E-commerce or e-commerce is a business activity that, in one way or another, is associated with the distribution, advertising, promotion, sale of services or goods over the Internet. A striking example is the Magento store development. To put it simply, any activity with a commercial bias in the global network falls under the definition of online commerce. This area originated in the United States, then developed in Europe.
E-commerce brings together such global categories - online sales, online banking, ticket and hotel bookings, payment system transactions, online marketing and advertising.
Technically, e-commerce on the Internet is based on three pillars - a server, a database, and a system for delivering a product or service to a customer. The first component is critically important - a high-quality and fast server. The database is needed for large objects, and the delivery of electronic goods or services does not require complex logistics.
Types of e-commerce on the Internet
The sphere of E-commerce is divided into types depending on the target audience with which the company works:
- B2B (Business-to-Business). The “Business to Business” niche implies commercial relations between legal entities and economic entities of the market. That is, companies, manufacturers interact with each other - they conclude deals, partnership contracts for the supply, sale, purchase of goods or services. To establish contacts, search for partners and negotiations in B2B, specialized Internet sites and interactive databases are used.
- B2C (Business-to-Consumer). The sphere "Business for the consumer" involves the trade in goods and services between legal entities and individuals. This is a kind of retail sales, but only with the help of online platforms - shops, services, banks, etc. The advantage of clients is a wider range of choices, convenience of ordering and delivery of goods to their homes or offices. E-commerce allows an entrepreneur to reduce the cost of maintaining retail and warehouse space.
- B2G (Business-to-Government). The “Business for Government” niche includes the following market participants: legal entities - companies, corporations, brands on the one hand, and municipal bodies, government agencies - on the other. B2G deals are carried out on the basis of tenders, tenders or quotes. This field of e-commerce deals with large deal sizes, which places strict demands on the market participants. The company participating in the auction must have a high status and an impeccable reputation.
- С2С (Consumer-to-Consumer). E-commerce in the “Consumer for Consumer” niche implies the implementation of transactions between individuals.
- G2C (Government-to-Citizens). A fairly popular form of e-commerce in recent years, "Government for Citizens" is providing access to government information through online services. For example, payment of taxes and fines, registration of projects and forms of commercial activity, obtaining permits and more. Information support of citizens also belongs to this category, so G2C does not fully belong to the commercial niche.
- C2B (Consumer-to-Business). An interesting type of e-commerce "Consumer for the company", where the client himself sets the cost of goods and services. That is, buyers use a vote to determine the price for which they would like to purchase the proposed product. However, the final decision "to sell or not" is made by the owner of the goods. In the C2B system, a site or any other electronic platform acts as an intermediary broker looking for sellers for the generated price of potential buyers.
- G2G (Government-to-Governmen). The sphere of e-commerce "Government for government" implies the business relationship of government agencies with each other: the supply of products, the provision of services, and so on. Such interaction is realized through online technologies.
- B2P (Business-to-Partners) or B2L (Business-to-alliance). The Business for Partners niche is a commercial relationship with suppliers of services and goods, between branches, partner organizations of the same network, or third-party companies.
- B2E (Business-to-Employee). The area of personnel relations can also be commercialized. “Business for employees” implies the use of various automation systems for managing business processes and corporate tasks. Such systems are combined into an intranet - intranet, which has access to the global system through secure channels.
- B2B2С (Business-to-Business-to-Customer). An example of combining two types of e-commerce - "Business for business and for the consumer." Integration of B2B and B2C systems into a single platform. For example, a company purchases goods in China, enters into agreements with cargo warehouses to send orders to buyers' addresses. It turns out a chain: the selling company (B2B) - warehouse (B2B) - buyer (B2C).
- E2E (Exchange-to-Exchange). A highly specialized type of e-commerce "Exchange for Exchange", when sellers and buyers interact between different electronic exchanges. For example, e-currency exchange services.
Today, most of the niches are B2B and B2C. The public procurement sector has a fairly high entry threshold, so it does not stand out in mass. Niches G2C and C2C are developing well.