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 e-commerce 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.

m-commerce 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
E-commerce preceded m-commerce. The advent of e-commerce was in the 1970’s while that of m-commerce was in the 1990’s.

m-commerce is a subset of e-commerce
In other words, e-commerce is a superset of m-commerce. It is an established fact that m-commerce is rapidly rising at the expense of the older methods of e-commerce. Also, industry experts predict that m-commerce will surpass or even replace e-commerce in the near future. There is no dispute that the two technologies have differing trajectories. Simply put m-commerce is an extension of e-commerce.

Leverage different kinds of devices
Earlier personal computers and later laptops were employed to conduct e-commerce. However in the case of m-commerce 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 e-commerce whereas it is not compulsory for m-commerce. The latter may work even when offline.

User base
As there more smartphone users than PC and laptop today users m-commerce has a potentially larger user base as compared to e-commerce.

Mobility
PC’s and laptops are difficult to carry anywhere. However, smartphones being smaller and lighter can be transported with ease. Hence m-commerce is more convenient and at an advantage when benchmarked against e-commerce.

Geographical reach
E-commerce works only in locations where there are facilities of internet and electricity are available. M-commerce 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 m-commerce 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 m-commerce mobile phone service charges are an important component of the overall cost.

magePoint will be happy to assist you in developing  e-Commerce or M-Commerce website for your business.