What Is E-Commerce and M-Commerce?

If I ask you what kind of time we are living in, I am quite sure you will say the time of technology. The age in which technology is growing and will grow further. Well to be honest it is quite true. Basically presently the main concern of the people is technology and advancements. Technology has grown much larger than it was just a few years back. This is the age of Information Technology, the age where the technology rules the world. Basically nowadays we don’t even do basic work without technology. We no more go to shops and malls and restaurants, instead just sitting on a couch take the mobile or laptop in our hand and just a click and the service at your door. Well the main backbone of this technology is actually “Internet” and the thing that fills it up is website. For each and every purpose there are billions of websites. Thus due to these factors an alternative world came into existence the virtual world. But how can a world exist without business and commerce? It cannot, so just like that the commerce of the virtual world i.e. E-Commerce came into existence. The commerce related to website oriented buyers and sellers. Well we all use website to purchase various services. Nowadays almost all businesses entrepreneurs and startups have websites for this purpose.

The E-Commerce has taken a huge form nowadays. Well, almost all of the population of the world nowadays use the technologies present around us and also stay updates with the latest advancements and developments. We all are somehow engaged with some kind of device and thus are active on the virtual world present out there. We know a bit what exactly E-Commerce, but the thing is that, we know what kind of device most of the population uses that is mobile. We can never forget the mobile first rule, and how mobile consists the maximum part of the active users. And thus M-Commerce came into existence. Now what exactly is these two? And how exactly are they different? For answers to these question we will need to look more deeply on the commercial world of internet and how it evolved in the last few years and what exactly are the changes that occurred.

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?

Well, we basically don’t need the introduction of what E-Commerce is. We all use sites like Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, etc. What are these? These are websites that sell products through online medium and thus runs business. These process of commercial transaction involving electronic stuff as a medium is termed as E-Commerce. It can be any kind of commercial activity, like any consultancy, broker, foods, etc. anything possible. We get to know by its name it’s the type of commerce that take place through electronic means. Thus this is what exactly E-Commerce is. Now we got the basic and required idea what an E-Commerce is.

WHAT IS M-COMMERCE?

Well, it states Mobile Commerce. We can guess a bit what it is by its name. We can expect it to be something related to mobile and commerce. Well, it is in fact related to both of them. Basically it is the commercial activity through mobile either at the seller’s end or at the buyer’s end. It is sometimes categorized as a type of E-Commerce but it isn’t. It is also commercial activities through electronic medium but specifically mobile, and unlike the E-Commerce it can also work without internet whereas E-Commerce will definitely require an active internet connection, but M-Commerce can run even online. Thus it is also commercial activities but through a specific device i.e. mobile. It also refers to a lot of activities such as mobile banking, ticket booking etc. but some of commercial activities involving messages and calls will not require an Internet connection thus it consist of both online and offline activities.

DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS

Well they are of course not same but what are the factors where they differ? So, let’s look at the points.

MOBILITY

Well I am a very forgetful person. Sometimes I remember something that I need to buy or something to order when I am not in house. So, what to do, I simply do it through the mobile, because I carry it everywhere, so M-Commerce is very mobile, you can use it anywhere any time at any situation, but it is not possible in case of ordinary E-Commerce cause it is not possible to move such big devices everywhere I go like mobile. Thus mobile commerce is far more mobile than other E-Commerce sources.

CONVENIENCE

In case of convenience we cannot choose any one. It depends on the situation we are in like outside hose M-Commerce is convenient where as in house the smoother interface of E-Commerce is preferred. So, basically this is decided on the basis of the situation we stand in. There are other factors like, for ticket booking and stuffs sometimes the mobile app is much more friendly and developed than the one in the computer thus here M-Commerce proves to be more convenient than E-Commerce, where as in case of big business interfaces the computers are preferred due to its hardy models and its convenience in such fields. So, which one is more convenient that depends upon the situation we are standing in.

ADDITIONAL FACILITIES

Well, sometimes we get additional facilities on the either one. Sometimes the interface of computer is very fast and friendly whereas in mobile not. In mobile also there are additional features that help out in its purpose like the sync, and location detecting facilities. So, there are unique additional facilities on either one of the commercial means. Both can provide you with different set of facilities.

SECURITY

Well in this case both of them are highly secure but the mobile interface is considered to be much more secure than the interface of E-Commerce. Data transactions and passwords are considered to be safer in M-Commerce than in E-Commerce mediums.

Thus, both E-Commerce and M-Commerce have their features and flaws, now its up to you that which one will you prefer and in what situations. Either one of them can provide you results better than the other depending on the situation you are using it in.