Describe e-commerce in terms of business to customer models. What are some examples?

A business-to-customer model of e-commerce is one in which a business communicates with its customers primarily by electronic means rather than or in addition to having a physical bricks-and-mortar location.

Perhaps the best known e-commerce business in North America is Amazon. Customers shop by visiting the amazon.com website and ordering goods electronically, which are then delivered by courier services such as UPS or FedEx. Amazon substitutes an electronic storefront and massive logistics infrastructure for a...

A business-to-customer model of e-commerce is one in which a business communicates with its customers primarily by electronic means rather than or in addition to having a physical bricks-and-mortar location.

Perhaps the best known e-commerce business in North America is Amazon. Customers shop by visiting the amazon.com website and ordering goods electronically, which are then delivered by courier services such as UPS or FedEx. Amazon substitutes an electronic storefront and massive logistics infrastructure for a traditional physical storefront, enabling it to reduce costs and increase profit margins. It both acts as a store, holding its own inventory, and as a platform for other sellers.

Many e-commerce sites follow a pure "platform" model in which they actually do not sell goods themselves but rather serve as a platform connecting buyers with sellers. Sites such as eBay and Etsy are platforms on which sellers can connect with buyers. Sellers can create "shops" or individual listings on such platforms with the platform mediating between buyers and sellers but having no part in the logistics of warehousing and handling goods.