Influences on Business

What Influences on Business covers

Influences on Business is examined in both papers, since Paper 1 and Paper 2 each draw on it. It covers E-commerce and digital communication, ethics, the environment and sustainability, interest rates, employment and consumer spending, globalisation and exchange rates, employment, health and safety and consumer law and competition, risk and uncertainty.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• E-commerce and digital communicationE-commerce and wider markets, new products created by digital technology, pressure on the high street, food delivery apps, digital communication with customers, staff and suppliers, and the risks of relying on it.Open →
• Ethics, the environment and sustainabilityEthical behaviour and its trade-off with profit, traffic, recycling, waste and pollution, the costs and benefits of going green, consumer pressure, global warming and scarce resources.Open →
• Interest rates, employment and consumer spendingInterest rates and the Bank of England base rate, borrowing costs worked through a loan example, delayed expansion, unemployment and recruitment, and how luxury and basic products fare when incomes fall.Open →
• Globalisation and exchange ratesGlobalisation, imports, exports and multinationals, competing through design and quality, producing overseas, exchange rates and SPICED, and how a strong or weak pound affects exporters and importers.Open →
• Employment, health and safety and consumer lawThe National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, the Equality Act 2010 in recruitment and pay, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, trade descriptions and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.Open →
• Competition, risk and uncertaintyMarkets and competition, monopolies and inefficiency, risk against uncertainty, profit as the reward for risk, reducing risk through research, insurance and a product range, and responding to a large new rival.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Influences on Business further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Imports vs Exports

  Imports: goods and services bought from other countries. Exports: goods and services sold to other countries.

• Strong pound vs Weak pound

  Strong pound: a rise in sterling's value against other currencies. Weak pound: a fall in sterling's value against other currencies.

• Interest rate vs Exchange rate

  Interest rate: the cost of borrowing money as a percentage. Exchange rate: the price of one currency in terms of another.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is e-commerce?

   Model answer

   E-commerce is buying and selling goods or services over the internet. Customers can order through a website or an app.

2. 2

   How does e-commerce let a business reach a wider market?

   Model answer

   A website can be visited by customers anywhere in the country or the world. A small business can sell nationally or abroad without opening new premises.

3. 3

   How has digital technology created new products and changed old markets?

   Model answer

   Digital technology has created products such as streaming services, apps and online banking. Businesses selling older versions, such as DVD shops and travel agents, have lost sales.

4. 4

   What are the benefits of e-commerce for a retailer?

   Model answer

   An online retailer can trade 24 hours a day and reach far more customers. An online retailer may also save on the cost of running shops.

5. 5

   What are the drawbacks of e-commerce for a business?

   Model answer

   A business must pay to build and maintain a secure website. Online customers can compare prices instantly, which makes competition fiercer.

6. 6

   Why has e-commerce increased the competition faced by high-street shops?

   Model answer

   Online sellers often have lower costs and can charge lower prices. Shoppers can compare prices on their phones before buying in a shop.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Influences on Business revision questions

What does Influences on Business cover in AQA GCSE Business?

6 subtopics: e-commerce and digital communication, ethics, the environment and sustainability, interest rates, employment and consumer spending, globalisation and exchange rates, employment, health and safety and consumer law and competition, risk and uncertainty. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Influences on Business organised?

By the AQA 8132 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.