The advancements in information technology and the wide access to the internet and mobile
technology have revolutionized the way businesses operate. E-commerce has rapidly grown
since more companies choose to conduct business online. Every aspect of business operations
has been transformed – marketing, selling, product development, and the business
communication channels. Many companies are focusing their efforts on leveraging an effective
omnichannel strategy that will provide the same level of client experience offline and online
while rethinking their entire supply-chains, logistics, marketing channels, and utilizing data
analytics to better understand customer behavior and purchasing patterns.
There are three major E-commerce categories: Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to–
Business (B2B), and Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C).
B2C is the most common business model. Any product or service that individuals purchase
online is a part of a business-to-consumer transaction. Companies in this category usually have
lower purchase transaction costs, but also have lower average order value, compared to
companies in the B2B category. Examples of online B2C businesses are Amazon and iTunes.
B2B businesses sell their products or services to other companies, which could be the end-user or
resell to individual consumers. B2B transactions tend to have higher-order value and a longer
sales cycle. Elemica is an example of B2B e-commerce.
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C2C businesses involve consumers selling products and services directly to consumers. Etsy and
TaskRabbit are examples of online C2C businesses. Etsy allows for individual users to sell their
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(Laudon & Laudon, 2018)
goods to shoppers, while TaskRabbit enables individuals to sell their services such as cleaning,
moving help, painting, etc. to other people in the same geographical area.
The constantly evolving business environment and the integration of physical and digital forms
of business have led to the emergence of new retail models. Websites such as Facebook and
Instagram seek to expand their e-commerce platforms; market creators such as the mobile apps
for shared services Airbnb and Uber, are transforming entire sectors of the economy, and many
traditional retailers such as Barnes and Nobles are trying to adopt innovative tools that will allow
them to sustain profitability operating as both – an offline retailer and an online e-tailer.
Furthermore, digital markets generate efficiencies as they allow e-commerce business owners to
easily locate suppliers and operate with lower search and transaction costs. They also benefit
