E-commerce
E-commerce implies trade in goods or services using computer networks, namely the Internet. The electronic commerce exploits such technologies as mobile commerce, Internet marketing and electronic funds transfer. In other words, the e-commerce is a business model which gives the firms the possibility to perform business activities online.
The electronic commerce business model involves the following activities:
- online shopping (retail sites and direct sales to customers)
- B2B buying and selling
- B2B electronic information exchange
- electronic marketing by e-mail
- pretail for testing new products and services
- online financial exchanges (for trading purposes)
There exist four basic types of electronic commerce:
1. Business-to-Business (B2B) – this e-commerce model implies all the electronic transactions of products and services taking place between companies. This model is typically used by wholesalers.
2. Business-to-Consumer (B2C) – this form of e-commerce involves the electronic business connections between the company and the real consumers. This type of electronic commerce corresponds to the retail activities, and is expressed by online stores and malls selling consumer goods, such as computers, shoes, apparel, food etc.
3. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) – this model of electronic commerce is related to the electronic transactions of products between consumers. In this model consumers use a platform provided by a third party to perform the transactions.
4. Consumer-to-Business (C2B) – this e-commerce model completely differs from the traditional exchange of products via Internet. The C2B implies the fact that people put up on sale their goods or services which are bought by companies. For example a blogger offering advertising services.
Unlike traditional commerce, the electronic commerce gives businesses the possibility to reach global markets, without spending large financial amounts. The borders of e-commerce are not delimited geographically, allowing consumers to purchase products from worldwide and favoring sellers to expand their businesses on an international level.
