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1.Introduction and Basic Overview of E- Commerce

Electronic Commerce, commonly known as (electronic marketing) e-commerce or ecommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailors and online

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retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web.

Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or limited to specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of electronic commerce conducted by companies such as Amazon.com.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.

'Electronic Commerce (EC) is the paperless exchange of business information using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and related technologies. If you are familiar with Electronic Mail (E-Mail), computer bulletin boards, facsimile machines (faxes), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) You can very well understand what is e-commerce. These are all forms of EC. All EC systems replace all or key parts of paper-based work flow with faster, cheaper, more efficient, and more reliable communications between machines. In today's Defense Department procurement arena, however the most important EC

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technology to know about is Electronic Data Interchange, or EDI.

E-Commerce is like Any Other Business, except...

Developing a business over the Internet requires many of the same major activities as starting any other business. You should do some basic business planning. After all, you need a product. You may need funding to get your business going. You need customers. You need to market products to your customers. You need strong customer service. You need to manage purchases by customers, finances, staff and other resources.

Not All Products Are Very Compatible to Sales over the Internet

But there are some features unique to e-commerce. Not all products are real compatible to be sold over the Internet. For example, they may require a lot of face-to-face selling. They may cost a lot to ship (a primary practice in e-commerce is that customers buy products, and you ship the products to them). You need to make sure that, because your product may be advertised to the world, that you remain in control of your ideas, or "intellectual property".

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You Need an Online "Store"

Basically, you need an "online store" to be an "e-tailor". (Don't fret. You may be able to outsource, or hire, a current store to work with you.) Your store will need a "merchant" account, or the ability to process your customers' credit card transactions over the Internet. This includes needing a "secure server", or that your online store is on a computer system that ensures that customers' credit card numbers cannot readily be read by people who are not supposed to read these numbers. You'll probably need some kind of online order form that customers can complete, in order to purchase your products. You may even want your the processing of customers' order to include processing the customers' credit card numbers right away while they're still online and connected to your Website.

Let's read on to understand the very basics of e-commerce.

Obviously, You Need a Website

You need to design and promote a Website. You'll need access to expertise that can regularly design and maintain this Website for you -- and it will require ongoing attention. Fortunately, there is a great deal of free information available to help you with this design and promotion.

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HistoryEarly development

The meaning of electronic commerce has changed over the last 30 years. Originally, electronic commerce meant the facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, using technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). These were both introduced in the late 1970s, allowing businesses to send commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically. The growth and acceptance of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking in the 1980s were also forms of electronic commerce. Another form of e-commerce was the airline reservation system typified by Sabre in the USA and Travicom in the UK.

Online shopping, an important component of electronic commerce, was invented by Michael Aldrich in the UK in 1979. The world's first recorded B2B was Thomson Holidays in 1981 [1] The first recorded B2C was Gateshead SIS/Tesco in 1984 [2] The world's first recorded online shopper was Mrs Jane Snowball of Gateshead, England [3] During the 1980s, online shopping was also used extensively in the UK by auto manufacturers such as Ford, Peugeot-Talbot, General Motors and Nissan.[4] All these organizations and others used the Aldrich systems. The systems used the switched public telephone network in dial-up and leased line modes. There was no broadband capability.

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From the 1990s onwards, electronic commerce would additionally include enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), data mining and data warehousing.

An early example of many-to-many electronic commerce in physical goods was the Boston Computer Exchange, a marketplace for used computers launched in 1982. An early online information marketplace, including online consulting, was the American Information Exchange, another pre Internet[clarification needed] online system introduced in 1991.

In 1990 Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web and transformed an academic telecommunication network into a worldwide everyman everyday communication system called internet/www. Commercial enterprise on the Internet was strictly prohibited until 1991 .[5] Although the Internet became popular worldwide around 1994 when the first internet online shopping started, it took about five years to introduce security protocols and DSL allowing continual connection to the Internet. By the end of 2000, many European and American business companies offered their services through the World Wide Web. Since then people began to associate a word "ecommerce" with the ability of purchasing various goods through the Internet using secure protocols and electronic payment services

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2. Ecommerce definition and types of ecommerce Ecommerce (e-commerce) or electronic commerce, a subset of ebusiness, is the purchasing, selling, and exchanging of goods and services over computer networks (such as the Internet) through which transactions or terms of sale are performed electronically. Contrary to popular belief, ecommerce is not just on the Web. In fact, ecommerce was alive and well in business to business transactions before the Web back in the 70s via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) through VANs (Value-Added Networks). Ecommerce can be broken into four main categories: B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C.

B2B (Business-to-Business)Companies doing business with each other such as manufacturers selling to distributors and wholesalers selling to retailers. Pricing is based on quantity of order and is often negotiable.

B2C (Business-to-Consumer)Businesses selling to the general public typically through catalogs utilizing shopping cart software. By dollar volume, B2B takes the prize, however B2C is really what the average Joe has in mind with regards to ecommerce as a whole.

