外国人最想和你聊的时事话题：网上开店

　What is online shop　什么是网上开店
     Online shop, also known as Online shop, web marketing, online marketing, search marketing or e-marketing, is the marketing (generally promotion) of products or services over the Internet.
     Online shop is considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under online shop.
     Online shop ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales. Online shop also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, email marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies.
     In 2008, The New York Times, working with comScore, published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internetbased companies. Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks, the authors found that the potential for collecting data was up to 2,500 times per user per month.
     Online shop is associated with several business models:
     E-commerce: a model whereby goods are sold directly to consumers(B2C), businesses (B2B), or from consumer to consumer (C2C).
     Lead-based websites: a strategy whereby an organization generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website. Similar to walkin customers in retail world. These prospects are often referred to as organic leads.
     Affiliate Marketing: a process where in a product or service developed by one entity is sold by other active sellers for a share of profits. The entity that owns the product may provide some marketing material (e.g., sales letters, affiliate links, tracking facilities, etc.); however, the vast majority of affiliate marketing relationships come from e-commerce businesses that offer affiliate programs.
     Local Online shop: a strategy through which a small company utilizes the Internet to find and to nurture relationships that can be used for real-world advantages. Local Online shop uses tools such as social media marketing, local directory listing, and targeted online sales promotions.
     Advantages
     Online shop is inexpensive when examining the ratio of cost to the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and to purchase products and services conveniently. Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. The strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.
     Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively; almost all aspects of an online shop campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers can use a variety of methods, such as pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, and pay per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience. The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, to visit a website, and to perform a targeted action.
     Limitations
     However, from the buyer's perspective, the inability of shoppers to touch, to smell, to taste, and "to try on" tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting. However, there is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to reassure customers by having liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services.
     网上开店（online shop）是一种在互联网时代背景下诞生的新销售方式。网络最大的优点就是互动性(interactivity)强，在购物的同时，也可以上网开店出售物品。区别于网下的传统商业模式(traditional business mode)，与大规模的网上商城(e-store)及零星的个人物品网上拍卖相比，网上开店启动资金(initial capital)低、投入少、交易快捷方便、经营方式(mode of business operation)灵活，可以为经营者提供不错的利润空间。网上开店的天然优势迅速吸引了创业者(startup)的目光，越来越多的人开始上网开店出售物品，加入到"网上创业者"这一群体中。
     但是，网上创业决不是简单地上传几张物品照片，就可以干等买家"上钩"。其中也需要做大量的工作，包括前期准备(advance preparation)、货源(source of goods)、宣传(publicity)等，甚至是很简单的上传照片都有很多讲究。