Q.9 Which four e-Commerce models are represented in the graphic above? What is unique about each of these e-Commerce business models?

E-Commerce or Electronics Commerce business models can generally be categorized in following categories.

• Business – to – Business (B2B)
• Consumer – to – Consumer (C2C)
• Consumer – to – Business (C2B)
• Business – to – Consumer (B2C)

According to Sam Mallikarjunan E-commerce can be uniquely described as the       following:

1. Business-To-Business (B2B) refers to a business (the ecommerce retailer) selling directly to another business goods or services that are used by the recipient to power their
2. In a Consumer-To-Consumer (C2C) model, the ecommerce website serves to facilitate the transaction between two consumers. Auction sites such as eBay (specifically when items are sold by individuals, rather than businesses listing products for auction – a semantic distinction which nonetheless fundamentally changes the relationship between the seller and buyer) are the classic examples of C2C ecommerce sites. Dating websites or sites like Etsy where individuals can sell directly to other individuals could be considered another example of C2C ecommerce.
3. In a Consumer-To-Business (C2B) model, consumers sell products and services to businesses, instead of the other way around. For example, the consumers could list jobs-to-be-done or products they want and businesses compete for and complete the transaction through the C2B website, or a business could have a site where consumers can sell them things that they need.
4. Ecommerce is commonly thought of as a business selling something through an online interface to a consumer – also known as Business To Consumer (B2C). The most widely known ecommerce businesses, such as Amazon Direct (which differs from Amazon as a whole – which we’ll touch on later) or Buy.com, Wal-Mart.com, Target.com, etc., is one where a retailer sells directly to an end user.

X2X Ecommerce: A Primer on 4 Different Business Models by Sam Mallikarjunan. [Online]. Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/ecommerce/x2x-ecommerce-business-models  [Accessed 13 June 2017].