What is B2C e-commerce?

Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers,
involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods (i.e., tangibles
such as books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic
material or digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information
goods, receiving products over an electronic network.12
It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Its origins can be
traced to online retailing (or e-tailing).13 Thus, the more common B2C business
models are the online retailing companies such as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com,
Beyond.com, Barnes and Noble and ToysRus. Other B2C examples involving information
goods are E-Trade and Travelocity.
The more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of
purchasing products and information, and personal finance management, which
pertains to the management of personal investments and finances with the use of
online banking tools (e.g., Quicken).

eMarketer estimates that worldwide B2C e-commerce revenues will increase from
US$59.7 billion in 2000 to US$428.1 billion by 2004. Online retailing transactions
make up a significant share of this market. eMarketer also estimates that in the Asia-
Pacific region, B2C revenues, while registering a modest figure compared to B2B,
nonetheless went up to $8.2 billion by the end of 2001, with that figure doubling at the
end of 2002-at total worldwide B2C sales below 10%.
B2C e-commerce reduces transactions costs (particularly search costs) by increasing
consumer access to information and allowing consumers to find the most competitive
price for a product or service. B2C e-commerce also reduces market entry barriers since
the cost of putting up and maintaining a Web site is much cheaper than installing a
“brick-and-mortar” structure for a firm. In the case of information goods, B2C e-commerce
is even more attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost
of a physical distribution network. Moreover, for countries with a growing and robust
Internet population, delivering information goods becomes increasingly feasible.