# What is eCommerce / Electronic Commerce?

What is eCommerce / Electronic Commerce? All business activity conducted online — showcasing products, ordering, payment, shipping, and post-sale service.

## How it works in practice

It's not just the website — it's everything that happens before and after the click. From the moment someone sees an ad to the moment the package arrives at the door. If one link breaks (slow loading, a stuck checkout, a late shipment), the entire experience breaks.

## Related metrics

- Conversion Rate — the health metric of the whole operation
- AOV — how much each transaction is worth
- LTV — how much each customer is worth over time
- Fulfillment — what happens after clicking 'buy'

## Common misconception

People think eCommerce equals a nice-looking website. In practice, 70% of customers abandon before paying — due to a clunky checkout, lack of trust, a surprise shipping fee, or simply a slow site.

## How to fix it

If sales stall, check in this order: (1) Google Analytics to identify where people leave, (2) Hotjar to watch session recordings, (3) check load time in PageSpeed Insights. Don't guess — follow the data.

## Real-world example

A clothing store added one extra checkout step ('what's your size?') — conversions dropped 18%. Removing the step restored the previous conversion rate within 48 hours. Every small friction costs money.

## Where to start

Step 0 before any advertising: make sure the site loads within 3 seconds on mobile, checkout works with every payment method, and the return policy is clear.

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Category: Marketing · From the [Jimmy OS KPI Glossary](https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi.md) · Source page: https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi/ecommerce-electronic-commerce