Digital commerce versus e-commerce: What’s the difference?

Digital commerce versus e-commerce What's the difference

Building a successful internet business in 2021 includes more than just selling products online, as any retailer will tell you. A company might have been able to get by with a rudimentary website and a primitive order fulfillment system a decade or so ago, but if that’s all a new company has now, it’s failed before it even begins. The retail landscape of today is complicated, with peaks, troughs, twists, and turns. Consumers expect to be able to interact with businesses across numerous channels at their leisure, pay in the method that is most convenient for them, and have a seamless end-to-end experience from click to courier. Consumers want to participate and be involved; they want simple access to information and the opportunity to get to know a company before parting with their money.

This is more than just “selling online.” When it comes to meeting the demands of the current consumer, the fundamentals of e-commerce simply will not suffice. Perhaps this is why so many companies are investing heavily in digital commerce. But what is digital commerce and how is it different from e-commerce? What has driven this shift from e-commerce to “e-commerce” and what does it mean for your business?

What is E-Commerce?

Electronic Commerce - E-commerce

Electronic commerce, sometimes known as e-commerce, is the activity of purchasing and selling goods and services through the internet.

To carry out the transactions, money, funds, and data must be moved.

To satisfy the demands of these operations, it employs technology such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, internet marketing, supply chain management, online transaction processing, EDI, and automated data collection systems. Although “e-commerce” is typically associated with the sale of tangible items, it can also apply to any sort of online commercial transaction Business to customer (B2C), business to business (B2B), customer to business (C2B), and customer to consumer (C2C) interactions are the four types of transactions (C2C).

A few examples of the popular e-commerce stores are Amazon, Nike, eBay etc. E-commerce includes retail sales, wholesale sales, drop shipping, crowdsourcing, and subscriptions.

Physical, digital, or service-based products are all possible. It is distinct from e-business, which refers to all elements of running an online business because it simply involves the exchange of goods and services.

What is Digital Commerce?

Digital Commerce - D-commerce

D-commerce is a sub-genre of e-commerce that businesses use to sell things online.

However, this is not just an online transaction process. It also includes marketing, sales, maintenance, R & D, and product procurement for all platforms, including social, desktop, and mobile.

These actions are used to implement advertising, analytics, development content, pricing, customer support, customer success and retention, and the consumer experience across all procurement touchpoints. Marketing and sales are confused by digital commerce.

It has grown into a single, ongoing activity, including increased awareness, increased engagement, measurement of conversions, tracking of transaction history, and promotion of recurring purchases. There is plenty of room for a digital revolution in e-commerce. Digital commerce isn’t about physical things, it’s about digital products and services.

Downloadable music, e-books, webinars, online education, downloadable software, web hosting, software as a service (SaaS), streaming services, mobile apps, and digital currencies are just a few examples.

What’s the difference between e-commerce and digital commerce?

Digital commerce items are intangible and are only available in digital form for consumption on digital devices, but e-commerce products can be tangible, digital, or services.

You can repeatedly sell the same digital item by providing a link to the cloud or online storage, but tangible items require a separate e-commerce transaction.

eBooks, Tutorials, Photos, Multimedia Content, Digital Assets, Themes, Templates, Extensions, Software, Software Components, Digital Art, Web Development, and Mobile App Development are examples of digital commerce products, but e-commerce products are Found in a physical store.

Software and services are delivered online via digital commerce. Items are developed and published on hosting platforms or marketplaces such as websites and mobile applications, eliminating the need for warehousing, inventory management, and shipping management. These requirements are in e-commerce and therefore have high overhead costs.

D-commerce also has the advantage of not causing product-related problems such as sinking, damage, and wear and tear issues.

E-commerce needs to address returns and refund issues that d-commerce does not have.

It’s easy to automate the sales process and spread it to partner sites on d-commerce platforms.

D-commerce may require significant customization based on the digital products it sells and the audience that consumes them due to the different user interfaces, features, and functional requirements that customers may have. It has the disadvantage of being many.

It’s easy to automate the sales process on your e-commerce site and extend it to your affiliate site. However, d-commerce has the disadvantage that it often requires significant customization to the digital products it sells and the audience that consumes them. This is due to the unique requirements that customers have for interfaces and features.

If e-commerce is all about online sales and is the ultimate, digital commerce is a people, technology, and data-driven process that takes retail to a new level. Content management, data query and analytics, user design and experience, customer engagement and retention, and the ability to quickly customize and deploy capabilities to all customer endpoints are all examples of digital commerce. Digital commerce is customer-centric and aims to enhance the customer experience at all touchpoints throughout the buyer journey.

