The role of responsive e-commerce web design and development does not just lie in the creation of an engaging website but in also rendering efficacy in handling all those times of the year when shopping is at its very best.

1. What is E-commerce?
Electronic commerce or e-commerce is a term for any type of business, or commercial
transaction, that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. It covers a range
of different types of businesses, from consumer based retail sites, through auction or music
sites, to business exchanges trading goods and services between corporations. It is
currently one of the most important aspects of the Internet to emerge.
E-commerce allows consumers to electronically exchange goods and services with no
barriers of time or distance. Electronic commerce has expanded rapidly over the past five
years and is predicted to continue at this rate, or even accelerate. In the near future the
boundaries between "conventional" and "electronic" commerce will become increasingly
blurred as more and more businesses move sections of their operations onto the Internet.
Business to Business or B2B refers to electronic
commerce between businesses rather than
between a business and a consumer. B2B
businesses often deal with hundreds or even
thousands of other businesses, either as customers
or suppliers. Carrying out these transactions
electronically
provides
vast
competitive
advantages over traditional methods. When
implemented properly, e-commerce is often faster,
cheaper and more convenient than the traditional
methods of bartering goods and services.
What do you need to have an online store and what exactly is a
shopping cart?
Shopping cart software is an operating system used to allow consumers to purchase goods
and or services, track customers, and tie together all aspects of e-commerce into one
cohesive whole.
How do online shopping carts differ from those found in a grocery store? The image is one
of an invisible shopping cart. You enter an online store, see a product that fulfills your
demand and you place it into your virtual shopping basket. When you are through
browsing, you click checkout and complete the transaction by providing payment
information.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

2. E-commerce companies smartly ride the Holiday Shopping wave
The role of responsive e-commerce web design and development does not just lie in the
creation of an engaging website but in also rendering efficacy in handling all those times
of the year when shopping is at its very best. End of the year is perhaps the biggest
shopping season across the world and e-commerce businesses need to be all the more agile
and proactive in realizing maximum potential. Steps they take during this phase do not
just yield temporary results but create a platform for long term benefit accumulation.
Here are things marketers can do to ride the holiday shopping wave that can take them to
their destination successfully.
 The ‘Right’ Bible
Right is not an option. Although there are numerous sources that can predict customer
behavior, none of these can be deemed 100 percent right. It is often difficult to forecast
when and where your target customers are quite likely to be. Hence, it is imperative that
businesses make sure they are omnipotent in order to be available at the right channel and
the right time so that there is no opportunity loss that could have otherwise meant
conversions.
 Social channels are neither saturated nor emerging
Interestingly, 90 percent of online content that has been doing its rounds in the past two
years are predominantly from social platforms. However, many brands are yet to make
their presence in these channels due to their own share of reasons. But an opportunity
missed is lost business. Regardless of the reasons businesses may have supporting their
absence from social media, it is important for them to understand that there are greater
chances of prospective customers to be actively available on these channels. The
population is getting global and that should be the objective of businesses as well. They
may only have a local presence but their reach and access must be cross boundaries.
While the perfect e-commerce web design and development strategy fetches a business its
responsive design; the right digital marketing initiative will determine its sustenance and
profitability.
 Languages cannot be overruled
Not too long ago, about 80 percent of the population that surfed online knew English but
today the same cannot be said. The internet is global and so is your business but there is a
good percentage of world population that does not understand the English language. Any
business cannot fail to comply with the requirements of this segment of population. Many
Fortune 500 companies offer support in multiple languages. And it becomes the need of
e-commerce businesses to make themselves available in multiple languages for expanding
customer base.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

3.  Beyond language
E-commerce websites must also consider global culture. They are as varied as language
and while English may have permeated into different cultures, there has been little or no
dilution in terms of the culture by itself. So, if your business is focusing on customer
acquisition, make sure they are contextual from all points of view. Customer sensitivity is
perhaps the first thing every business should ensure.
There are many facets to e-commerce web design and development. Maintaining the right
balance is often key to deriving the right strategy.
Top E-commerce Development Platforms 2013
Magneto vs. Shopify vs. Volusion vs. BigCommerce
Choosing an e-Commerce platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make
when running an online business. The right platform should be empowering, not
encumbering. It should give you the tools you need to run your business and take care of
all the messy technical stuff by itself.
1. Magento
With over 200,000 installations, Magento is among the
most popular e-Commerce platforms in the world. It is free,
open-source, and counts Nike, Warby Parker, and Paul
Smith among its clients. As a highly scalable, powerful
platform with a huge library of existing extensions, it is
particularly suitable for startups and traditional retailers
looking to make the jump online.
 The Good
Free
Scalable
Open-Source
SEO

The Bad
Customization
Size
Performance
Self-Hosted
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

4.  Price: Free

Major Users: Nike, Overstock Deals, Warby Parker, Paul Smith, Harper’s Bazaar

Perfect For: Large businesses with thousands of products who want an online
footprint and have the resources to create custom stores.
2. Shopify
Shopify is a beloved platform among small retailers and startups that want an easy to use,
easy to setup e-Commerce store.
 The Good
Hosted
Easy to Use:
Customer Support
Marketing
 The Bad
Price
Transaction Fees
Customization
Migration

Price: Starting at $29/month

Major Users: Hard-graft, SMS Audio

Perfect For: Small businesses that want a simple, easy to use system with strong
built-in designs.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

