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a) History of E-commerce
Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) can be defined as the fact of purchasing and selling goods or services on a platform through the internet.
There are six main e-commerce models in which we can classify businesses:
1. B2C.
2. B2B.
3. C2C.
4. C2B.
5. B2A.
6. C2A.
The first one is the B2C approach (Business to Consumer). This approach is characterized as the commercial activity between a company and an Individual. This model is one of the most famous model use in e-commerce. For example, when a shopper buys a TV from an online TV retailer.
The second one is the B2B approach (Business to Business). This model is defined as the commercial activity between two business entities, like a supplier and a retailer for example. This e-commerce model cannot be seen by the consumer since it only happens between businesses. We can also talk about Inter-business relation
The third one is the C2C approach (Consumer to Consumer). The oldest e-commerce model existing is the C2C ecommerce business model described as all the exchanges of goods and services between several consumers. EBay and Amazon, for example are the 2 most famous C2C ecommerce website, but there are lots of others. In Singapore, Carousel is also very used for C2C transactions.
The fourth one is the C2B approach, (Consumer to Business). C2B overturns the traditional e-commerce model. Consumer to business (C2B) is a business model in which consumers are at the service of the company by bringing a product or a service, and not the opposite as it is the case traditionally. This is a model which is for example often see in Crowdfunding projects.
The fifth one is the B2A approach (Business to administration). This e-commerce business model gathers the transactions happening between online businesses and administrations. It is not the most used model, but still important to be aware of it.
The last one is rarely used, but is call the C2A approach (Consumer to administration). Same model here, but with the reverse method, which mean that consumers sells products or services online, to an administration.