Having a hard time finding a book? Need to purchase a custom, high-end computer system? How about a first class, all-inclusive trip to a tropical island? With the advent ecommerce, all three things can be purchased literally in

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minutes without human interaction. Oh how far we've come!

C2B (Consumer-to-Business)A consumer posts his project with a set budget online and within hours companies review the consumer's requirements and bid on the project. The consumer reviews the bids and selects the company that will complete the project. Enlace empowers consumers around the world by providing the meeting ground and platform for such transactions.

C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums where individuals can buy and sell thanks to online payment systems like PayPal where people can send and receive money online with ease. EBay’s auction service is a great example of where person-to-person transactions take place everyday since 1995.

Companies using internal networks to offer their employees products and services online--not necessarily online on the Web--are engaging in B2E (Business-to-Employee) ecommerce.

G2G (Government-to-Government), G2E (Government-to-Employee), G2B (Government-to-Business), B2G (Business-to-Government), G2C (Government-to-Citizen), C2G (Citizen-to-Government) are other forms of ecommerce that involve transactions with the government--from

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procurement to filing taxes to business registrations to renewing licenses. There are other categories of ecommerce out there, but they tend to be superfluous.

3.Getting a Computer System for Your Business

You'll need a computer system to manage information for your business. The size of the system depends on how much you want to do with it. However, today's desktop personal computers (especially if they're configured as part of a client-server system) can handle many of the demands of e-commerce. (Note that you may need a different computer system to actually host your Website, conduct financial transactions with customers, etc.)Planning and Buying a Small Computer System (including information for nonprofits)Software for Small Computer Systems (including general and nonprofit-specific information)Learning About Small Computer SystemsBasic, Technical Support and Maintenance of Small Computer SystemsComputer and Network Security

4.Computer and Network Security

Computer and Network Security (including worms, viruses, hoaxes and spam)Polices about Using Computers and Networks

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5.Etiquette in Online Communications

Netiquette - Techniques and styles of writing e-mail messages

6.Understanding Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

EDI appears to be the current standard format used by businesses to exchange documents between computers. The following links will give you a basic understanding of EDI.What is EDI?

7.Developing and Managing a Virtual Team

If you are conducting business over the Internet, it's not unlikely that you'll use the Internet for most, if not all, of your communications with employees. You are also likely to use the Internet to communicate with collaborating organizations, suppliers, etc. You'll benefit from reading about virtual teams, or groups of people working together primarily by using the Internet for means of communications. Virtual Teams

8.What's Involved in Designing and Managing a Product?

It will benefit the reader to have some basic sense of what's involved in developing and managing a

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product or service. Read the sectionBasic Introduction to Product Management (read this section, not the entire topic)

(Optional Reading)It's common for businesses to develop a business plan whenever they start a major new venture, for example, a new organization, product line, etc. You might review the basics of business planning. These basics will include information needed in the following sections, including product creation, marketing, advertising and promoting, and sales and service, as well. SeeBusiness Planning

9.Product Creation and Development

The Library topic Product and Service Management provides a complete overview of how to develop an idea into a product, how to build and regularly produce that product and how to advertise, promote and sell the product. See the following sections in that topic:Product Idea(Are You Planning a New Business Around Your New Idea?)Product Evaluation -- Can Your Idea Become a Viable Product or Service?Product Development -- Building Your Product or ServiceProduct Production -- Ongoing Building of Products or Services

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10. Online Stores -- Basics

Now you're read to begin selling your product over the Internet. The following links will help you set up your "virtual store" to begin transactions with customers. E-Commerce SEO Guide: Search engine accessibility challenges and solutions for online stores and database driven product catalogsHow Does Store-Building Software Work? (Very good overview)Creating the Virtual Store: Taking your Website from Browsing to BuyingMaking People Want to Buy in Your Retail Web store

(There will be more about online marketing, advertising and sales, later on below.)

11. Online Credit Card Processing

The ability to process credit card orders over the Internet is a major convenience to customers -- if they believe their credit card numbers will remain private to the transaction. Why You Need to Take Credit Cards on Your Website Unraveling the Mysteries of Merchant Credit Card Accounts for Web Commerce How to Decide Whether You Need Real-Time Credit Card Authorization for Your Site

You can learn about these services just by looking at some of the ads from businesses that offer merchant accounts.

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Internet Media Solutions1-888-MerchantAccounts.com

12. Online Marketing, Advertising and Promotion, Sales and Service

There is a great deal of information in the library about marketing, advertising and promoting, and sales and service. However, when these activities are carried out over the Internet, they have unique features. MarketingAdvertising and PromotionSelling OnlineCustomer ServiceCustomer Satisfaction

13. General Resources with More Information for You

There are an increasing number of online resources about e-commerce. Introductory and General E-Commerce Articles - Electronic Commerce Research RoomElectronic Commerce Resource CenterE-Commerce DictionaryCapterra's listing of ecommerce software

14. E-Commerce (news)

YouTube Moving toward Paid Content [September 3, 2009] the top online video service

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is reportedly in talks with movie studios to offer streaming rentals.

