There was a time when the commercial activities used to take place in the traditional mode. Activities like the exchange of goods and services were largely a part of activities taking place commercially.
Customers used to visit the market, consider a large variety of products, choose the needed item and buy them by paying a certain amount of money. But living in this digital world has made things an easier affair for people.
In this article, we’ll talk about the differences between Retail and E-Commerce.
What is Retail?
In simple words, Retail is the sales of goods which are being sold from a single point of contact such as malls, departmental stores, supermarkets to the customers in a small quantity. In other words, retailing is an activity which takes place between sellers and consumers. This activity can be for a single item or in little quantities. Retailing is done to meet the daily needs of people.
Looking for used iphone? You go to a fone store selling electronic items and buy one. In this scenario, you’re a buyer from the store who bought a single gadget i.e. a mobile phone.
The store owner, on the other hand, is the retailer who serves customers with a wide range of smartphones.
Now we’ll shed some light on E-Commerce.
So, what is E-Commerce all about?
Commerce, or electronic commerce in short, is the exchange of goods and services, funds or any other information, between businesses and end users through the Internet or online social network.
Not only does E-Commerce include trading, it also provides needed assistance to activities which are part of trading, by the means of the electronic medium. Buying, selling, ordering as well as paying are activities which are carried out over the Internet.
There are 3 major types of E-Commerce, including:
B2B (business-to-business) Commerce – Businesses provides goods and services to other businesses.
B2C (business-to-consumer) Commerce – Businesses sell goods and services to the masses.
C2C (consumer-to-consumer) Commerce – When a consumer sell goods directly to some other consumer. An online auction is an example CRC activity.
Conclusion
Since the day e-commerce has come into existence, people have been reaping a plethora of excellent benefits. Not only can they purchase their desired products, they can make the payment or transfer money with ease. All it takes is just one click to do an online transaction.