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Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. Ecommerce is often used to refer to the sale of physical products online, but it can also describe any kind of commercial transaction that is facilitated through the internet.

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Whereas e-business refers to all aspects of operating an online business, ecommerce refers specifically to the transaction of goods and services.

The history of ecommerce begins with the first ever online sale: on the August 11, 1994 a man sold a CD by the band Sting to his friend through his website NetMarket, an American retail platform. This is the first example of a consumer purchasing a product from a business through the World Wide Web—or “ecommerce” as we commonly know it today.

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Amazon

Flipkart

eBay

Fiverr

Upwork

Olx

Quikr

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5 Types of Ecommerce Business Models That Work Right Now

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Ecommerce business models of all types are thriving. Sales from online stores are expected to increase 78% by 2020. It's easy to get caught up and excited in the latest ecommerce trends, but unless you know the fundamentals, you'll hit a profitability wall without knowing it.

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Differences between e-commerce and m-commerce.

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Differences between e-commerce and m-commerce.

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E-commerce came into existence in the 1970s. Whereas, M-commerce was invented later during the 1990s

Electronic commerce has a narrower reach than M-commerce, due to a large number of mobile users globally.

E-commerce is generally a less costly method. The set up of the website and the use of the internet is both relatively cheaper methods. M-commerce, on the other hand, is more expensive due to the creation of the mobile app and the need to use cellular data (for the customers)

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It provides a very convenient and easy to use the system to conduct business transactions.

Mobile commerce has a very wide reach. A huge part of the world’s population has a mobile phone in their pocket. So the sheer size of the market is tremendous.

M-commerce also helps businesses target customers according to their location, service provider, the type of device they use and various other criteria. This can be a good marketing tool.

The costs of the company also reduced. This is due to the streamlined processes, now transaction cost, low carrying cost and low order processing cost as well.

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E-commerce provides the sellers with a global reach. They remove the barrier of place (geography). Now sellers and buyers can meet in the virtual world, without the hindrance of location.

Electronic commerce will substantially lower the transaction cost. It eliminates many fixed costs of maintaining brick and mortar shops. This allows the companies to enjoy a much higher margin of profit.

It provides quick delivery of goods with very little effort on part of the customer. Customer complaints are also addressed quickly. It also saves time, energy and effort for both the consumers and the company.

One other great advantage is the convenience it offers. A customer can shop 24×7. The website is functional at all times, it does not have working hours like a shop.

Electronic commerce also allows the customer and the business to be in touch directly, without any intermediaries. This allows for quick communication and transactions. It also gives a valuable personal touch.

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Other than the straightforward m-commerce transactions of buying and selling of goods and services, they have so many applications. Let us take a look at a few examples,

Mobile Banking: Using a mobile website or application to perform all your banking functions. It is one step ahead of online banking and has become commonplace these days. For example, in Nigeria, the majority of banking transactions happen on mobile phones.

Mobile Ticketing and Booking: Making bookings and receiving your tickets on the mobile. The digital ticket or boarding pass is sent directly to your phone after you make the payment from it. Even in India now IRTC and other services provide m-ticketing services.

E-bills: This includes mobile vouchers, mobile coupons to be redeemed and even loyalty points or cards system.

Auctions: Online auctions having now been developed to be made available via mobile phones as well.

Stock Market Reports and even stock market trading over mobile applications.

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The start-up costs of the e-commerce portal are very high. The setup of the hardware and the software, the training cost of employees, the constant maintenance and upkeep are all quite expensive.

Although it may seem like a sure thing, the e-commerce industry has a high risk of failure. Many companies riding the dot-com wave of the 2000s have failed miserably. The high risk of failure remains even today.

At times, e-commerce can feel impersonal. So it lacks the warmth of an interpersonal relationship which is important for many brands and products. This lack of a personal touch can be a disadvantage for many types of services and products like interior designing or the jewelry business.

Security is another area of concern. Only recently, we have witnessed many security breaches where the information of the customers was stolen. Credit card theft, identity theft etc. remain big concerns with the customers.

Then there are also fulfillment problems. Even after the order is placed there can be problems with shipping, delivery, mix-ups etc. This leaves the customers unhappy and dissatisfied.

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The existing technology to set up an m-commerce business is very expensive. It has great start-up costs and many complications arise.

In developing countries, the networks and service providers are not reliable. It is not most suitable for data transfer.

Then there is the issue of security. There are many concerns about the safety of the customer’s private information. And the possibility of a data leak is very daunting.