Definition:

Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce is buying and selling products and services through online platforms. We can also call it an online business.

Types of Ecommerce:

There are several ways online business is conducted.

1. Business to Business (B2B): Business buying or selling a good or service from/to another business via the internet is called B2B E-commerce. This actually involves products like software, raw materials, wholesale deals. Manufacturers can directly sell to retailers using B2B E-commerce.
2. Business to Customer (B2C): If the sale is between a business and a customer, it is called B2C eCommerce. Buying a pair of shoes from an online retailer.
3. Direct to Consumer (D2C): In this latest model of Ecommerce, brands are selling directly to the end customers without any distributors or retailers. Social Selling and Subscriptions through platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. comes under D2C eCommerce.
4. Consumer to Consumer (C2C): The sale of a good or service from one customer to another customer is called C2C eCommerce. Consumer to consumer sales takes place on platforms like eBay, Amazon, Mercari, Etsy, Fiverr, etc.
5. Consumer to Business (C2B): When an individual sells their products and services to a business organization it is called C2B E-commerce. Social Influencers, Photographers, Freelancers, and consultants, etc.

Examples of types of Ecommerce:

From small-scale businesses to large corporate companies, from freelancers to wholesalers everybody can take the advantage of selling the services and products online.

Here are some examples of types of Ecommerce:

1. Retail: Selling directly to customers without any middlemen.
2. Wholesale: Selling products in bulk. Bulk products are generally sold to retailers, who then sell them to customers.
3. Services: Providing skills like training and teaching classes, writing, influencer marketing that are purchased and paid online.
4. Digital Products: Selling e-books, software, cloud-based products, courses, photos, templates, etc.
5. Dropshipping: Selling the products that are manufactured and delivered to customers by a third party. Eg: AliExpress
6. Subscription: It is a D2C model. Selling of products or services on a regular basis to the subscribers.
7. Crowdfunding: It is a process of raising the capital for startup businesses to bring their products to the market. It is relatively a new concept in India. You can fund ideas for creating a music album/app/movie or writing a book. The best example is to raise money for a cause.

Successful E-Commerce Sites:

Billions of dollars in sales are made every year through E-commerce. Today, it is impossible to imagine any company not using online space to drive sales.

some of the top e-commerce companies:

1. Amazon: The world’s largest E-commerce company that has brought a revolution to the retail industry. Today Amazon company’s worth more than $1.7 trillion.
2. Walmart: One of the top retailers in the US. Their main focus is on grocery deliveries and subscription services.
3. eBay: One of the early online sites with consistency. It is still dominating the online market enabling individuals and businesses to sell their products online.
4. Alibaba: It is a Chinese company launched in 1999 is the most successful Ecommerce company and retailer. It has the largest B2B (Alibaba.com); B2C (Tmall) and C2C (Taobao.com) marketplace across the globe. They have the highest profits in the Ecommerce business dominating the US retailers including the giants like Amazon and Walmart.

Benefits of Ecommerce:

Selling the products online and doing online business comes with a lot of benefits. Let’s see some of the benefits.

1. Convenience: Online Sales makes purchase simple, quick and reduces time consumption. It also provides quick delivery and easy returns.
2. Customer Experience: Using eCommerce platforms we can create a good user experience by creating a rich user profile to personalize the products and make them look interesting.
3. Global Market: Anybody from any part of the world can easily shop eCommerce sites. Companies are not restricted by geographical boundaries.
4. Minimized expenses: Anybody can start an online business with minimum startup and operating costs.

How to become successful in Ecommerce:

There is a huge potential for eCommerce Business growth, especially in India, after the Digital India campaign launched by the Government of India to digitally empower the country in the field of technology. The availability of internet services even in remote areas has given an opportunity to the small retailers and many aspiring entrepreneurs step into the eCommerce business. Many small and medium scale retailers are showing their interest to take their business online as it comes with few benefits.

You can read about How to Start your own eCommerce business in India from the scratch.

1. Do not rush: Most Ecommerce entrepreneurs are unsuccessful because they make a mistake by forcing or rushing the launch of the website. Do not reveal the website until work properly on SEO, Social Media, Content Marketing and Ads, etc.
2. Focus on the customer: We have to make sure that the customers are comfortable with our eCommerce site, familiar with the products before they make any decision. Provide knowledge, make the navigation and check out process easy, and offer free shipping.
3. Testing: Invest in testing, in every step of your business. Always think from the customer’s point of view and make an analysis, what is working and what is not working.
4. Social Media: Social Media plays a very important factor in developing an eCommerce business. Always be active on social media, include social elements like reviews, testimonials, social icons, on your eCommerce site.
5. Ecommerce via Mobile: Make sure you are building an E-commerce business with mobile usability in mind. The number of consumers spent worldwide has increased from $204 USD in 2014 to $626 USD in 2018.
6. Generate Leads: It is always important to collect and store the customer information and build a database to use for future business.
7. Continue evolving: Customer interests will change, keep up with them. Always adopt and adapt to the new trends and technologies.

I hope you liked this article. Please leave a comment below, if you have any queries.

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