E-commerce 2023-2024: Business, Technology, Society PDF

19/10/2024 E-commerce 2023–2024: business. technology. society. Learning Objectives Eighteenth Edition...

19/10/2024 E-commerce 2023–2024: business. technology. society. Learning Objectives Eighteenth Edition 4.1 Understand the questions you must ask and answer, and the steps you should take, in developing an e-commerce presence. 4.2 Explain the process that should be followed in building an e- Chapter 4 commerce presence. Building an E-commerce 4.3 Identify and understand the major considerations involved in choosing web server and e-commerce merchant server software. Presence 4.4 Understand the issues involved in choosing the most appropriate hardware for an e-commerce site. 4.5 Identify additional tools that can improve website performance. 4.6 Understand the important considerations involved in developing a mobile website and building mobile applications. Copyright © 2024, 2023, 2020 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 1 2 Imagine Your E-commerce Presence (1 of 3) Imagine Your E-commerce Presence (2 of 3) What’s the idea? The vision includes: Where’s the money? – Mission statement – Business model(s) – Target audience – Revenue model(s) – Intended market space Who and where is the target audience? – Strategic analysis – Demographics, lifestyle, consumption patterns, etc. – Marketing matrix What is the ballpark? Characterize the marketplace – Development timeline – Size, growth, demographics, structure – Preliminary budget © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 3 4 Imagine Your E-commerce Presence (3 of 3) Figure 4.1 SWOT Analysis Where’s the content coming from? Know yourself: SWOT analysis Develop an e-commerce presence map Develop a timeline: Milestones How much will this cost? – Simple website: up to $5000 – Small startup: $25,000 to $50,000 – Large corporate website: $100,000+ to millions © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 5 6 1  19/10/2024 Building an E-commerce Site: A Figure 4.2 E-commerce Presence Map Systematic Approach Most important management challenges: 1. Developing a clear understanding of business objectives 2. Knowing how to choose the right technology to achieve those objectives Main factors to consider – Management – Hardware architecture – Software – Design – Telecommunications – Human resources © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 7 8 Planning: The Systems Development Life Figure 4.5 Systems Development Life Cycle Cycle Methodology for understanding business objectives of a system and designing an appropriate solution Five major steps 1. Systems analysis/planning 2. Systems design 3. Building the system 4. Testing 5. Implementation © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 9 10 Table 4.2 System Analysis, Business Objectives, System Functionalities, and Information Requirements System Analysis/Planning for a Typical E-commerce Site (1 of 2) Business objectives Business Objective System Functionality Information Requirements – List of capabilities you want your site to have Display goods Digital catalog Dynamic text and graphics catalog Provide product information Product database Product description, stocking numbers, System functionalities inventory levels – List of information system capabilities needed to Personalize/customize Customer on-site Site log for every customer visit; data product tracking mining capability to identify common achieve business objectives customer paths and appropriate responses Engage customers in On-site blog; user Customer comments captured by software Information requirements conversations forums with blogging and community forum functionality – Information elements that system must produce in Execute a transaction Shopping cart/payment Secure credit card clearing; multiple order to achieve business objectives system payment options Accumulate customer Customer database Name, address, phone, and e-mail for all information customers; online customer registration © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. 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All Rights Reserved 11 12 2  19/10/2024 Table 4.2 System Analysis, Business Objectives, System Functionalities, and Information Requirements Systems Design: Hardware and Software for a Typical E-commerce Site (2 of 2) Platforms Business Objective System Functionality Information Requirements System design specification Provide after-sale customer Sales database Customer ID, product, date, payment, – Description of main components of a system and support shipment date Coordinate Ad server, e-mail server, e- Site behavior log of prospects and their relationship to one another marketing/advertising mail, campaign manager, customers linked to e-mail and banner ad ad banner manager campaigns Two components of system design: Understand marketing Site tracking and reporting Number of unique visitors, pages visited, effectiveness system products purchased, identified by – Logical design marketing campaign Provide production and Inventory management Product and inventory levels, supplier ID ▪ Data flow diagrams, processing functions, supplier links system and contact, order quantity data by databases product – Physical design ▪ Specifies actual physical, software components, models, and so on © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 13 14 Building the System: In-House Versus Figure 4.7 Choices in Building and Outsourcing Hosting Outsourcing: Hiring vendors to provide services involved in building site Build own v s outsourcing e rs u – Build your own requires team with diverse skill set; choice of software tools; both risks and possible benefits Host own v s outsourcing e rs u – Hosting: Hosting company responsible for ensuring site is accessible 24/7, for monthly fee – Co-location: Firm purchases or leases web server (with control over its operation), but server is located at vendor’s facility © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 15 16 Testing the System Unit Testing Testing Objective: To validate that individual components (units) of the website, such as specific functions or modules, work as expected. – Unit testing Scope: Each unit or module is tested in isolation from the rest of the – System testing system. – Acceptance testing Who performs it: Usually done by developers or testers during the development phase. Example in e-commerce: Testing whether the “Add to Cart” function works properly. For example, when a user clicks on "Add to Cart," the item should appear in the cart with the correct price, quantity, and attributes. Benefits: Catches bugs early, ensuring each piece of code works correctly before integrating it with the rest of the system. © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 17 18 3  19/10/2024 System Testing Acceptance Testing Objective: To verify if the e-commerce website meets business requirements Objective: To evaluate the entire e-commerce website as a complete and and is ready for launch from the end-user perspective. integrated system, checking how well the units work together. Scope: This is the final phase of testing and focuses on ensuring that the Scope: Testing the website’s functionality, security, performance, and website behaves as the users expect, fulfilling its intended purpose. compatibility as a whole. Who performs it: Typically performed by the client or end-users in Who performs it: Typically done by a dedicated QA (Quality Assurance) collaboration with QA teams. team after integration. Example in e-commerce: Testing whether the site’s overall flow, from Example in e-commerce: Verifying that a customer can create an account, product selection to payment and order confirmation, works smoothly for search for products, select items, make payments, and receive an order different types of users (new customers, returning customers, etc.). It may confirmation email without any issues. It checks how well different parts (e.g., also involve checking if all business rules are correctly implemented, such as the payment gateway, database, user interface) work together. correct application of discounts or tax calculations. Benefits: Ensures that all components interact seamlessly, and the website Benefits: Ensures that the e-commerce website meets user expectations performs under expected conditions. It also helps catch issues related to and is aligned with the client’s business needs before going live. It helps in integration, such as broken links or slow-loading pages. validating user experience, functionality, and overall quality from the perspective of actual end-users. © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 19 20 Implementation, Maintenance, and Optimization Web Server Software Systems break down unpredictably Apache Maintenance is ongoing – Leading web server software – Works with UNIX, Linux operating systems Maintenance costs: Similar to development costs – Reliable, stable, part of open software community – A $40,000 e-commerce site may require $40,000 annually to upkeep Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) Benchmarking – Second major web server software – Windows-based – Integrated, easy-to-use © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 21 22 Site Management Tools Dynamic Page Generation Tools Basic tools included in all web servers Dynamic HTML (DHTML): used to change a way a web – Verify that links on pages are still valid page looks but does not generate a unique web page – Identify orphan files Dynamic page generation Third-party software for advanced management – Contents stored in database and fetched when needed to create a unique web page – Monitor customer purchases – Marketing campaign effectiveness Advantages – Keep track of hit counts and other statistics – Lowers menu costs – Example: Webtrends – Permits easy online market segmentation – Enables cost-free price discrimination – Enables web content management system (WCMS) © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 23 24 4  19/10/2024 E-commerce Merchant Server Software Application Servers (E-commerce Software Platforms) (1 of 3) Web application servers Provides basic functionality for sales – Provide specific business functionality required for a – Online catalog website ▪ List of products available on website – Type of middleware – Shopping cart ▪ Isolate business applications from Web servers ▪ Allows shoppers to set aside, review, edit and databases selections, and then make purchase – Single-function applications being replaced by – Credit card processing integrated software tools that combine all ▪ Typically works in conjunction with shopping cart functionality needed for e-commerce site ▪ Verifies card and puts through credit to company’s account at checkout © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 25 26 E-commerce Merchant Server Software E-commerce Merchant Server Software (E-commerce Software Platforms) (2 of 3) (E-commerce Software Platforms) (3 of 3) Different options for different-sized businesses Key factors in selecting a package – Small and medium-sized businesses: Shopify; – Functionality WordPress (WooCommerce), Wix, Square, Weebly, – Support for different business models, including m- Squarespace, Bigcommerce, open-source solutions commerce – Mid-range: HCL Commerce; Sitecore Experience – Business process modeling tools Commerce – Visual site management and reporting – High-end: SAP Commerce, Oracle ATG Web – Performance and scalability Commerce, Adobe Commerce – Connectivity to existing business systems Many now also available as cloud-based SaaS – Compliance with standards solutions. – Global and multicultural capability – Local sales tax and shipping rules © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 27 28 Right-Sizing Your Hardware Platform: Choosing Hardware The Demand Side Hardware platform Customer demand – Underlying