm have imposed a brand-new era – the era of designing digital marketplaces for gaining competitive advantage. During the last twenty years, the majority of companies throughout the world, including both small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) and large firms, aimed to build and run their own e-Commerce Websites, realizing the fact that the online presence itself brings many competitive gains over their traditional, ‘brick-and-mortar’ competitors. This includes, among others, accessibility to their products and services by anyone, from anywhere, anytime. Other prominent reasons why companies are turning to innovative e-Commerce solutions in order to establish and maintain high competitive edge include: ease-of-use of e-Commerce platforms; high accessibility and availability; enriched features and functionalities; effective, reliable and easy-to-follow payment methods and procedures; international presence; reducing staff and cutting down overhead costs; delivering and maintaining an effective product catalo; context-sensitive personalization; reliable and real-time links between the e-Commerce front-end and the back office; running business efficiently through facilitated supplier purchases and management as well as sell to e-Customers. As a direct consequence of such advantages, e-Commerce became the fastest growing industry all around the world during recent years. For instance, in 2016, the global retail e-Commerce sales grew 23.7% compared to the previous year, making up 8.7% of the total retail market worldwide (eMarketer.com, 2016; Statista.com, 2017). It is the only trillion dollar industry growing at a double-digit percentage each year (Moore, 2014). However, with the rapid, yet enormous proliferation of e-Commerce Websites during recent years, both the pace and the volume of virtual stores flourished, and the global market's competition became increasingly fierce. Online presence of enterprises solely does not guarantee competitive advantage anymore, since it became quite usual that not just two, but a myriad of virtual stores, offering the same gamut of products, exist online throughout the globe at the same time. To illustrate this, recent research on the number of eCommerce Websites showed that there are approximately 110,000 e-Commerce Websites generating revenue of a meaningful scale on the Internet, whilst the number of mid- and bottom-market e-Commerce companies is estimated to reach nearly a million (Moore, 2014). In addition, e-Commerce Websites make up approximately 10% - 12% of the total number of Internet Websites (Moore, 2014).