Consumer Groups Outline Privacy Law Wish List [September 1, 2009] Privacy advocates pitch policy framework to House leaders drafting bill that could reshape online advertising.

Social Networks Dominate in Online Display Ads[September 2, 2009] Social media giants MySpace and Face book command a fifth of all online display ads seen by Web users, according to a new study.

Eying Amazon, Wal-Mart Expands E-Commerce[September 1, 2009] The nation's largest retailer joins partners in unveiling a new e-commerce push that could see it better competing with Amazon.

EBay Sells Skype, Keeps Minority Stake [September 1, 2009] the e-commerce giant finally unloads Internet phone unit Skype for $1.9 billion.

On Source Takes on Amazon, IBM, and Rack space [August 28, 2009] the challenger takes on the big players with some sharp words for the cloud incumbents.

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Google Opens Ad Platform to Third-Party Networks [August 28, 2009] Outside ad networks approved by Google in coming months will get a crack at the company's Ad Sense publisher sites.

Sony Unveils 3G E-Book Reader, Library Tie-In[August 25, 2009] An expanded ecosystem promises to challenge the e-reader competition.

Heavy Hitters Take Swings at Google Book Search [August 21, 2009] Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon joining new coalition aiming to block Google's settlement agreement with authors and publishers.

Face book Tests Branded Virtual, Real-World Gifts[August 20, 2009] Britney Spears is the latest "licensed gift" in Face book's expanding virtual goods offerings, which the company hopes to parlay into a revenue stream via its virtual currency system.

Apple Accounts for 25% of All Music Sales[August 18, 2009] NPD Group finds iTunes gaining ground and looks for digital sales to pull close to even with CDs by end of 2010.

EBay Opens Mark place for Third-Party Apps

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[August 17, 2009] The online auction giant's new app store is available for eBay sellers, giving developers new revenue opportunity.

Are Bing Searches Still Turning Up Illicit Meds?[August 14, 2009] Microsoft is doing a better job of policing sponsored ads for illicit drugs but a new report shows some still slip through the cracks.

Smartphone App Downloads to Triple by 2014[August 14, 2009] As the Smartphone sector continues to grow, so does the app store phenomena, which might be too big for mobile players to handle solo.

Sony Plans New Kindle Rival, Adopts Open Format[August 13, 2009] The electronics giant may unveil plans for a wireless e-reader while ditching proprietary digital book formats in a new assault on front-runner Amazon.

Google Looks beyond Keywords [August 12, 2009] Are big changes coming to Google Ad Words? At SES, the search giant drops some tantalizing hints.

Yahoo Joins Digital Coupon Craze [August 12, 2009] Yahoo is the latest company

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betting that online bargain hunting is a trend ready to take off as it unwraps new Deals site.

Web Search Headed from GUI to LUI [August 12, 2009] A smarter Web could be a boon for marketers and users alike.

Economy Sends E-sales Into Negative Territory [August 12, 2009] Overall online retail spending continues to slip in the second quarter, though some categories still post solid gains.

EBay, GM to Launch Site for New Cars [August 10, 2009] Embattled automaker takes to the Web in partnership with e-commerce giant to "reinvent the car-buying experience."

Senator Mounts New Push to Legalize Net Poker [August 7, 2009] Revisiting testy online gambling fight, Robert Menendez looks to separate the legit sites from the scams in the eyes of the law.

Web trends Ups the Analytics Ante [August 4, 2009] the pioneering Web analytics company says its latest version unlocks the value of analytic data with a more visual interface.

Android Gets Amazon App, Enterprise Focus [August 4, 2009] RIM may have more than Apple

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to worry about as Android aims for the workplace.

Amazon's Patents Point to Kindle E-Book Ads [August 4, 2009] Ads in Kindle e-books bring with them a host of issues that will impact publishers, authors, readers, marketers and device makers.

E-commerce advantages

Some advantages that can be achieved from e-commerce include:

Being able to conduct business 24 x 7 x 365 . E-commerce systems can operate all day every day. Your physical storefront does not need to be open in order for customers and suppliers to be doing business with you electronically.

Access the global marketplace . The Internet spans the world, and it is possible to do business with any business or person who is connected to the Internet. Simple local businesses such as specialist record stores are able to market and sell their offerings internationally using e-commerce. This global opportunity is assisted by the fact that, unlike traditional communications methods, users are not charged according to the distance over which they are communicating.

Speed. Electronic communications allow messages to traverse the world almost instantaneously. There is no need to wait weeks for a catalogue to arrive by post: that

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communications delay is not a part of the Internet / e-commerce world.

Marketspace. The market in which web-based businesses operate is the global market. It may not be evident to them, but many businesses are already facing international competition from web-enabled businesses.

