Which of the following is an example of business-to-consumer electronic commerce?

What is Business-to-Consumer (B2C)?

Business-to-consumer – “B2C” – refers to commerce between a business and an individual consumer.

While it applies to any type of direct-to-consumer selling, it has come to be associated with online selling, also known as ecommerce or etailing. Ecommerce took off significantly in the late 1990s, with the 1998 holiday shopping season identified as the first “e-tail Christmas.” That year, Amazon surpassed more than $1 billion in sales for the first time.  

In recent years, the growth in business-to-consumer online sales has created significant challenges for traditional “brick-and-mortar” businesses and services that are losing in-person sales to online competitors.

As a result, many brick-and-mortar businesses are establishing their own online presence to stay competitive. This has created opportunities for consumers, who can now enjoy the convenience of online ordering while saving on shipping expenses with certain retailers by picking up or returning orders to the online retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores.
Business-to-Consumer Sales Models

In online business-to-consumer sales, there are generally five business models.

1. Direct Sellers

This is the type most people are familiar with – they are the online retail sites where consumers buy products. They can be manufacturers such as Gap or Dell or small businesses that create and sell products, but they can also be online versions of department stores selling products from a wide range of brands and manufacturers. Examples include Target.com, Macys.com, and Zappos.com.

2. Online Intermediaries

These “go-betweens” put buyers and sellers together without owning the product or service. Examples include online travel sites such as Expedia and Trivago and arts and crafts retailer Etsy.

3. Advertising-Based

This approach leverages high volumes of web traffic to sell advertising which, in turn, sells products or services to the consumer. This model uses high-quality free content to attract site visitors, who then encounter online ads. Media outlets that have no paid subscription component, such as the Huffington Post and Observer.com, are examples.

4. Community-Based

This model uses online communities built around shared interests to help advertisers market their products directly to site users. It could be an online forum for photography buffs, people with diabetes, or marching band members. The best-known example is Facebook, which helps marketers target ads to people according to very specific demographics.

5. Fee-Based

These direct-to-consumer sites charge a subscription fee for access to their content. They typically include publications that offer a limited amount of content for free but charge for most of it – such as The Wall Street Journal – or entertainment services such as Netflix or Hulu.

Businesses selling directly to consumers should take into account how their target customers like to shop and buy products like theirs as they explore various business-to-consumer options, whether those possibilities involve in-person or online transactions.

Business To Consumer Definition

Business to Consumer (B2C) is a business model where businesses sell their products and services to end-users or customers. It allows companies to engage in direct commercial activities with consumers, enabling the latter to have greater accessibility to the former’s products and services.

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When customers get a chance to interact with the business directly, they trust those brands more than the rest, which reaches them via intermediaries. A few companies sell their products via online channels, while others use third-party e-commerceElectronic commerce (e-commerce) refers to the online presence of individuals, businesses, and governments, which they use to provide products, information, and services.read more platforms. The retail market is one of the best examples of a business to consumer marketing model.

• Business to Consumer (B2C) is a business model in which companies offer their goods and services to consumers.
• Every company is not always classified as B2C, B2B, G2B, or B2G. A company could use a hybrid model. The B2C model includes direct sellers, intermediaries, advertising-based, community-based, and fee-based platforms.
• A few businesses sell their products through their websites, while others rely on third-party e-commerce platforms.
• While the B2C model has a larger number of customers, the revenue is lower due to shorter sales cycles.

Business To Consumer Explained

The business to consumer marketing approach is always effective given the common platform businesses and consumers share. Michael Aldrich, an English innovator, originally presented the concept in 1979. It is one of the business models that operate around, which also include:

• Business to Business (B2B), where companies sell their products and services to other companies.
• Consumer to Consumer (C2C), where one customer sells the products and services to other customers.
• Business to Government (B2G), where companies sell products to the government, for example, the sale of defense equipment.
• Government to Business (G2B), where the government agencies sell required information to businesses.
• Government to Consumer (G2C), where the government sells the documents asked for by individual customers when required.

At one time, a retailer had a brick-and-mortar store where customers could purchase its goods. Now, online platforms enable customers to interact with the brands and purchase directly. A B2C business must maintain good relations with consumers.

