Contrast Between eCommerce and Mobile Commerce eCommerce and mobile commerce are the buzz words today. Most of us have heard of these two terms. Many have used either or both to purchase or sell goods and/or services. But how many truly understand the two terms and more importantly the difference between the two. In this article, we explore the difference between eCommerce and mobile commerce. They are different concepts The term ecommerce also known as electronic commerce refers to the processes of purchasing as well as selling products and/or services employing electronic systems such as the internet. mcommerce also known as mobile commerce refers to the activities of purchasing as well as selling products and/or services employing internet/cellular data through wireless handheld devices.
They started in different time periods Ecommerce preceded mcommerce. The advent of ecommerce was in the 1970’s while that of m commerce was in the 1990’s. mcommerce is a subset of ecommerce In other words, ecommerce is a superset of mcommerce. It is an established fact that m commerce is rapidly rising at the expense of the older methods of ecommerce. Also, industry experts predict that mcommerce will surpass or even replace ecommerce in the near future. There is no dispute that the two technologies have differing trajectories. Simply put mcommerce is an extension of ecommerce.
Leverage Different Kinds of Devices Earlier personal computers and later laptops were employed to conduct ecommerce. However in the case of mcommerce wireless handheld devices including cell phones, PDA’s(Personal Digital Assistant), iPads, tablets and others are employed. Usage of Internet Internet is compulsory for conducting ecommerce whereas it is not compulsory for mcommerce. The latter may work even when offline. User Base As there more smartphone users than PC and laptop today users mcommerce has a potentially larger user base as compared to ecommerce. Mobility PC’s and laptops are difficult to carry anywhere. However, smartphones being smaller and lighter can be transported with ease. Hence mcommerce is more convenient and at an advantage when benchmarked against ecommerce. Geographical Reach Ecommerce works only in locations where there are facilities of internet and electricity are available. Mcommerce works even in absence of electricity and internet. Different Website Requirement As mobile devices have smaller screens and lower bandwidth compared to PC’s and laptops the sites need to be modified for mcommerce to be efficient as well as effective. The pages need to be light and contain essential content. Different Billing Internet charges, fees levied for net banking are some of the components of the cost of e commerce. In mcommerce mobile phone service charges are an important component of the overall cost. magePoint will be happy to assist you in developing eCommerce or MCommerce website for your business.