E-Commerce
E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce) is the buying and selling of products or services through digital platforms, primarily online websites, mobile applications, and electronic marketplaces. It enables businesses and consumers to conduct transactions electronically, allowing customers to browse products, make purchases, process payments, and receive goods or services through digital channels.
Businesses use e-commerce models across various industries, including retail, hospitality, software, subscriptions, professional services, and digital products. Common e-commerce activities include online storefronts, product catalogs, digital payments, shopping carts, inventory management, customer reviews, personalized recommendations, email marketing, and automated customer communications. Major e-commerce models include business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and direct-to-consumer (DTC). Organizations measure e-commerce performance through metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, average order value (AOV), customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (CLV), cart abandonment rates, retention rates, and revenue growth.
By providing convenient, accessible, and personalized shopping experiences, e-commerce helps organizations expand market reach, increase sales opportunities, collect customer insights, and operate beyond traditional geographic limitations. It is a key component of digital marketing, online business strategy, customer experience (CX), and digital transformation.
For example, a clothing brand may use e-commerce by operating an online store where customers can browse collections, receive personalized product recommendations, complete purchases through digital payment options, and track deliveries from their mobile devices.
Related Terms: Customer Experience (CX), Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), User Experience (UX), E-Commerce Marketing, Personalization, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Omnichannel Marketing.