Business to consumer e-commerce websites gives customers access to a range of products. It allows them to explore all relevant product information online to help them make a well-informed and smart purchase.

The B2C model might recognize brands that sell their products directly to consumers. But the businesses that connect the buyers and sellers through their platforms also fall under the B2C category. While the B2C business model has a higher number of clients, the revenueRevenue is the amount of money that a business can earn in its normal course of business by selling its goods and services. In the case of the federal government, it refers to the total amount of income generated from taxes, which remains unfiltered from any deductions.read more is lower as the sales cycles tend to be shorter. On the other hand, a B2B model has a small number of clients who make bulk purchases, helping the brands earn better revenue with longer sales cycles.

Example

Amazon.com is one of the business to consumer examples. Although the ecommerce website acts as an online platform for other businesses’ products, it also sells its services like Amazon Prime and Amazon Originals. These Amazon divisions’ services are delivered directly to customers.

Types Of Business To Consumer Models

Not every business is necessarily categorized as B2C or B2B or G2B, or B2G. Instead, a brand might have a hybrid model. For example, a brand can have the B2B model, which sells its items to a retail business, and the B2C model, which sells directly to consumers. However, the B2C model can be classified into five types based on how they target customers online:

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#1 – Direct Sellers

Businesses, especially small or manufacturing entities, sell goods and services directly to customers. These can be online retailers set up by brands to purchase their products. For example, if customers want to buy a Dell laptop, they can go to the manufacturer’s website directly, gather product information, and order it.

#2 – Intermediaries

Online platforms connect brands and customers and help the latter buy and the former sell the products. They do not own products and instead sell them from various manufacturers on their websites. For example, Amazon.com and ebay sell branded items to consumers. These intermediaries profit from a percentage of the product sales.

#3 – Advertising-Based

It is the B2C method whereby companies advertise their products and services on a platform with significant reach. Through this, they make sure more and more people would come to know about their offerings and click on the ads to make a purchase.

Businesses identify their target customers using content traffic-driving tactics and accordingly opt for the platform that would be the most effective to advertise the products.

YouTube and Reddit are advertisement-based businesses that earn by selling advertising space on their platforms. On the other hand, sellers generate revenue by getting the leads converted.

Businesses use community-based platforms that host like-minded people’s ideas, opinions, or interests and host targeted advertisements. It helps brands promote and sell their products and services directly to customers.

For example, advertising baby products on a popular parenting portal would be more effective than using space on a news website. Facebook, Quora, etc., are some platforms where the community-based B2C model can easily be pulled up.

#5 – Fee-Based

Whether it is Spotify or Netflix, there comes the point where the service provider requests a premium subscription to have access to additional content. They are fee-based B2C players.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is business to consumer model?

Business to Consumer (B2C) is a business model in which businesses sell their products and services to customers. It is always effective given the shared platform that businesses and customers use. A few companies use their websites to sell their items, while others use third-party e-commerce platforms. Not every business is classed as B2C, B2B, G2B, or B2G. A business could adopt a hybrid model.

What are the differences between business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) models?

B2C is a business model where businesses sell their products and services directly to customers. In contrast, businesses sell their products and services to other businesses in a B2B model.

While the B2C business model has a higher number of clients, the revenue is lower as the sales cycles tend to be shorter. On the other hand, a B2B model has a small number of clients who make bulk purchases, helping the brands earn better revenue with longer sales cycles.

What are the types of B2C model?

There are five types of B2C models that one might come across:

1. Direct Sellers: This type of B2C business where businesses sell goods and services directly to customers. 
2. Intermediaries: These are online platforms that connect brands and customers on their website and help the former sell their products and the latter buy them.
3. Advertising-Based: This is the B2C method whereby companies advertise their products and services on a platform with significant traffic. 
4. Community-Based: Businesses can use community-based platforms that feature ideas, opinions, or interests of like-minded people. 
5. Fee-Based: Service providers like Spotify or Netflix that ask for a premium subscription to gain access to content after a specific number of trials are fee-based B2C companies.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to what is Business To Consumer & its definition. Here we explain the B2C model in e-commerce, its example, and its types in marketing. You can learn more from the following articles –

• Consumer Cyclical
• Business Ecosystem
• Business Cycle