What is e-commerce?

 

E-commerce (or electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods (or services) on the Internet. E-commerce (or e-commerce) is the buying and selling of goods (or services) on the Internet.

Most e-commerce businesses use an e-commerce store and/or e-commerce platform to conduct online marketing and sales activities and to oversee procurement and realization.

To fully understand e-commerce, let us take a look at its history, growth, and impact on the business world. We will also discuss some advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce and future predictions.

 

History of E-commerce

 

E-commerce was first introduced about 40 years ago.

Since then, e-commerce has helped countless businesses grow with the help of new technologies, improved Internet connections, greater security through payment gateways, and widespread consumer and business adoption.

 

Types of e-commerce

 

In general, there are six main models of e-commerce that businesses can be divided:

 

B2C.

B2B.

C2C.

C2B.

B2A.

C2A.

Let us take a closer look at each type of e-commerce.

 

1. Business-to-consumer (B2C).

 

B2C e-commerce involves transactions between a business and a consumer. B2C is one of the most popular sales models in e-commerce. For example, when you buy shoes from an online retailer, it is a transaction between the company and the consumer.

 

2. Business-to-business (B2B).

 

Unlike B2C, B2B e-commerce involves sales between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler or retailer. B2B is not consumer-facing and takes place only between businesses.

Business-to-business sales often involve raw materials or products that are repackaged before being sold to customers.

 

3. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C).

 

C2C is one of the first forms of e-commerce. Customer-to-customer refers to the sale of products or services between customers. This includes C2C sales relationships such as those found on eBay or Amazon.

 

4. Consumer-to-business (C2B).

 

C2B inverts the traditional e-commerce model, i.e., individual consumers make their products or services available to commercial buyers.

An example of this is the iStockPhoto business model, where stock photos are offered online for direct purchase from various photographers.

 

5. Business-to-administration (B2A).

 

B2A involves transactions between online businesses and offices. Here we can mention, for example, products and services related to legal documents, social security, etc.

 

6. Consumer-to-administration (C2A).

 

C2A is similar to B2A, but consumers sell products or services online to an office. C2A can include online education consulting, online tax preparation, and more.

B2A and C2A focus on increasing efficiency within administration through information technology support.

 

 

The impact of e-commerce

 

The impact of e-commerce is enormous, ranging from small businesses to global corporations.

 

Large retailers are forced to sell online.

 

For many retailers, the growth of e-commerce has increased their brands' offerings and positively impacted their final prices. But for retailers that have been slow to adopt online sales, the impact is different.

Mid-sized retailers are the ones feeling the impact of e-commerce the most.

In February 2019, online sales surpassed sales at general merchandise stores, including department stores, warehouses, and supermarkets, for the first time. As Amazon Prime lowers shipping costs, more customers feel comfortable shopping online.

 

E-commerce helps small businesses sell directly to customers.

 

For many small businesses, getting into e-commerce has been a slow process. However, those that have gotten involved have discovered that e-commerce can open the door to new opportunities.

Little by little, small business owners are setting up e-commerce stores to diversify their offerings, reach more customers and retain customers who prefer online/mobile purchases. 

Before the epidemic, small businesses were trying to expand their e-commerce presence. Today, 23% of small business owners believe they need to expand their e-commerce capabilities to survive in the post-epidemic world. Another 23% of small business owners have created a website or updated their existing website since the Quaid 19 quarantine began.