Defining Ecommerce
Ecommerce is a term which encompasses a number of activities which includes buying and selling of goods and services online. This term is most commonly used in reference to activities like online shopping, internet banking, online auctions, payment gateways, etc.
What is Ecommerce?
Electronic commerce or Ecommerce as it is popularly known is buying and selling of goods and services via the internet. Ecommerce generally refers to the transactions made during the online trading of goods and services. So, basically when you as an individual or as an organisation engage in the purchase or sale of goods and services online, you are engaging in Ecommerce.
The history of Ecommerce is dated back to the 1990’s when the first ever Ecommerce transaction was made— a CD of the band Sting was sold online on 11th of August 1994. This particular transaction made people aware that the internet can be used for buying and selling products and can in fact prove to be a convenient source for doing so.
After this first ever Ecommerce transaction, the world of ecommerce has only grown bigger. The ecommerce giants like Amazon who have risen to fame since the mid 90’s are now the biggest platforms for ecommerce services. These platforms have gained a higher popularity as it is much easier to search for the desired products at reasonable rates from online markets and retailers than the physical marketplaces.
Ecommerce platforms have also helped many small businesses to grow as it helps them to sell their products online and increase the reach of their products to a large number of customers using the ecommerce platform.
Different Ecommerce Models
There are basically four ecommerce models which can be classified based on the parties involved in the transaction.
Business to business or B2B-
This ecommerce model represents the transactions taking place between two businesses. This is when a business sells goods and services to another business.
Consumer to consumer or C2C-
This model represents the transactions taking place between two consumers. This is when a consumer sells goods and services to another consumer through the ecommerce platform.
Business to consumer or B2C-
This model represents the transactions taking place between a business and an individual consumer. This is when a business sells goods and services to an individual consumer.
Consumer to business or C2B-
This model represents the transactions taking place between a consumer and a business. This is when an individual consumer sells goods and services to a business.
