Today, in the fast growing technology oriented market, e-commerce has established itself as a viable and a reliable way of conducting business. To put it in simple terms, e-commerce means buying or selling of various products over the World Wide Web. With the widespread growth of the internet, the volume of trade through e-commerce has grown exponentially over the years.
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| Importance of e-commerce in today’s international business |
E-commerce has become a trend which is fast catching up as a way of life in many societies around the world. Depending upon the type and number of parties involved, e-commerce can be divided into models such as B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer), C2B (Consumer to Business) and C2C (Consumer to Consumer). B2B or Business to Business model is largest form of e-commerce. In this type of model, companies sell various products and services to each other in the same manner as manufacturers sell to distributors and wholesalers selling to retailers. In B2C or Business to Consumer type of e-commerce model, the business or companies are selling to consumers directly with help of online catalogues.
This is the model which the layman has in mind when he thinks of e-commerce. B2C type of model helps us to buy a latest book on the internet, book a trip for the entire family to some exotic destination, buy a latest configured laptop, all through the World Wide Web, without human interaction.
In C2B or consumer to business type of e-commerce model, the consumer posts his requirement and budget on the internet for getting a particular type of service and then businesses respond with their respective bids and the consumer is free to choose amongst the bidders which satisfies all his requirements and fits in his budget too. There are many advantages of e-commerce. It has helped the consumer to get a variety of services and goods 24X7 without having to move physically and also has helped to transcend geographical boundaries. E-commerce has helped to bring variety to the consumers and they get cost effective and variety of goods at the competitive price over the internet. E-commerce has revolutionized the idea of setting up and operating a business and has increased the reach of business, thus giving direct benefits to the consumers.