E-commerce business models have 4 popular types that indicate who they are and who they sell their products or services to. The 4 main types of businesses are:

1. Business-To-Customer (B2C)

Is the business model that sells their goods and services to the end customers. This is the most popular type of business model out there. Examples of this model are supermarkets, shopping malls, clothing stores, retail stores, tier 1 agents, etc.

- Pros:

• A huge customer database.
• A great potential for marketing and branding.
• An ideal model to get revenue and profit.

- Cons:

• High competitive market.
• High level of difficulty in satisfying all the target customers.

2. Business-To-Business (B2B)

Is the e-commerce business model that sells their goods and services to other businesses. Businesses of this type are often the ones who provide materials, ingredients, and raw materials to the production house in order for them to make their products. This model usually finishes at the purchase stage where the company sells its goods to the end customers.

- Pros:

• Orders often come in a bigger size/amount.
• Transactions between parties are fewer.
• The cycle of the purchase is shorter.

- Cons:

• A smaller customer database.
• Difficulty in getting customers.

3. Customer-To- Business (C2B)

These types of business refers to the model where customers provide or exchange their goods and services to businesses. And the process is often made without the presence of a middle man. Examples are a wholesaler, a manufacturer, and so on.

- Pros:

• Low cost of advertising.
• Zero cost of brand awareness.
• No need of branding.

- Cons:

• Risk of being replaced if the suppliers fail to ensure consistent quality or price as negotiated.
• Unpredictable outcomes.

4. Customer-To- Customer (C2C)

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) model, is e-commerce business model where customers introduce and sell the goods or services of a business to other customers. This model applies the word-of-mouth methods, which is the best way to broaden business’s customer database and reach out to a larger audience. The customers of this model are often those who know each other and purchase the goods based on trust instead of the quality or price of the products.

- Pros:

• Broaden the customer database
• Reach out to a larger audience.
• High margins.
• Zero cost of manufacturing, marketing, and brand awareness.

- Cons:

• Rely barely on trust and how persuasive the business’s sellers are.
• A very competitive market.
• High risk of scams.