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eCommerce Definitions
Looking for a place to begin with cross-border ecommerce? Let's review some ecommerce basic definitions.

eCommerce Definitions

To learn more about cross-border ecommerce, Explore Our eCommerce Resources.

What is eCommerce? 

eCommerce is a sales channel that crosses all industries that sell or promote brand awareness online and is considered a sales channel and part of a businesses’ digital strategy.  

What is “Cross-Border eCommerce”? 

Cross-border eCommerce is international ecommerce. It is literally “selling across a border using ecommerce,” as opposed to domestic ecommerce transactions. 

Business to business (B2B) eCommerce transactions are made between businesses, where a supplier sells in bulk. Business to consumer (B2C) is where a business sells its product directly to a customer, either directly from a company website or an online marketplace. 

What is an eCommerce Marketplace? 

A third-party website that hosts vendor pages as online storefronts and transactions are processed by the marketplace service provider/operator. It is part of an eCommerce sales channel mix, along with website, social media, and in-country partner/distributor online presence. Find eCommerce Marketplace Services.

What is an eCommerce Platform? 

A series of software technologies that are integrated into a business’s website that allows a business to solicit products or services from their website to complete the online sales cycle. Find eCommerce Backend Technology Services.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

The process of improving your business website’s ability to show up in an online search result when it should. 

What is International SEO?

International SEO is part of website internationalization, which itself is the process of improving your business website’s ability to show up in an international online search result when it should, for the purpose of increasing international online sales (exports).

What is Website Analytics?

Looking at the visitor behavior data of your website, and making strategic business decisions based on information you collect and interpret to maximize your return from your ecommerce sales channels through the use of ecommerce key performance indicators.

 

 

Explore Our eCommerce ResourcesLearn about the WGR Service for SEORead the eCommerce Frontline Library

 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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