Opportunity to reduce costs. The Internet makes it very easy to 'shop around' for products and services that may be cheaper or more effective than we might otherwise settle for. It is sometimes possible to, through some online research, identify original manufacturers for some goods - thereby bypassing wholesalers and achieving a cheaper price.

Computer platform-independent . 'Many, if not most, computers have the ability to communicate via the Internet independent of operating systems and hardware. Customers are not limited by existing hardware systems' (Gascoyne & Ozcubukcu, 1997:87).

Efficient applications development environment - 'In many respects, applications can be more efficiently developed and distributed because the can be built without regard to the customer's or the business partner's technology platform. Application updates do not have to be manually installed on computers. Rather, Internet-related technologies provide this capability inherently through automatic deployment of software updates' (Gascoyne & Ozcubukcu, 1997:87).

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Allowing customer self service and 'customer outsourcing'. People can interact with businesses at any hour of the day that it is convenient to them, and because these interactions are initiated by customers, the customers also provide a lot of the data for the transaction that may otherwise need to be entered by business staff. This means that some of the work and costs are effectively shifted to customers; this is referred to as 'customer outsourcing'.

Stepping beyond borders to a global view. Using aspects of e-commerce technology can mean your business can source and use products and services provided by other businesses in other countries. This seems obvious enough to say, but people do not always consider the implications of e-commerce. For example, in many ways it can be easier and cheaper to host and operate some e-commerce activities outside Australia. Further, because many e-commerce transactions involve credit cards, many businesses in Australia need to make arrangements for accepting online payments. However a number of major Australian banks have tended to be unhelpful laggards on this front, charging a lot of money and making it difficult to establish these arrangements - particularly for smaller businesses and/or businesses that don't fit into a traditional-economy understanding of business. In some cases, therefore, it can be easier and cheaper to set up arrangements which bypass this aspect of the Australian banking system. Admittedly, this can create some grey areas for legal and taxation purposes, but these can be

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dealt with. And yes these circumstances do have implications for Australia's national competitiveness and the competitiveness of our industries and businesses.

As a further thought, many businesses find it easier to buy and sell in U.S. dollars: it is effectively the major currency of the Internet. In this context, global online customers can find the concept of peculiar and unfamiliar currencies disconcerting. Some businesses find they can achieve higher prices online and in US dollars than they would achieve selling locally or nationally. Given that banks often charge fees for converting currencies, this is another reason to investigate all of your (national and international) options for accepting and making online payments.

In brief, it is useful to take a global view with regard the potential and organisation of your e-commerce activities, especially if you are targeting global customers.

A new marketing channel. The Internet provides an important new channel to sell to consumers. Peterson et al. (1999) suggest that, as a marketing channel, the Internet has the following characteristics:

the ability to inexpensively store vast amounts of information at different virtual locations

the availability of powerful and inexpensive means of searching, organising, and disseminating such information

interactivity and the ability to provide information on demand

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the ability to provide perceptual experiences that are far superior to a printed catalogue, although not as rich as personal inspection

the capability to serve as a transaction medium the ability to serve as a physical distribution

medium for certain goods (e.g., software) relatively low entry and establishment costs for

sellers no other existing marketing channel possesses

all of these characteristics. Some of these advantages and their surrounding issues are discussed below in further detail. E-commerce disadvantages and constraints

Some disadvantages and constraints of e-commerce include the following.

Time for delivery of physical products . It is possible to visit a local music store and walk out with a compact disc, or a bookstore and leave with a book. E-commerce is often used to buy goods that are not available locally from businesses all over the world, meaning that physical goods need to be delivered, which takes time and costs money. In some cases there are ways around this, for example, with electronic files of the music or books being accessed across the Internet, but then these are not physical goods.

Physical product, supplier & delivery uncertainty . When you walk out of a shop with an item, it's yours. You have it; you know what it is, where it is and how it looks. In some respects

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e-commerce purchases are made on trust. This is because, firstly, not having had physical access to the product, a purchase is made on an expectation of what that product is and its condition. Secondly, because supplying businesses can be conducted across the world, it can be uncertain whether or not they are legitimate businesses and are not just going to take your money. It's pretty hard to knock on their door to complain or seek legal recourse! Thirdly, even if the item is sent, it is easy to start wondering whether or not it will ever arrive.

Perishable goods . Forget about ordering a single gelato ice cream from a shop in Rome! Though specialised or refrigerated transport can be used, goods bought and sold via the Internet tend to be durable and non-perishable: they need to survive the trip from the supplier to the purchasing business or consumer. This shifts the bias for perishable and/or non-durable goods back towards traditional supply chain arrangements, or towards relatively more local e-commerce-based purchases, sales and distribution. In contrast, durable goods can be traded from almost anyone to almost anyone else, sparking competition for lower prices. In some cases this leads to disintermediation in which intermediary people and businesses are bypassed by consumers and by other businesses that are seeking to purchase more directly from manufacturers.

