E-business has made shopping easy for us. We don’t need to go anywhere physically, we can shop from home and get great deals too. But do you know what are the types of e-business? What are its characteristics? Let’s find out more about e-business.
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Introduction to e-Business
E-business or Online business means business transactions that take place online with the help of the internet. The term e-business came into existence in the year 1996. E-business is an abbreviation for electronic business. So the buyer and the seller don’t meet personally.
In today’s world, we are exposed to various forms of e-Business. Since its emergence, it has grown by leaps and bounds. Some predict that it may very soon overtake brick and mortar stores completely. While that remains to be seen, we cannot ignore the immense role it plays in the current global economy.
Features of Online Business
Some of the features of Online Business are as follows :
- It is easy to set up
- There are no geographical boundaries
- Much cheaper than traditional business
- There are flexible business hours
- Marketing strategies cost less
- Online business receive subsidies from the government
- There are a few security and integrity issues
- There is no personal touch
- Buyer and seller don’t meet
- Delivery of products takes time
- There is a transaction risk
- Anyone can buy anything from anywhere at anytime
- The transaction risk is higher than traditional business
Browse more Topics under Emerging Modes Of Business
- Benefits and Limitations of e-Business
- Online Transactions and Security of e-Transactions
- Outsourcing
Learn more about Online Transactions and Security of e-Transactions here
Types of e-Commerce
Now there are actually many types of e-Businesses. It all depends on who the final consumer is. Some of the types of e-commerce are as follows :
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Transactions that take place between two organizations come under Business to business. Producers and traditional commerce wholesalers typically operate with this type of electronic commerce. Also. it greatly improves the efficiency of companies.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
When a consumer buys products from a seller then it is business to consumer transaction. People shopping from Flipkart, Amazon, etc is an example of business to consumer transaction. In such a transaction the final consumer himself is directly buying from the seller.
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
A consumer selling product or service to another consumer is a consumer to consumer transaction. For example, people put up ads on OLX of the products that they want to sell. C2C type of transactions generally occurs for second-hand products. The website is only the facilitator not the provider of the goods or the service.
Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
In C2B there is a complete reversal of the traditional sense of exchanging goods. This type of e-commerce is very common in crowdsourcing based projects. A large number of individuals make their services or products available for purchase for companies seeking precisely these types of services or products.
Learn more about Outsourcing here in detail
Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)
The Consumer-to-Administration model encompasses all electronic transactions conducted between individuals and public administration. Some examples of applications include
- Education – disseminating information, distance learning, etc.
- Social Security – through the distribution of information, making payments, etc.
- Taxes – filing tax returns, payments, etc.
- Health – appointments, information about illnesses, payment of health services, etc.
Business-to-Administration (B2A)
This part of e-commerce encompasses all transactions conducted online by companies and public administration or the government and its varies agencies. Also, these types of services have increased considerably in recent years with investments made in e-government.
Solved Examples For You
Q. If a person posts an advertisement to sell his product on OLX website, it is an example of _______.
- B to C
- B to B
- C to C
- C to B
Sol. The correct answer is option ”C”. There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums where individuals can buy and sell. e Bay’s auction service is a great example of where person-to-person transactions take place.
Q. Which of the following are an example of B to C?
- Online shopping websites
- Heavy key industries
- Purchase by a wholesaler from a manufacturer
- None of the above
Sol. The correct answer is option ”A”. The two or more entities that interact in this type of transactions involve a business and a consumer. The business offers a set of merchandise at given prices, discounts and shipping and delivery options. Hence the correct answer is online shopping websites.
Nice to meet you
oppnads.com, Thank you for the knowledgeable post which has helped me a lot. Keep it up for providing valuable information..
Any businessman is accurately tested when he or she decides to exploit the right opportunity at the right time. These businessmen not only decide, but also have the courage to put their decisions in execution as well. E-Businesses are one of them.
Its vey helpful i think there is a small mistake in advantages of e-business
i.e cheaper than traditional business. but its written cost taken to setup a e-business is much higher than traditional business.
thanks