Types of E-Commerce

E-commerce is the buying or selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of money or data, electronically on the internet. E-Commerce is the short form for “electronic commerce.”

Some examples of e-commerce are:

• Online shopping

 • Electronic payments
• Online auctions

• Internet banking
• Online ticketing

E-commerce can be classified based on the types of participants in the transaction. The main types of e-commerce are:

• Business to Business (B2B): Both the transacting parties are businesses.

• Business to Consumer (B2C): Businesses sell electronically to end-consumers.

• Consumer to Consumer (C2C): Consumers come together to buy, sell or trade items to other consumers.

• Consumer-to-Business (C2B): Consumers make products or services available for purchase to companies looking for exactly those services or products.

• Business-to-Administration (B2A): Online transactions conducted between companies and public administration.

• Consumer-to-Administration (C2A): Online transactions conducted between individuals


Benefits of E-Commerce


The e-commerce business provides some benefits for retailers and customers.
Benefits for retailers:

• Establishes an online presence

• Reduces operational costs by removing overhead costs

• Increases brand awareness through the use of good keywords

• Increases sales by removing geographical and time constraints

Benefits for customers:

• Offers a wider range of choice than any physical store

• Enables goods and services to be purchased from remote locations

• Enables consumers to perform price comparisons



Digital India Campaign

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India campaign in 2015, with the objective of offering every citizen of India access to digital services, knowledge and information. The campaign aims to improve the country’s online infrastructure and increase internet connectivity, thus boosting the e-commerce industry.
Currently, the majority of online transactions come from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Once the Digital India campaign is in place, the government will deliver services through mobile connectivity, which will help deliver internet to remote corners of the country. This will help the e-commerce market to enter India’s tier 4 towns and rural areas.



Commerce Activity


Choose a product or service that you want to sell online. Write a brief note explaining how you will use existing e-commerce platforms, or create a new e-commerce platform, to sell your product or service.



Before launching your e-commerce platform, test everything.

• Pay close and personal attention to your social media.



At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

1. Discuss the importance of saving money
2. Discuss the benefits of saving money
3. Discuss the main types of bank accounts
4. Describe the process of opening a bank account
5. Differentiate between fixed and variable costs
6. Describe the main types of investment options
7. Describe the different types of insurance products
8. Describe the different types of taxes
9. Discuss the uses of online banking
10. Discuss the main types of electronic funds transfers