5. 3. Volusion
Volusion is often hailed as the industry standard for self-hosted e-Commerce platforms.
First launched in 1999, it has certainly been around long enough to earn that reputation.
With a huge customer base and more than a decade’s experience, Volusion is one of the
platform choices for your website.
 The Good
Design
Marketing
Hosted
Mobile Friendly
 The Bad
Hosting
Customer Support
Price

Price: Starting at $15/month

Major Users: National Geographic UK, Kammok, ShadesDaddy

Perfect For: Small to medium sized businesses who know their way around a web
page and want to leverage third party apps.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

6. 4. Big Commerce
Big Commerce is one of the more prominent all-in-one e-Commerce and shopping cart
solution. It is favored by young startups and small retailers that value ease of use,
reliability and affordability.
 The Good
Price
SEO
Mobile Friendly
Ease of Use
 The Bad
Designs
Limited Third-Party App Support
Customization

Price: Starting at $24.95/month

Major Users: TravelKiddy, Hungrz, Supermuse, BrookFarm

Perfect For: Small businesses where ease of use and setup are a priority.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

7. Global E-commerce Trends for 2014
2013 has been another big year for e-commerce and we can expect this to continue
forward with new trends emerging for the upcoming year. Keeping up with the constant
growth and innovation of e-commerce is essential to stay competitive in the online retail
market.
Let’s see what we can expect to drive the industry as we look forward to the the global
e-commerce trends for 2014.
SEO, SEO and more SEO
Studies have proven that most of the traffic from search engine results goes directly to the
top 3 results. If you’re looking to become competitive in the market, then focusing on
valuable and engaging content is key.
The Large Data Note
2014 is the year where online merchants will make use of all the “big data” they have
been collecting and make business decisions based off this valuable data. It will help
online businesses accurately forecast buying trends, personalize the online shopping
experience and understand their overall market to better engage and convert customers.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

8. The M-Commerce Length
If you’re not mobile-friendly then you’re not competitive, bottom line. Mobile platforms
such as smart phones and tablets are changing the purchasing behaviors of online
shoppers. Mobile commerce is sweeping the industry and shoppers will expect a seamless
mobile shopping experience.
The Ultimate User Experience
With the use of big data on the rise, more and more online businesses will be able to
provide their shoppers with a customized user experience. Allowing customers to save
favorite products, a smooth checkout process and recommendations based on browsing
habits are going to set the bar for customer expectations.
Now Everyone’s a Socialite
It’s true! Suddenly it’s socially acceptable for everyone on the internet to update their
social networks on where they’re shopping, their latest purchases and share products they
really want. If your customers are there then you should be too! Social media networks
including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ are expected to make a stronger
impact on search engine rankings in the near future.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

9. Top 5 Largest Online Retailers
Here are top 5 companies whose combined online sales in 2013 amount to almost $75
Billion, US and Canada only. Let’s also have a look at their background and how did they
manage to reach the top 5. The winner is one of the fastest growing companies in the
world, a company born and raised online and probably the future of global retail. Let’s
first have a look at the winners up:
1. Amazon.com Inc.
Online Sales: $48,080,000,000
20113 Growth: 40.60%
Yes, I know it may come as a shock but Amazon is, indeed,
the largest online retailer in the world. It leads the online
retailers’ top by a very long margin and it will continue to do
so for a very long time, if we are to look at its continuous
growth, its innovative practices and
its aggressive
expansion.
The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and Amazon.com went online in 1995,
way before any of the other companies in this list were. Amazon was one of the few
companies to exit the 1997-2000 dot-com bubble still intact.
2. Staples Inc.
Online Sales: $10,600,000,000
2013 Growth: 3.90%
The first company in this list to cross the $10 billion in
online sales threshold is Staples, the largest office
supply chain in the world. Staples has more than 2000
stores in 26 countries but it plans to slash its brick and
mortar space by 15% and focus on online sales.
The first store was opened in 1986, when the company was funded by certain private
equity firms, including Bain Capital, co-founded by Mitt Romney (yeah, that Mitt
Romney) who stayed on board for the next 15 years to help with the company strategy.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.

10. 3. Apple Inc.
Online Sales: $6,660,000,000
2013 Growth: 27.40%
As I am writing this post Exxon surpassed Apple to become,
once again, the largest company in the world. However, Apple
is still valued at $413 billion and it is still the coolest thing in
technology. The company started its online sales operations in
in November 1997, an year after acquiring NeXT Computers
and bringing back Steve Jobs.
The whole online store was based at that moment on NeXT’s Web Object’s technology.
This allowed fast implementation (1 year was needed to implement the whole online store)
and a great online experience. As Steve Jobs declared at the time, $12 million worth of
sales were generated using the online store, in the first month.
4. Walmart.com
Online sales: $4,900,000,000
2013 Growth: + 19.70%
Walmart is big. Really big. It operates more than 10.000 retail units in 27
countries. It’s net sales in 2012 increased 5.9% to 443.9 billion dollars. Big as it might be,
Walmart did miss the start and that’s one of the reasons it’s “only” no.4 on our list. But
worry not – the company expands its operations online as aggressively as it does with its
brick and mortar stores and soon it will be fighting for the top position.
5. Dell Inc.
Online sales: $4,609,728,000
2013 Growth: – 4%
Dell is the only company in this top to have a negative growth.
The decrease in sales is a direct result of global PC sales
contraction in 2011. If your company is not named Apple
and your business has something to do with PC’s, than 2011
was probably one of the worst years for you. In fact Dell’s PC’s
shipments declined 8% throughout the year so that makes dell.com’s sales 200% better
than the overall company performance.
Copyright © 2013 Team Mango Media Private Limited. All rights reserved.