E-commerce Vocabulary Quiz
12 multiple-choice questions on e-commerce and online retail vocabulary: carts, checkout, payment gateways, shipping and returns. B1–B2 level.
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E-commerce Vocabulary — FAQ
E-commerce (electronic commerce) means buying and selling goods or services over the internet. It covers online shops, marketplaces and digital payments, as well as the systems behind them — shopping carts, checkout, payment gateways and delivery. A business that sells online is often called an 'e-commerce business' or 'online retailer'. The term contrasts with 'bricks-and-mortar' shopping, where customers buy in a physical shop.
A shopping cart (sometimes called a 'basket' on British websites) is the virtual container where a shopper collects the items they intend to buy before paying. Checkout is the final stage of the purchase: the customer reviews the cart, enters delivery and payment details, applies any discount code and confirms the order. Once payment is taken at checkout, the order is placed and the seller begins processing it.
A payment gateway is the service that securely processes a customer's card or digital payment at checkout. It encrypts the card details, sends them to the bank for authorisation, and confirms whether the payment is approved or declined. Well-known examples include Stripe, PayPal and Worldpay. The gateway sits between the online shop and the banks, making sure money moves safely and that sensitive card data is protected.
Cart abandonment is when a shopper adds items to their online cart but leaves the website without completing the purchase. It is one of the biggest challenges in e-commerce. Common reasons include unexpected shipping costs, a complicated checkout, or simply browsing without intent to buy. Retailers often try to reduce it with reminder emails, saved baskets, guest checkout and clear delivery pricing.
The conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action — usually making a purchase. For example, if 1,000 people visit a shop and 30 buy something, the conversion rate is 3%. It is a key measure of how well an online shop turns visitors into customers. A low conversion rate may point to problems with pricing, product pages or the checkout process.
A return is the act of sending an unwanted or faulty item back to the seller. A refund is giving the customer their money back for that item. An exchange is swapping the returned item for a different one — for example, a different size or colour — instead of getting money back. So a return often leads to either a refund or an exchange, depending on what the customer wants.
Upselling means encouraging a customer to buy a more expensive or upgraded version of the product they are looking at — for example, suggesting a larger storage option on a phone. Cross-selling means suggesting related or complementary products — for example, a case and charger to go with that phone. Both aim to increase the value of the order, but upselling trades up while cross-selling adds extra items.
Fulfilment is the whole process of getting an order to the customer after they have paid. It includes picking the item from the warehouse, packing it, labelling it and shipping it, as well as handling any returns. Some retailers manage this themselves, while others use a 'fulfilment centre' or a third-party service (sometimes called 3PL) to store stock and dispatch orders on their behalf.
An online marketplace is a website where many different sellers list their products in one place, such as Amazon, eBay or Etsy. The marketplace provides the platform, payment system and audience, while individual sellers supply the goods. A standard online shop, by contrast, sells only its own products. Marketplaces give shoppers more choice and let small sellers reach customers without building their own website.
Useful e-commerce abbreviations include: B2C (business to consumer — selling to the public), B2B (business to business — selling to other companies), SKU (stock keeping unit — a unique product code), COD (cash on delivery — paying when goods arrive), AOV (average order value — the typical amount spent per order) and CTA (call to action — a prompt such as 'Buy now'). You may also see ROI (return on investment) and SaaS (software as a service).