Perpetual Payments Home
Apply online

Glossary - eCommerce

Back to Glossary index

eCommerce is the activity of financial or commercial exchanges processed over the internet. Transactions that are conducted over the Internet where the buyer and Merchant are not at the same physical location

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of goods and/or services over electronic systems such as the web and other computer networks. Modern eCommerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it may include a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

A large proportion of e-commerce is conducted entirely online for virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most eCommerce involves the transportation of tangible products in one way or another. Online merchants are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is also known as e-tail. Almost all large retailers have eCommerce website on the World Wide Web.

eCommerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. import / export) or limited to specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). E-Commerce that is conducted between businesses and consumers, is known as business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of eCommerce conducted by the majority of web merchants.