What Is the Difference Between E-Commerce and E-Business?
Shopping
online has been gaining popularity since the unfortunate emergent of the
'Coronavirus' or 'Covid-19' pandemic and the ensuing lockdown that is happening
worldwide. Owing to this, most people have to conduct their shopping or
business online using their computers or smartphones with Internet connection
from where they are. Thankfully, this has been made possible by two popular
networks known as E-Commerce and E-Business.
Most
people are of the opinion that these two terms mean the same. In fact, they are
not, but are closely related to one another.
Definition of E-Commerce
The
term E-Commerce, is an acronym referring to "Electronic 'Commerce"
and it's the process of selling and buying of products through an online store.
Unlike a "brick and mortar" store, there is no face to face
interfacing between the seller and the buyer in order for the transaction to
take place.
Some E-Commerce models are as follows:
1. Business to Business (B2B)
This
refers to any type of electronic transactions of products or services that take
place between two companies.
2. Business to Consumer (B2C)
This
refers to any type of electronic transactions of products or services that take
place between the seller and the customer. By far, this is a very common type
of E-Commerce.
This
type of E-Commerce is generally more dynamic and easily conducted. With the
setting up of many online stores, B2C has increased very significantly over the
last couple of months due to the lockdown. You can now easily find just about
any type of online store and in any niche you want over the Internet. They sell
all kinds of physical products such as books, gadgets, clothes, tools,
accessories, etc. and digital products such as e-Books, information, online
courses, etc.
Many
people are moving toward online shopping more than the physical one because
it's more convenient, and the prices are usually cheaper too, even with
shipping cost. Another plus point is most online stores will also offer free
shipping for purchases exceeding a certain amount.
3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
This
refers to any electronic transaction of products or services between one
customer and another customer. Generally, this can take place with the help of
a third-party, for instance, Amazon, eBay or Etsy as a marketplace for online
selling and buying.
4. Consumer to Business (C2B)
Consumer
to business is a type of business model where the customer or user creates a
product or provides a service that a business or company uses to complement its
business set-up, to enhance its business image or to gain advantages over its
competitors.
For
instance, websites such as Fiverr, Upwork, etc. where their freelancers offer
their services like website or logo creations, and any business can use their
services if they want.
5. Business to Administration (B2A)
This
refers to any type of transactions that are conducted between business and
government through the Internet. It includes many different types of services,
such as fiscal, social security, employments, legal documents, etc.
6. Consumer to Administration (C2A)
This
refers to any type of transactions that take place between the consumer and the
government. For example, taxes, education, health, social security, etc.
Definition of E-Business
The
term E-Business is an acronym referring to "Electronic Business," and
its business is conducted with the use of the Internet, Extranet, Intranet and
website. In this sense, E-Business is a bit similar to E-Commerce, but it's
more than just selling and buying products or services online.
Essentially,
E-Business encompasses a wider range of business processes, such as electronic
ordering and processing, customer relationship management, supply chain
management, etc. Generally, E-Commerce can be construed as a part of
E-Business.
There
are two types of E-Business models:
1. Pure play
This
refers to a company that only operates over the Internet and offers only one
particular type of product or service so as to gain a larger market share.
2. Bricks and clicks
It's
a business model adopted by merchants that have physical retail outlets and run
their business in both online and offline ways. In other words, the merchants
provide their customers both and offline and an online channel to shop.
How is E-Commerce Different from E-Business?
The
process of selling and buying products over the Internet is simply called
E-Commerce. However, E-Business is not confined to just the selling and buying
process. Any business that is conducted over the Internet is considered as
E-Business. For instance, the information and communication technologies used
in upgrading one's business. Basically, E-Commerce becomes a part of
E-Business.
It's
not necessary for any E-Business to be physically present in the business
world. If a company has an office, along with its physical presence and
conducting its business activities over the Internet, then it can be termed as
E-Commerce.
E-Commerce
refers to any type of business transaction which involves money, but E-Business
involves money as well as supporting activities.
E-Commerce
requires the use of the Internet to be able to conduct business worldwide.,
while E-Business can make use of more than the Internet. For instance, the use
of the Intranet and the Extranet too to connect with the business parties.
Pros of E-Commerce and E-Business
Both
E-Commerce and E-Business have actually revolutionized the way people shop.
Customers would have likely enjoyed some of their benefits. By the same token,
business owners have also benefited as follows:
1. Cost-saving and time-saving for their business
With
a retail outlet, it means that there will be some type of overhead costs that
you will need to pay monthly such as rental, utility bills, telephone bill,
staff salaries, etc.
When
you take your business online, you can cut down or even do away with some of
these costs. Turning your business into E-Business can also help simplify
certain works. For instance, it's much easier to email bulk discount coupons
than printing hundreds of the coupons and sending them through post.
2. E-Business can operate 24/7
Thanks
to the Internet, any E-Business can literally run 24/7 with no constraint on
operational hours and days.
3. Eliminates location constraint
The
Internet is also able to cut across all time zones as well as connect people
worldwide. With a retail outlet, customers will be constrained by its proximity
to where they live and also the hours of operation.
Besides,
with E-Commerce, your online store is reachable using smartphones and other
mobile devices. This means that people can buy your products from anywhere
while on the move.
4. Easy to track business growth and goal
There
are now many tools and apps available to keep track of your business growth and
goal easily as well as to understand your customers' buying behaviors. For
example, the bestselling products for the past couple of months, the number of
returning customers, the number of cart abandonment, etc.
Unless
you perform an additional record-keeping task, it will be difficult to track
and generate such data in a retail outlet.
5. Provide better customer support
The
sooner you can respond to your customers' queries, the better for your
business. Having an online chat feature on your business website will make it
much easier for your E-Business to satisfy that need.
With
E-Commerce and E-Business, both you as the business owner and your customers
can enjoy all the benefits.
As
food for thought, it can be said that E-Commerce is a big part of E-Business as
well as E-Commerce is E-Business, but E-Business is not necessarily E-Commerce
Also read: How to Build an E-Commerce Website From Scratch in 8 Easy Steps