What is e-commerce and its current popularity on a global scale?

Author: Anil Sharma

Definition: E-commerce(better known as electronic commerce or simply EC) refers to the purchase and sale of goods or services over the internet. This process involves the transmission of funds and data between the various parties involved in the transaction. Various business models exist to define this type of symbiotic relationship i.e. business to business, business to consumer, consumer to consumer or consumer to business.

History: The humble beginnings of EC dates back to the 1960s when EDI or Electronic Data Interchange was extensively in use mainly for the purpose of sharing business documents between different entities. Then in 1979, ANSI or American National Standards Institute came out with ASC X12 which served as a global benchmark for document sharing over digital networks. Over the 1990s, with the advent of the internet and the World Wide Web, the whole e-commerce industry underwent a major facelift and things were never the same as before. Currently, one can purchase whatever any generic item (available for sale to the general public) online without even having to visit a physical location. The item in question can be delivered to the buyer’s specified address on file.

Indian Context: Paytm is one of the major players in the Indian e-commerce industry. Headquartered in the city of Noida, the company formally started operations in 2010 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the parent company, One97.

Portfolio of Service Offerings: The company offers mobile recharging facilities along with bill payment services. In addition, it has a significant presence in the e-commerce domain with its business model akin to competitors like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal. 2015 saw the introduction of bus booking facilities in the travel domain. 2016 saw the introduction of movie ticketing in partnership with Cinepolis.

Users are able to view special Paytm Offersor for specified time ranges.

Paytm coupons are also available for generic purchasing which the users can then redeem on specific sites by listing the coupon code.

Users who go in for current offers provided by Paytm are also provided with an offer code which can then be used at the time of redemption.

Discount Deals are also provided by Paytm which lead to significant price savings covering a whole range of products/services.

Paytm Wallet: Users can also contribute funds using a credit/debit card into the online wallet and can then use the same for the purchase of both goods/services.

Security Credentials: Returning customers can create secure credentials with a custom username/password to protect their account access which is backed up by SSL security.

Funding: Paytm has received significant funding from Ratan Tata, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and also from the Indian private sector bank, ICICI.

Sponsorship: Paytm has also tied up with the Indian cricket board for the title sponsorship rights linked with international/domestic bilateral series hosted by the BCCI.

Layout: The layout of the e-commerce site maintained by Paytm is grouped in terms of the following high-level offerings:

  1. Mobile
  2. Direct to Home Connection
  3. Electricity
  4. Data Card
  5. Landline
  6. Gas
  7. Education
  8. Financial Services
  9. Deals
  10. Metro
  11. Water
  12. Hotels
  13. Bus Tickets
  14. Movies
  15. Amusement Parks
  16. Add Money to Wallet.