E-commerce is the use of the internet to buy and sell goods and services. E-commerce is very popular today because of the convenience it offers, because of cost benefits to retailers and cost savings to clients/customers, and because of the anonymity it offers. There are 5 types of ecommerce. Knowing the different types is important because it will allow you to make informed decisions.

Business to Consumer (B2C)

The first type of e-commerce, which is also the most common, is the Business to Consumer or B2C model. This involves an online business selling to individual customers. The B2C model expanded after 1995 to be the most common e-commerce segment today. This model works by retailers and marketers using clear data in various marketing tools to sell their products to internet users. The internet user uses a shopping cart for everything he/she needs and then payment is made via credit cards or via payment gateways such as PayPal. An example of this model is a pharmacist giving medical consultation, free or otherwise, and then selling medication.

Business to Business (B2B)

Based on revenue, the Business to Business is the largest e-commerce model, involving trillions of dollars. As the name implies, the buyer and the seller are business entities. An example of this is a manufacturer supplying his goods to a wholesaler or a retailer.

Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

The Consumer to Consumer e-commerce model facilitates online transactions of goods and services between individual web users. However, the two web users cannot carry out a transaction without a platform provided by an online market maker like eBay.

Peer to Peer (P2P)

The Peer to Peer e-commerce model is basically a technology which helps to share computer resources and computer files without the need of a central web server. To communicate on a common platform, both parties have to install the required software. The P2P model is not very popular as because it usually breaches cyber laws due to its inclination to free usage.

m-Commerce

The m-Commerce e-commerce model refers to the use of mobile devices such as mobile phones to carry out online transactions. Today, web designers are optimizing website so that they can be viewed on mobile devices and to allow for m-Commerce.

Other e-commerce types include Government to Business (G2B), Government to Citizen (G2C), and Business to Employee (B2E).