The terms e-business and e-commerce are always used as if they do not have a difference.
Many people think that they mean the same thing, but they don't.
So why is it important to know the difference?
Here are some reasons:
- Your contracts must use the right words to protect yourself legally
- You need to use the right words to research
- You and the people you talk to will understand each other better if you use the correct terms
I'm going to explain the differences between e-commerce and e-business.
We will also provide specific examples of each so you can better identify a business if it is an e-commerce or an e-business.
This is the difference between an E-Business and E-Commerce business. An E-Commerce business is selling products online from an online store. E-Business refers to general online business where people can sell anything to make money from that business.
The Definition of E-commerce & E-Business
E-business means electronic business.
It's any kind of business that uses the internet to make money. E-commerce, on the other hand, stands for electronic commerce.
It refers to a kind of business where people buy and sell products or services.
E-commerce is like a small part of e-business because e-business represents any kind of activity online that makes money.
This means that an online gift shop is both an e-business and e-commerce business and an online payment system can be called an e-business but not e-commerce.
Examples of E-Commerce
E-commerce is where a seller posts a product, and then the buyer clicks on the product and pays for it.
If you are selling on eBay, Amazon, or AliExpress, what you have is e-commerce.
If you run a dropshipping store then that an e-com business.
If you would like to know how you could start a drop shipping store this article would help you.
It is a place where somebody uploads a product, and then somebody from another part of the world finds it and buys it.
Let's take a better look into this.
Physical Goods
Any business that sells something that you can touch is an e-commerce store. Physical goods are things you buy that the seller ship to you like eyeglasses, pillows, furniture, ballpoint pens, toys, and more.
Any marketplace on the internet where you can register and upload your products for sale is e-commerce. Below are some examples to help you understand further.
eBay
This is an online marketplace that was originally built so people can sell used products. Most of the things that were sold here were goods that the owners are no longer using.
However, eBay has also become a place where you can build your own store, and then sell brand new products.
There is almost no limit to what you can sell, except illegal items such as guns, pornography, drugs, and others.
Amazon
Amazon started out as an online book store where people can buy and sell physical books or eBooks. After many years, it has become an e-commerce business where a person can register, upload his products, and make a profit.
Amazon today is the largest e-commerce platforms in the world.
Shopify
Shopify is a company that helps you build your own store. Here, you can create an online store. It lets people drag and drop, or upload photos of their products, and add descriptions.
It also has great free themes so you can get started selling products quickly.
The main difference between e-commerce market places and Shopify is with Shopify, you are in control.
You own the website, and you do don't pay huge fees for your sales like you do in Amazon or eBay.
You can change the color of your website, the contents, the categories, and pretty much everything you want. It's a great platform to sell products on.
Online Services
There are also e-commerce sites where you can buy online services.
Examples of these are freelance market places where you can buy any kind of work that can be done from another location.
Typically, you pay for the worker’s hourly rate. However, there are also many situations where you pay per project, and not per hour.
Here are some examples of services that you can buy.
- Content writing
- Bookkeeping
- Data entry
- Lead generation
- Graphic arts
- Scriptwriting
- Video editing
- Web design and creation
Any service that doesn't need a physical presence is something you can buy online. However, there are also e-commerce sites where you can buy physical services.
An example is Craigslist where you can buy the services of a plumber. This plumber will go to your house, and then you pay him for the work done.
So, how does this work?
Typically, both the seller and the buyer have protection. The process is similar to buying a physical good. It goes this way:
- Seller posts the service in the e-commerce platform
- Buyer pays for it
- Money is kept by the website operator or a financial institution
- Seller does the job and delivers the order (MS Word or Excel are used for written content or bookkeeping; there are many ways to deliver these services in digital form)
- Buyer inspects the document or work
- Buyer clicks on Accept
- System or financial institution release the money to the seller
An example of an e-commerce website where you can buy service is Fiverr. It operates worldwide, and you can buy the services mentioned earlier.
Related: Dropshipping For Beginners: The Simple Step By Step Guide To Starting
Examples of E-Business
Since e-business refers to everything that makes money online, it can mean anything from e-payments to e-banking to a lot more things.
Let's take a look at some e-businesses.
e-Payments
This means electronic payments. A good example is PayPal where you can send and receive payments from anyone on the world without going to a physical bank.
PayPal charges a transaction fee from the person who receives the money.
Blogging
A blog is a website that is focused on written content.
Bloggers earn money in many ways, such as receiving payments for reviewing a product, selling their own eBooks, putting up advertisements, or by providing consultation services.
The most popular platform to use for blogging is WordPress.
YouTube
YouTubers are like bloggers because they create content. However, they make video instead.
The more followers you have on YouTube, the more money you can earn from the advertisements that run while your video is being played.
People who do YouTube videos also get paid by reviewing products sponsored by manufacturers.
Summary
Dropshipping is an example of an e-commerce business.
e-business is any activity that makes money online, and e-commerce is any business in the buy and sell category.
Now that you know the difference, it is up to you to decide which way to make money is a better option for you.
You can sell products online through drop shipping, or you can also be an influencer and be paid for your popularity.