E-Commerce: Meaning, Types, Advantages, Disadvantages (2024)

Emerging Trends in Business

E-Commerce or Electronic Commerce means buying and selling of goods, products, or services over the internet. E-commerce is also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce. These services provided online over the internet network. Transaction of money, funds, and data are also considered as E-commerce. These business transactions can be done in four ways: Business to Business (B2B), Business to Customer (B2C), Customer to Customer (C2C), Customer to Business (C2B). The standard definition of E-commerce is a commercial transaction which is happened over the internet. Online stores like Amazon, Flipkart, Shopify, Myntra, Ebay, Quikr, Olx are examples of E-commerce websites. By 2020, global retail e-commerce can reach up to $27 Trillion. Let us learn in detail about what is the advantages and disadvantages of E-commerce and its types.

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E-commerce is a popular term for electronic commerce or even internet commerce. The name is self-explanatory, it is the meeting of buyers and sellers on the internet. This involves the transaction of goods and services, the transfer of funds and the exchange of data.

So when you log into your Amazon and purchase a book, this is a classic example of an e-commerce transaction. Here you interact with the seller (Amazon), exchange data in form of pictures, text, address for delivery etc. and then you make the payment.

As of now, e-commerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the global economy. As per one estimate, it grows nearly 23% every year. And it is projected to be a $27 trillion industry by the end of this decade.

Electronic commerce can be classified into four main categories. The basis for this simple classification is the parties that are involved in the transactions. So the four basic electronic commerce models are as follows,

1. Business to Business

This is Business to Business transactions. Here the companies are doing business with each other. The final consumer is not involved. So the online transactions only involve the manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers etc.

2. Business to Consumer

Business to Consumer. Here the company will sell their goods and/or services directly to the consumer. The consumer can browse their websites and look at products, pictures, read reviews. Then they place their order and the company ships the goods directly to them. Popular examples are Amazon, Flipkart, Jabong etc.

3. Consumer to Consumer

Consumer to consumer, where the consumers are in direct contact with each other. No company is involved. It helps people sell their personal goods and assets directly to an interested party. Usually, goods traded are cars, bikes, electronics etc. OLX, Quikr etc follow this model.

4. Consumer to Business

This is the reverse of B2C, it is a consumer to business. So the consumer provides a good or some service to the company. Say for example an IT freelancer who demos and sells his software to a company. This would be a C2B transaction.

Q: Corporate vulnerability is a disadvantage of e-commerce. True or False?

Ans: This is True. E-commerce means the sellers have to give the consumer all the product details. This information reveal can make the company vulnerable with its competitors, who can use this information to their advantage.

E-Commerce: Meaning, Types, Advantages, Disadvantages (2024)
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