Advantages and Disadvantages of e-commerce

[steveerobinson]

Hi,
Could you please state some advantages and disadantages of e-commerce?
Many Thanks

[Naughty Vend]

IMHO the biggest advantage is 24/7 opening hours if you get the site automation and operational basics right...

[Astaroth]

Ads
24/7 opening hours
Self help options
Automatic stock control etc
Consistent messages/ marketing - no need to rely on a spotty 16 year old to tell a customer the benefits of product A over B
Low cost of customer acquisition
Opens up more options such as drop shipping
Lower overheads (no high street rent, cleaners etc)

Dis
Customers much more price sensitive
Dependant on technology, if it fails there is no fall back
Higher rates of fraud
Higher payment fees (no option for cash and CC fees tend to be higher)

[Steve2507]

All of the above plus a disadvantage is that customers expect things yesterday. We recently had a customer place an order at 5pm then complain that it wasn't delivered by 9am the next day. We don;t offer this type of service and never had but the customer couldn't understand why his demands were not possible.

[bido-bado]

Hi,
Could you please state some advantages and disadantages of e-commerce?and also the meaning of e-commerce
Many Thanks[/quote]