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Online shopping has been gaining in popularity ever since the unfortunate rise of the ‘Coronavirus’ or ‘Covid-19’ pandemic and consequent lockdown that is occurring all over the world. Because of this, most people have to do their shopping or business online using their Internet-enabled computers or smartphones from wherever they are. Fortunately, this has been made possible by two popular networks known as E-Commerce and E-Business.

Most people are of the opinion that these two terms mean the same thing. In fact, they are not, but they are closely related to each other.

Definition of electronic commerce

The term E-Commerce is an acronym that refers to “Electronic ‘Commerce” and is the process of selling and buying products through an online store. Unlike a “brick and mortar” store, there is no face-to-face interface between the seller and the buyer for the transaction to take place.

Some models of electronic commerce are the following:

1. Business to business (B2B)

It refers to any type of electronic transactions of products or services that are carried out between two companies.

2. Business to consumer (B2C)

It refers to any type of electronic transactions of products or services that are carried out between the seller and the client. By far, this is a very common type of e-commerce.

This type of electronic commerce is generally more dynamic and easier to carry out. With the creation of many online stores, B2C has increased very significantly in recent months due to the lockdown. Now you can easily find almost any type of online store and in any niche you want over the internet. They sell all kinds of physical products like books, gadgets, clothes, tools, accessories, etc. and digital products such as electronic books, information, online courses, etc.

Many people are moving towards online shopping more than physical because it is more convenient and the prices are also usually cheaper, even with the cost of shipping. Another plus point is that most online stores will also offer free shipping for purchases over a certain amount.

3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

This refers to any electronic transaction of products or services between a client and another client. This can usually be done with the help of a third party, for example Amazon, eBay or Etsy as a marketplace for buying and selling online.

4. Consumer to business (C2B)

Consumer to business is a type of business model in which the customer or user creates a product or provides a service that a business or company uses to complement its business setup, improve its business image, or gain an advantage over its competitors.

For example, websites like Fiverr, Upwork, etc. where their freelancers offer their services like website or logo creation, and any business can use their services if they want.

5. Business to Administration (B2A)

This refers to any type of transaction that takes place between businesses and the government over the Internet. It includes many different types of services, such as tax, social security, jobs, legal documents, etc.

6. Consumer to Administration (C2A)

This refers to any type of transactions that take place between the consumer and the government. For example, taxes, education, health, social security, etc.

Definition of electronic commerce

The term E-Business is an acronym that refers to “Electronic Business”, and its business is carried out with the use of the Internet, Extranet, Intranet and website. In this sense, E-Business is a bit similar to E-Commerce, but it is more than just selling and buying products or services online.

Essentially, E-Business encompasses a broader range of business processes, such as electronic ordering and processing, customer relationship management, supply chain management, etc. In general, electronic commerce can be built as part of electronic commerce.

There are two types of eCommerce models:

1. Pure game

This refers to a company that only operates over the Internet and offers only a particular type of product or service in order to gain more market share.

2. Bricks and clicks

It is a business model adopted by merchants who have physical retail outlets and run their businesses both online and offline. In other words, merchants provide their customers with a channel to shop offline and online.

How is electronic commerce different from electronic commerce?

The process of selling and buying products over the Internet is simply called e-commerce. However, E-Business is not limited to just the buying and selling process. Any business that is carried out through the Internet is considered as E-Business. For example, information and communication technologies used to improve the business. Basically, electronic commerce becomes part of electronic commerce.

It is not necessary for any E-Business to be physically present in the business world. If a company has an office, along with its physical presence and conducts its business through the Internet, then it can be called e-commerce.

Electronic commerce refers to any type of commercial transaction that involves money, but electronic commerce involves both money and supporting activities.

Electronic commerce requires the use of the Internet to be able to conduct business around the world, while electronic commerce can use more than the Internet. For example, the use of the Intranet and Extranet also to connect with business parties.

Advantages of electronic commerce and electronic business

Both electronic commerce and e-commerce have revolutionized the way people shop. Customers would probably have enjoyed some of its benefits. Similarly, entrepreneurs have also benefited in the following ways:

1. Cost savings and time savings for your business

With a retail store, it means that there will be some kind of overhead costs that you will need to pay on a monthly basis, such as rent, utility bills, phone bill, staff salaries, etc.

When you put your business online, you can reduce or even eliminate some of these costs. Converting your business to E-Business can also help simplify certain jobs. For example, it’s much easier to email volume discount coupons than it is to print hundreds of coupons and mail them.

2. E-commerce can operate 24/7

Thanks to the Internet, any e-business can literally run 24/7 with no restrictions on hours and days of operation.

3. Remove location restriction

The Internet can also cross all time zones and connect people from all over the world. With a retail outlet, customers will be limited by their proximity to where they live and also by the hours of operation.

Also, with E-Commerce, your online store can be accessed using smartphones and other mobile devices. This means that people can buy your products from anywhere while on the go.

4. Easy to track business growth and goal

There are now many tools and apps available to easily track your business growth and goal, as well as understand your customers’ buying behaviors. For example, the best-selling products in the last few months, the number of returning customers, the number of abandoned carts, etc.

Unless you perform additional record keeping, it will be difficult to track and generate such data at a retail point of sale.

5. Provide better customer service

The sooner you can respond to your customer’s queries, the better for your business. Having an online chat feature on your business website will make it much easier for your E-Business to meet that need.

With E-Commerce and E-Business, both you as a business owner and your customers can enjoy all the benefits.

As a food for thought, it can be said that electronic commerce is a big part of electronic commerce, just as electronic commerce is electronic commerce, but electronic commerce is not necessarily electronic commerce.