What is the cause of the transition from e-commerce to d-commerce?

The growing importance of technology and connectivity in our lives has contributed significantly to the promotion of digital commerce. The average shopper in 2021 will have far more touchpoints than previous generations, from smartphone apps and smart speakers to live chat and two-way text messages (a technique known as “conversational commerce”). I’m using. We’re not just talking about the transition to online shopping, but the rapid emergence of hyper-connected omnichannel commerce that can facilitate direct customer contact and give you complete control over your customers. The Internet of Things (IoT) economy is transforming the retail industry, and digital commerce aims to take advantage of this new connected world. For example, digital self-service has overtaken chat with agents as a means of communicating with retailers. That’s why touchpoints that provide everything your customers need, such as online chat, smart speakers, mobile apps, and intuitive websites, are so important.

Digital commerce is primarily customer-centric, but there are still benefits to merchants. Having a presence across multiple platforms and touchpoints makes it easier to find and connect with brands and removes potential barriers between what consumers want to buy and their ability to buy. increase. According to one survey, companies using at least three different touchpoints achieved 287% higher purchase rates than companies using standard single-channel campaigns. From mobile apps and voice commands to websites customized for different devices and screens, customers with full access to the brand at different touchpoints have the potential to interact with the company on a conditional basis. Will be higher. Consumers who can easily access and connect to their business through any medium of their choice are likely to spend more and are significantly more likely to be retained as repeaters.

Digital commerce items are intangible and are only available in digital form for consumption on digital devices, but e-commerce products can be tangible, digital, or services.

You can repeatedly sell the same digital item by providing a link to the cloud or online storage, but tangible items require a separate e-commerce transaction.

eBooks, tutorials, photos, multimedia content, digital assets, themes, templates, extensions, software, software components, digital art, web development, and mobile app development are examples of digital commerce products, but any e-commerce product. I do not mind. What you can find in a physical store.

Software and services are delivered online via digital commerce. Items are developed and published on hosting platforms or marketplaces such as websites and mobile applications, eliminating the need for warehousing, inventory management, and shipping management. These requirements are in e-commerce and therefore have high overhead costs.  D-commerce also has the advantage of not causing product-related problems such as sinking, damage, and wear and tear issues. E-commerce needs to address returns and refund issues that d-commerce does not have. It’s easy to automate the sales process and spread it to partner sites on d-commerce platforms.

Technologies that Enhance Internet Commerce E-commerce has been linear, but digital commerce is like a complex web that cannot be navigated without the right tools and processes. E-commerce has become so popular over the years that a variety of all-in-one commerce platforms have been developed to help businesses sell their products online quickly and easily. But, as mentioned earlier, in today’s customer-centric retail environment, this only touches the surface of what you need to engage with your audience. These legacy monolithic systems are not designed for rapid change, rapid deployment, or phased introduction or phase-out of new features or services. What if your business needs to quickly add new payment methods at checkout? Or do you want to distribute your catalog changes across touchpoints on multiple devices? What if you want to automatically collect CRM customer data from all channels while adding new channels to keep up with consumer trends?

This is where composable technology comes in, and as we know it, it’s the foundation of digital commerce. Composable technology works as expected. This allows organizations to “configure” the delivery of new features and services in a more beautiful and nuanced way than typical monolithic legacy systems. Composable technology not only adds software to existing legacy setups but also uses headless commerce and microservices to centrally assemble end-to-end business operations with decentralized, decentralized tools. And execute.

Empirix has long been a leader in digital commerce, providing the ideal solution for retailers to effectively manage configurable commerce experiences on all digital platforms. Our digital commerce platform is a modern enterprise-class configurable solution designed for B2B and B2C organizations, providing bundled business capabilities available via cloud-based APIs. Contact us now for more information on the Empirix Digital Commerce Platform.

What is the technology behind digital commerce?

Technologies that Enhance Internet Commerce E-commerce has been linear, but digital commerce is like a complex web that cannot be navigated without the right tools and processes. E-commerce has become so popular over the years that a variety of all-in-one commerce platforms have been developed to help businesses sell their products online quickly and easily. But, as mentioned earlier, in today’s customer-centric retail environment, this only touches the surface of what you need to engage with your audience. These legacy monolithic systems are not designed for rapid change, rapid deployment, or phased introduction or phase-out of new features or services. What if your business needs to quickly add new payment methods at checkout? Or do you want to distribute your catalog changes across touchpoints on multiple devices? What if you want to automatically collect CRM customer data from all channels while adding new channels to keep up with consumer trends?