Limited and selected sensory information. The Internet is an effective conduit for visual and auditory information: seeing pictures, hearing sounds and reading text. However it does not

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allow full scope for our senses: we can see pictures of the flowers, but not smell their fragrance; we can see pictures of a hammer, but not feel its weight or balance. Further, when we pick up and inspect something, we choose what we look at and how we look at it. This is not the case on the Internet. If we were looking at buying a car on the Internet, we would see the pictures the seller had chosen for us to see but not the things we might look for if we were able to see it in person. And, taking into account our other senses, we can't test the car to hear the sound of the engine as it changes gears or sense the smell and feel of the leather seats. There are many ways in which the Internet does not convey the richness of experiences of the world. This lack of sensory information means that people are often much more comfortable buying via the Internet generic goods - things that they have seen or experienced before and about which there is little ambiguity, rather than unique or complex things.

Returning goods. Returning goods online can be an area of difficulty. The uncertainties surrounding the initial payment and delivery of goods can be exacerbated in this process. Will the goods get back to their source? Who pays for the return postage? Will the refund be paid? Will I be left with nothing? How long will it take? Contrast this with the offline experience of returning goods to a shop.

Privacy, security, payment, identity, contract. Many issues arise - privacy of information, security of that information and payment details, whether or not payment details

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(eg credit card details) will be misused, identity theft, contract, and, whether we have one or not, what laws and legal jurisdiction apply.

Defined services & the unexpected . E-commerce is an effective means for managing the transaction of known and established services, that is, things that are everyday. It is not suitable for dealing with the new or unexpected. For example, a transport company used to dealing with simple packages being asked if it can transport a hippopotamus, or a customer asking for a book order to be wrapped in blue and white polka dot paper with a bow. Such requests need human intervention to investigate and resolve.

Personal service . Although some human interaction can be facilitated via the web, e-commerce can not provide the richness of interaction provided by personal service. For most businesses, e-commerce methods provide the equivalent of an information-rich counter attendant rather than a salesperson. This also means that feedback about how people react to product and service offerings also tends to be more granular or perhaps lost using e-commerce approaches. If your only feedback is that people are (or are not) buying your products or services online, this is inadequate for evaluating how to change or improve your e-commerce strategies and/or product and service offerings. Successful business use of e-commerce typically involves strategies for gaining and applying customer feedback. This helps businesses to understand, anticipate and meet changing online customer needs and preferences, which is critical because

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of the comparatively rapid rate of ongoing Internet-based change.

Size and number of transactions. E-commerce is most often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, and as a result very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. The size of transactions is also impacted by the economics of transporting physical goods. For example, any benefits or conveniences of buying a box of pens online from a US-based business tend to be eclipsed by the cost of having to pay for them to be delivered to you in Australia. The delivery costs also mean that buying individual items from a range of different overseas businesses is significantly more expensive than buying all of the goods from one overseas business because the goods can be packaged and shipped together.

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1.History

Mobile commerce was born in 1997 when the first two mobile phone enabled Coca Cola vending machines were installed in the Helsinki area in Finland. They used SMS text messages to send the payment to the vending machines. In 1997 also the first mobile phone based banking service was launched by Merita bank of Finland also using SMS.In 1998, the first digital content sales were made possible as downloads to mobile phones when the

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first commercial downloadable ringing tones were launched in Finland by Radionlinja (now part of Elisa)In 1999, two major national commercial platforms for m-commerce were launched with the introduction of a national m-payments system by Smart as Smart Money in the Philippines and the launch of the first mobile internet platform by NTT Do Como in Japan, called I-Mode. I-Mode was revolutionary also in offering a revenue-sharing deal where NTT Do Como only kept 9% of the content payment and returned 91% to the content owner.Mobile commerce related services spread rapidly in early 2000 from Norway launching mobile parking, Austria offering mobile tickets to trains, and Japan offering mobile purchases of airline tickets.The first conference dedicated to mobile commerce was held in London in July 2001 and the first book to cover m-commerce was Tomi Ahonen's M-profits in 2002. The first university short course to discuss m-commerce was held at the University of Oxford in 2003 with Tomi Ahonen and Steve Jones lecturing.PDAs and cellular phones have become so popular that many businesses are beginning to use m-commerce as a more efficient method of reaching and communicating with their customers. Although technological trends and advances are concentrated in Asia and in Europe, Canada and the United States are also beginning to experiment with early-stage m-commerce.The less price sensitive early adopters from the 13-25 age groups could drive the initial growth. Growth in mobile products such as ringtones, games, and