computing equipment needed for e- – Most important factor affecting speed of site commerce functionality Factors in overall demand Objective – Number of simultaneous users in peak periods – Enough platform capacity to meet peak demand – Nature of customer requests (user profile) without wasting money – Type of content (dynamic v s static Web pages) e rs u – Required security Important to understand the factors that affect speed, capacity, and scalability of a site – Number of items in inventory – Number of page requests – Speed of legacy applications © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 29 30 5  19/10/2024 Right-Sizing Your Hardware Platform: The Supply Side Other E-commerce Site Tools Scalability Website design: Basic business considerations – Ability of site to increase in size as demand warrants – Enabling customers to find and buy what they need Ways to scale hardware Tools for search engine optimization – Vertically – Search engine placement ▪ Increase processing power of individual ▪ Metatags, titles, content components ▪ Identify market niches – Horizontally ▪ Offer expertise ▪ Employ multiple computers to share workload ▪ Links – Improve processing architecture ▪ Buy ads – Outsource hosting, use content delivery network ▪ Local e-commerce © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 31 32 E-commerce Website Features That E-commerce Website Features That Annoy Customers (1 of 2) Annoy Customers (2 of 2) Requiring user to view ad or intro page before going to Inability to use browser’s Back button website content No contact information available (web form only) Pop-up and pop-under ads and windows Too many clicks to get to the content Unnecessary splash/flash screens, animation, etc. Links that don’t work Music or other audio that plays automatically Confusing navigation; no search function Unprofessional design elements Requirement to register and log in before viewing content or Text not easily legible due to size, color, format ordering Typographical errors Slow loading pages No or unclear returns policy Content that is out of date © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 33 34 Table 4.9 The Eight Most Important Factors in Successful E-commerce Site Design Personalization Tools Factor Description Personalization: ability to treat people based on personal Functionality Pages that work, load quickly, and point the customer toward your product offerings qualities and prior history with site Informational Links that customers can easily find to discover more – Website personalization alters site based on who is about you and your products viewing it Ease of use Simple foolproof navigation Redundant navigation Alternative navigation to the same content Customization: ability to change the product to better fit the needs of the customer Ease of purchase One or two clicks to purchase Multi-browser functionality Site works with the most popular browsers – E-commerce customization focuses on generating Simple graphics Avoids distracting, obnoxious graphics and sounds that personalized product recommendations the user cannot control Cookies a basic method to achieve personalization Legible text Avoids backgrounds that distort text or make it illegible Other more sophisticated tools available © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 35 36 6  19/10/2024 Developing a Mobile Website and The Information Policy Set Building Mobile Applications Privacy policy Types of m-commerce platforms – Set of public statements declaring how site will treat – Mobile website customers’ personal information that is gathered by – Native app site – Mobile web app Accessibility rules – Hybrid app – Set of design objectives that ensure users with ▪ Runs inside native container disabilities can effectively access site ▪ App distribution ▪ Based on HTML5, CSS, JavaScript © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 37 38 Table 4.13 Unique Features That Must Be Taken Planning and Building a Mobile Presence Into Account When Designing a Mobile Presence Feature Implications For Mobile Platform Identify business objectives, system functionality, and information requirements Hardware Mobile hardware is smaller, and there are more resource constraints in data storage and processing power. Choices Connectivity The mobile platform is constrained by slower connection speeds than desktop websites. – Mobile website or mobile web app Displays Mobile displays are much smaller and require simplification. Some ▪ Less expensive screens are not good in sunlight. – Native app Interface Touch-screen technology introduces new interaction routines different from the traditional mouse and keyboard. ▪ Can use device hardware, available offline The mobile platform is not a good data entry tool but can be a good navigational tool. © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 39 40 Mobile Presence: Performance and Cost Mobile Presence Design Considerations Considerations Platform constraints Mobile first design – Graphics, file sizes – Most efficient Mobile first design Mobile website – Desktop website design after mobile design – Resizing existing website for mobile access is least Responsive web design (RWD) expensive – CSS site adjusts layout of site according to device Mobile web app screen resolutions – Can utilize browser API Adaptive web design (AWD) Native app – Server delivers different templates or versions of site – Most expensive; requires more programming optimized for device © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 41 42 7  19/10/2024 Copyright This work is protected by United Kingdom copyright laws and is provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work and materials from it should never be made available to students except by instructors using the accompanying text in their classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials. © 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved 43 8