This is where composable technology comes in, and as we know it, it’s the foundation of digital commerce. Composable technology works as expected. This allows organizations to “configure” the delivery of new features and services in a more beautiful and nuanced way than typical monolithic legacy systems. Composable technology not only adds software to existing legacy setups but also uses headless commerce and microservices to centrally assemble end-to-end business operations with decentralized tools and execute them.

Online Store

An online store is a virtual business that operates on the Internet. An internet network is required to complete the e-commerce cycle. There are typically two types of online virtual stores. One is done via the World Wide Web, commonly referred to as the Web Store, and the other is done through a mobile application that can be loaded onto mobile devices and used to perform e-commerce operations. M-commerce or mobile commerce refers to e-commerce operations performed through mobile devices. E-commerce is possible in both online shops and mobile apps. Responsive e-commerce websites are used to do business on mobile devices. M-commerce has several advantages and greatly increases the likelihood of transactions.

Shopping Cart

Shopping Cart A shopping cart is a software system that is associated with an online store and helps complete online orders. Often found on the item description page where you can add items to your shopping cart, after reviewing your shopping cart, the buyer will proceed to checkout to process your payment and complete the sale. All order data for the item, shipping costs specified by the seller, and applicable taxes are stored in the shopping cart. After all the information has been collected, the shopping cart sends it to the payment processing interface. Upon successful completion of the payment, the payment processor will send the order information and payment confirmation to the seller’s screen. Orders are emailed to retailers and recorded on the back end.

Payment Process

Payment processing for e-commerce companies is an important part. Currently, payment processing is done both online and offline. Online merchants use payment gateways to protect online transactions. The payment issuer and seller’s shop are connected through a payment gateway (usually a bank). After receiving the order details and order amount, the payment gateway sends the customer to the bank’s server, and after receiving the payment from the bank, the user is sent back to the seller’s website with the order confirmation information. Payment gateways are protected from DDoS attacks and are secure. In most emerging markets, citizens need to digitize their daily activities and gain access to offline payment options. For the convenience of our customers, retailers offer cash on delivery.

Shipping Management

We can deliver what you request in various ways. Several logistics companies are operating in the e-commerce space dealing with this stage of the business cycle. Packaged items purchased from retailers are picked up by the freight carrier. The shipping company provides the live GPS location and shipping progress of the goods on the internet map. Users can track the shipment using the tracking number or consignment number. The shipping company will provide a tracking URL.

Order Fulfilling

The vast majority of retailers around the world resell their products from other product procurement companies. Receive product information for use in our online shop. After receiving an order, the small business e-tailers provide the order information to the product procurement company. The company that purchases the item sends the customer’s order directly to the delivery service provider. As a result, retailers spend less on inventory management. A better version example is drop shipping.

E-commerce personalization

Providing a customized experience for your customers will improve your conversion rate. The personalization technique shows the products and services that the user is already looking for. The latest technologies such as AI and ML make this possible. Machine learning and artificial intelligence work together to provide a user-tailored experience based on data-driven behaviors.

New technologies are helping e-commerce reach new milestones. Delivery of drones, data processing by AI and ML, etc. Today, data processing is essential to the success of your e-commerce business. Several web platforms are available to fully automate your e-commerce business, including B. Builder fly.

Wrapping Up:

In this article, we have understood the difference between digital commerce and e-commerce. Although, these two terms are used interchangeably there are subtle differences between them. At Ceymox Technologies, the best e-commerce development company in India, we are having expertise in developing e-commerce stores from scratch. Let us know your requirements.

Sreehari N Kartha
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Hubspot SEO Certified

Hubspot SEO II Certified

Google Ads Search Certified

Google Analytics Certified

Sreehari N Kartha is a certified SEO expert, currently serving as a Digital Marketing Analyst at Ceymox. Specializing in diverse digital marketing endeavors, he adeptly manages advertising platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Whatsapp Ads and LinkedIn Ads. With a strong focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SMM (Social Media Management & Marketing), Sreehari excels in optimizing online presence and engagement. Additionally, he harbors a keen interest in Crypto, NFTS & Web3 technologies, enhancing his proficiency in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

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