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graphics may displace spending on many traditional youth products such as music, clothing, and movies. This would radically change the dynamics of all visual entertainment and product-service distribution world wide so marketers could target end-users with diverse youth mind sets. The youth market has historically shown rapid viral growth which later gains acceptance in the mass market. While emerging markets are proving to be the ideal solution for sustaining revenues in the face of falling ARPU average price per unit, analysts say the rapid commercialization of 3G services is likely to open up new opportunities in developed markets.In order to exploit the m-commerce market potential, handset manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Qualcomm are working with carriers such as AT&T Wireless and Sprint to develop WAP-enabled smart phones and ways to reach them. Using Bluetooth technology, smart phones offer fax, e-mail, and phone capabilities."Profitability for device vendors and carriers hinges on high-end mobile devices and the accompanying killer applications," said Burchett. Perennial early adopters, such as the youth market, which are the least price sensitive, as well as more open to premium mobile content and applications, must also be a key target for device vendors.Mobile ticketing

Tickets can be sent to mobile phones using a variety of technologies. Users are then able to use their tickets immediately by presenting their phones at the venue.

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Tickets can be booked and cancelled on the mobile with the help of simple application downloads or by accessing WAP portals of various Travel agents or direct service providers.

Mobile ticketing for airports, ballparks, and train stations, for example, will not only streamline unexpected metropolitan traffic surges, but also help users remotely secure parking spots (even while in their vehicles) and greatly facilitate mass surveillance at transport hubs.

Mobile vouchers, coupons and loyalty cards

Mobile ticketing technology can also be used for the distribution of vouchers, coupons and loyalty cards. The voucher, coupon, or loyalty card is represented by a virtual token that is sent to the mobile phone. Presenting a mobile phone with one of these tokens at the point of sale allows the customer to receive the same benefits as another customer who has a loyalty card or other paper coupon/voucher. Coupons may be sent to a customer utilizing location based services when he is in a certain physical proximity (e.g. passing by the store).

Mobile delivery enables: economy of scale quicker and easier delivery effective target marketing privacy-friendly data mining on consumer

behavior

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environment-friendly and resources-saving efficacy

Content purchase and delivery

Currently, mobile content purchase and delivery mainly consists of the sale of ring-tones, wallpapers, and games for mobile phones. The convergence of mobile phones, mp3 players and video players into a single device will result in an increase in the purchase and delivery of full-length music tracks and video. Download speeds, if increased to 4G levels, will make it possible to buy a movie on a mobile device in a couple of seconds, while on the go.

Location-based services

Unlike a home PC, the location of the mobile phone user is an important piece of information used during mobile commerce transactions. Knowing the location of the user allows for location based services Such as:

local maps local offers local weather people tracking and monitoring Information services

A wide variety of information services can be delivered to mobile phone users in much the same way as it is delivered to PCs. These services include:

news services stock data

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sports results financial records traffic data and information

Particularly, more customized traffic information, based on users' travel patterns, will be multicast on a differentiated basis, instead of broadcasting the same news and data to all Users. This type of multicasting will be suited for more bandwidth-intensive mobile equipment.

Mobile banking

Banks and other financial institutions are exploring the use of mobile commerce to allow their customers to not only access account information, but also make transactions, e.g. purchasing stocks, remitting money, via mobile phones and other mobile equipment. This service is often referred to as Mobile Banking or M-Banking.

Mobile brokerage

Stock market services offered via mobile devices have also become more popular and are known as Mobile Brokerage. They allow the subscriber to react to market developments in a timely fashion and irrespective of their physical location.

Auctions

Over the past three years mobile reverse auction solutions have grown in popularity. Unlike traditional auctions, the reverse auction (or low-bid auction) bills the consumer's phone each time they place a

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bid. Many mobile PSMS commerce solutions rely on a one-time purchase or one-time subscription; however, reverse auctions are high return applications as they allow the consumer to transact over a long period of time.

Mobile purchase

Mobile purchase allows customers to shop online at any time in any location. Customers can browse and order products while using a cheap, secure payment method. Instead of using paper catalogues, retailers can send customers a list of products that the customer would be interested in, directly to their mobile device or consumers can visit a mobile version of a retailer’s ecommerce site. Additionally, retailers will also be able to track customers at all times and notify them of discounts at local stores that the customer would be interested in.

Mobile marketing and advertising

Mobile marketing is an emerging concept, but the speed with which it's growing its roots is remarkable. Mobile marketing is highly responsive sort of marketing campaign, especially from brands’ experience point of view. And almost all brands are getting higher campaign response rates. Corporations are now using m-commerce to expand everything from services to marketing and advertisement. Although there are currently very few regulations on the use and abuses of mobile commerce, this will change in the next few years. With the increased use of m-commerce comes increased security. Cell phone companies are now spending more money to protect their customers and their information from online intrusions and hackers.

