ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) is a course unit designed to help students understand how businesses use the internet, websites, mobile applications, digital payment systems, and other information technologies to buy, sell, communicate, and conduct business electronically.

The course begins by introducing the concept, evolution, characteristics, benefits, limitations, and scope of electronic commerce. Students examine the major e-commerce models, including Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to-Business (B2B), Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C), Consumer-to-Business (C2B), and electronic government services.

Students learn how a complete e-commerce transaction works, from a customer discovering a product online through product selection, shopping carts, checkout, electronic payment, order processing, inventory management, delivery, customer support, and after-sales services.

The course also explores the technologies that support modern electronic commerce, including e-commerce websites and platforms, databases, web technologies, payment gateways, mobile commerce, cloud computing, APIs, digital wallets, online marketplaces, and electronic transaction systems.

Special attention is given to electronic payment systems and e-commerce security. Students learn about payment cards, mobile money, online banking, digital wallets, payment gateways, authentication, encryption, HTTPS/TLS, fraud, cyber threats, privacy, and techniques businesses use to protect customers and electronic transactions.

Students also study the business side of e-commerce, including digital marketing, social commerce, search engines, online advertising, customer relationship management, logistics and fulfilment, pricing strategies, customer experience, entrepreneurship, legal and ethical issues, and e-commerce business models.

The course has a strong practical component. Students will examine existing e-commerce businesses and participate in designing or developing a simple electronic commerce solution incorporating features such as a product catalogue, customer accounts, shopping cart, checkout, order management, payment integration concepts, and an administrative dashboard.

By the end of the course, students should be able to understand how an e-commerce business operates from both a technological and business perspective, evaluate existing e-commerce systems, identify security and operational challenges, and design appropriate electronic commerce solutions for real-world organizations and businesses.