E-commerce or electronic commerce is the name given to the platforms for carrying out sales of products, services, or goods over the internet.
Popularity of E-commerce
In recent years, with improved internet connections, usability, mobile devices, and greater acceptance of making purchases online, electronic commerce has experienced a very remarkable growth that allows it to compete in figures or surpass traditional commerce depending on the sector.
Types of E-commerce
1. b2b (Business to Business or Business to Business)
It encompasses commercial relationships between two companies, such as the relationship between a manufacturer and a distributor, or a distributor and a retail store.
2. b2c (Business to Consumer or Business to Customer)
It encompasses commercial relationships between a company and its customers, such as the relationship between a retailer and individual consumers.
3. c2c (Consumer to Consumer or Consumer to Consumer)
It involves a sale between individuals, without the direct involvement of wholesalers or suppliers. Currently, there are multiple second-hand selling platforms that facilitate such agreements among individuals: Wallapop, eBay, etc.
4. b2e (Business to Employee or Business to Employee)
These are products or services that a company makes available to its employees, generally offering some advantage, such as a better price.
5. g2c (Government to Consumer or Government to Consumer)
These are platforms that governments make available to their citizens to carry out transactions such as paying taxes, fines, or other types of payments.
Advantages of electronic commerce over traditional commerce
E-commerce has several advantages over traditional or physical commerce, among them we can find the following:
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Absence of geographical barriers for the customer (as long as logistics allow it)
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Absence of purchase hours
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Possibility of customer segmentation to carry out online marketing strategies
Communication channels of E-commerce
Current technology offers various ways for sellers or retailers to communicate with their customers. The most popular channels are:
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Email Marketing, especially through the use of Newsletters
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Blog
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Chat
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Social Media
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Mobile Channel (Responsive Web or Mobile-Optimized / Native Applications)