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2.Mobile Commerce's Influence on Youth Markets

The hierarchy of mobile media is changing very rapidly and mobile WiMax or other technologies may increase the impact of, for example, location-based mobile ecommerce. As of 2007 many companies have been trying to penetrate this market. Early pioneers in this new Mobile advertising are companies such as Vodafone, Orange France Telekom, SK Telekom and several others. Three mimetic researchers and early pioneers of mobile advertising are Leveious Rolando, John Sokol and Gibran Burchett with their early experimentation of DVB-H in 1999 with Sony BMG's group Wu Tang. In 2007 on a trip to South Korea Leveious created a Venn-diagram model of rapid youth life style/trends. The diagram made explained the vital aspects of mobile adoption and sales of mobile global products/services in the mobile space. They performed an experiment in which the uses of viral mobile marketing within the context in the form of mobile commercials or mobisodes were created to attract an audience and retention. The two tested a theory of rapid mimetic dissemination. By observing the youth cultural styles and trends combined with the rate at which they passed on particular information given to the test subjects. Group subjects were given words and phrases and meeting points to be used regularly in conversation. The other group the control group produced a random sampling that provided a measure of the rate at which ideas and phrases were transmitted.

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Other experiments he conducted would take place in Europe-South Korea and Japan involving viral straight to the end-user mobile integrated campaigns for the delivery of products and coupons with instant savings from Mobile hand-held devices. This was commissioned by top Mobile providers like Dutch Telekom (German T mobile) and Orange with music artists -Djs and Mobile youth street teams that not only drove instant purchases of event tickets sales but also drove the sales of purchase of three different viable youth products to over 200,000 end-users in 8 days. This test showed how the Global youth mobile market can react autonomously and create trends. It also showed how products-applications take on new life because of youth mindsets who are the early adopters of any form of social engaging technology services. Leveious Rolando along with Gibran Burchett researched fashionable products in order to engage the end-consumer the m-commerce market potential, handset manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Qualcomm are working with carriers such as AT&T Wireless and Sprint to develop WAP-enabled smart phones, the industry's answer to the Swiss Army Knife, and ways to reach them.Other notable places where mobile devices are being used to conduct mobile commerce heavily are South Korea. Through using Bluetooth technology, smart phones offer fax, e-mail, and phone capabilities mobile companies in South Korea believed that mobile technology would become synonymous with youth life style. This was based on generations of South Koreans driving content back and forth world wide including music to drive the mobile market. "Profitability for device vendors and carriers hinges

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on high-end mobile devices and the accompanying killer applications," said Burchett. "Perennial early adopters, such as the youth market, which are the least price sensitive, as well as more open to premium mobile content and applications, must also be a key target for device vendors this was discussed by both Leveious Rolando and Gibran Burchett at a Mobile Commerce meeting in Japan August 2007. The early worked was transformed through dissemination they are along with few others have developed methodology to be deployed global through concerts and events and any form of youth related culture from South Korea to Japan to Europe, America in 2008 with world leading mobile software provider and world leading mobile provider. Companies such as European giant www.orange.com and www.overcell.com and world leading personal mobile software provider www.vidiator.com and other companies in South Korea, Japan and Britain, Germany lead this evolutions of Mobile advertising.

Payment methods

The main payment methods used to enable mobile commerce are:

Premium-rate calling numbers, Charging to the mobile telephone user's bill or Deducting from their calling credit. Registration of a credit card that is linked to a

SIM card.

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3.ANALYSIS in Mobile Advertising, Experimentation Is the Name of the Game

It's plain to see that smart phones and the mobile Web have taken off over the past few years. However, a time-tested model for using these devices and services for the purpose of marketing hasn't yet solidified. Marketers looking to take advantage of mobile advertising have a few success stories from which they can take notes, but there's still plenty of room for new ideas.Think you have to compromise on security to save on costs? Think Again. Trend Micro™ Enterprise Security, powered by the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network™, can lower your content security management costs by up to 40%. Find out just how much you’ll save with our TCO Impact Calculator. The proliferation of smart phones, alongside the growth in number of subscribers of 3G network data plans (or newer wireless services), is having a ripple effect on multiple markets, from mobile apps to hardware enhancements. As media becomes increasingly fragmented, advertisers are focused on multiplatform media strategies in order to capture and retain consumer attention.Smart phones -- and all the advanced applications that come with them -- offer the user a rich, dynamic experience for both utilitarian and entertainment applications, moving well beyond the capabilities of a standard cell phone. As a result, advertisers will begin to incorporate mobile into their overall media

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campaigns as this advertising channel matures into a viable marketing tool.How to integrate mobile into a campaign (i.e., how to use the mobile platform effectively) is a lingering point of concern. Advertisers have to make a choice when committing to this medium, and there isn't much history of successful (and unsuccessful) campaigns to guide one's decision. As a result, mobile advertising in North America and abroad is in a time of experimentation and (potential) innovation.Advertisements delivered over the mobile phone come in various types and formats, with the final form depending on the specific needs of the advertiser. Of course, the industry is still in need of time-tested data on which forms work best for what ends, so it is currently experimenting with different forms of mobile ads. The vast majority of mobile advertising expenditures currently go to text-message ads because messaging is the most common mobile data activity. As a result, text-messaging campaigns offer a simple way for advertisers to mobilize existing media plans from creative and budget perspectives.

