Ecommerce refers to any kind of commercial transaction that is facilitated through the internet. Michael Aldrich, an entrepreneur and IT guru is credited as the inventor of e-commerce, with his pioneering style of online shopping in 1979, long before the uptake of internet.
Ecommerce is often used to refer to the transaction of goods and services online whereas e-business refers to all aspects of operating an online business.
With the headline; The Internet is Open, the New York Times on 12th August 1994, chronicled the first online transaction of a Sting CD between two friends. The Times said, “The team of young cyberspace entrepreneurs celebrated what was apparently the first retail transaction on the Internet using a readily available version of powerful data encryption software designed to guarantee privacy.”
Decades later, ecommerce has evolved to make products easier to discover and purchase through online retailers and marketplaces. Independent freelancers, small businesses, and large corporations have all benefited from ecommerce, which enables them to sell their goods and services at a scale that was not possible with traditional offline retail. Africa has not been left behind in this evolution, with Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya taking lead in the ecommerce patronage.
There are four main types of ecommerce models that can describe almost every transaction that takes place between consumers and businesses.
1.Business to Consumer (B2C):
This refers to a business selling directly to the end user, the consumer. Anything you buy in an online store as a consumer, for example a pair of shoes, a laptop and so forth is done as part of a B2C transaction. The decision-making process for a B2C purchase is much shorter than a business-to-business (B2B) purchase, especially for items that have a lower value.
2.Business to Business (B2B):
This refers to when a business sells a good or service to another business (e.g. A business sells software-as-a-service for other businesses to use). Sometimes the buyer is the end-user, but often the buyer resells to the consumer. B2B transactions generally have a longer sales cycle, but higher-order value and more recurring purchases.
3.Consumer to Consumer (C2C):
When a consumer sells a good or service to another consumer (e.g. You sell your old furniture through Jumia to another consumer). It is also called an online marketplace and it connects consumers to exchange goods and services and typically make their money by charging transaction or listing fees.
4.Consumer to Business (C2B):
When a consumer sells their products or services to a business or organization (e.g. An influencer offers exposure to their online audience in exchange for a fee, or a photographer licenses their photo for a business to use). In this ecommerce model, a site might allow customers to post the work they want to be completed and have businesses bid for the opportunity. Affiliate marketing services would also be considered C2B.
GS1 Standards – Digital Link
With GS1 Digital Link, every product item can now be given a unique digital identity on the web. This helps to drive personalized direct-to-consumer experiences, supply chain traceability applications, and much more.
GS1 Digital Link is out to help the retail industry implement standards that allow brands to web-enable barcodes and provide consumers with rich product information. With a single scan of a two-dimensional (2D) barcode (e.g. QR code or Data Matrix) that’s encoded with GS1 Digital Link, consumers can gain access to unlimited and instantly updated, brand-authorized content online including product data, promotions, ingredients, recipes and more.
GS1 Digital Link leverages Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) for product identification, which has been encoded into U.P.C. (in full?)
barcodes and used at the point of sale for more than four decades to aid price lookup. Embedding the GTIN in a 2D data carrier using GS1 Digital Link connects the physical product to the web. The standard can help eliminate the need for multiple on-pack barcodes, freeing up space for brand expression and supporting the industry’s need for a more robust data carrier.
Recent GS1 US research revealed that 82% of retailers and 92% of brand owners support transitioning from the U.P.C. to a data-rich 2D barcode within the next five years because of the consumer-driven need for more product information.
For Business to Consumer, GS1 Digital link offers;
- Detailed Product Information
- Provenance and Sustainability
- Instructions and Usage tips
- Authenticity
For Business to Business, GS1 Digital Link offers;
- Master Traceability Data
- Recall Status of an Item
- SKU and Batch Information
- E-Commerce and POS Integration
- Brand Protection