Brand vs. Performance-Driven

In general, advertisements across all media fall into two distinct categories -- performance-driven ads and brand ads. Performance-driven mobile ads focus on increasing return on investment (ROI) for the client and include audience measurement data. Brand ads focus on increasing overall brand awareness or brand affinity. Mobile media campaigns fall into both categories. However, industry executives generally agree that the mobile platform performs much like

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traditional direct-response media and is therefore more valuable when used as a performance-based medium. The most common mobile ad formats fall into the following categories: Text messaging

Search Display In-application

The main advertising categories on the mobile platform are automotive, entertainment, consumer package goods (CPG) retailers and travel. Mobile media campaigns on a single ad network range from US$50,000 to $100,000, but some advertisers allocate more, depending on specific call-to-action and measured performance. Jaguar and Land Rover announced an unprecedented $1.6 million mobile media deal with ad network Ad Mob for 2009, based on positive direct-response results from previous mobile media campaigns.In general, the amount a company spends on mobile media is difficult to determine. Industry executives generally consider information on mobile budget allocations to be proprietary, and there is no average digital media spend assigned to mobile media initiatives. Mobile ad expenditures are directly linked to individual client strategies and objectives, and they are conducting a host of different experiments on format, spending and messaging. It will require several years to sort out which approaches work for which companies and for which industries.

Working Strategies

For now, several high-profile campaigns are already seeing positive results.

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One advertising strategy is to develop a mobile application to build brand awareness and interactivity. Kraft (NYSE: KFT) Foods created its own branded application, the ifood Assistant, which allows consumers to streamline shopping and food-preparation processes. The application includes recipe ideas and directions, simple shortcuts, a shopping list organizer, and cooking videos, all on an easy-to-navigate mobile interface. Kraft charges users 99 cents for the application and advertises its food products within the application. Kraft also uses the solution as a research tool to gain information and feedback on its consumers. Within a month of availability, the application was in the top 100 paid apps in Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) App Store, showing consumer willingness to pay for utility and convenience.The travel category is reaping high ROI by providing mobile phone access to its service offerings. While not a direct form of advertising (more an extension of marketing), Marriott Hotels, Hilton, and Omni Hotels have developed mobile WAP (wireless application protocol) sites to drive hotel bookings from mobile phones. Marriott claims to have generated $2 million in gross revenue from the launch of its mobile Internet site in August through the end of 2008.Omni Hotels claims consumer use of its mobile site grew 85 percent within six months, with a 25 percent ROI, and maintains that its current mobile conversion rates far exceed the company's online Web site. The success of this hotel chain's mobile media strategies further illustrates the value of marketing on the mobile channel, especially for companies operating in the retail and service fields. Continued success rates will push more companies into strategic

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partnerships with complementary third-party advertisers, which will further expand the mobile advertising space and lead to more experimentation with format, style and messaging.

4.Google Mobilizes Product Search for iPhone, Android Users

Google has made it easier to use mobile devices while shopping by ramping up the capabilities of its Product Search feature for iPhone and Android users. The functionality isn't fully baked, according to Kelsey Group analyst Michael Boland, but it's a step in the right direction, now that handsets are becoming the new desktop.

Success is just a matter of knowing the right "secrets, "The Edge of Success: 9 Building Blocks to Double Your Sales." You will discover the fastest, most effective ways to grow your business and still have time to live your life. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has rolled out a mobile-friendly version of its Product Search feature for iPhone and Android-powered devices.Google Product Search is a search engine that works much as the name indicates: Users type in keywords relevant to what they're seeking -- "garnet rings," for instance -- and the feature deliver likely prospects from various shopping sites, along with product reviews and ratings.Google's enhancements are a nod to the change in the way many people are using their cell phones -- basically, as mobile desktops. Mobile Product Search would come in handy for someone shopping at a

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store that had a question about design specs or comparison prices, for example. The advantage of m-commerce is: 1- providing wider reach. 2- reducing transaction cost 3- streamline business processes. 4- competitive pricing. 5- reducing time to order. The disadvantages of m-commerce. 1- small screens of most devices still limit types of file and data transfer (i.e. streaming videos, etc.) 2- standards guiding applications and technology development and connection(s) 3- WAP and SMS limited to small number of characters and text. 4- use of graphics limited 5- less functionality for mobile Internet over mobile phones and existing generation of handhelds than for mobile computers (laptops and next generation handhelds) 6- user interface is often difficult to learn how to use 7- limited bandwidth 8- limited roll out of higher bandwidth mobile networks and devices (i.e. 3g networks and wireless

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broadband networks are predominantly located in cities) 9- cost of establishing mobile and wireless broadband infrastructure 10- technology constraints of mobile devices (memory, processing power, display capabilities, input methods) 11- security of data moved across some mobile and wireless networks 12- businesses investment in hardware and infrastructure is seen as riskier as rapid evolution of mobile and wireless technologies continues.