Aisling McCartney 12:27, 9 Sep 2004 (EST)
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) eCommerce has been described as any business operations conducted directly between a company and their consumers (QUT School of International Business, 2003, p. xv). This type of eBusiness involves disintermediation or removing the ‘middlemen’ that have traditionally played such an integral role in business communications (Rowley, 2002, p.7). Some benefits of removing these mediators are that business transactions become cheaper and more efficient; there is a reduction in inventory and a reduction in property costs and maintenance. EBusiness encourages equal opportunity for all B2C companies, as there are fewer barriers to marketplace entry (Rowley, 2002, p.7).
When eCommerce was first introduced, B2C companies were the original pioneers. The dot.com boom of the late 1990’s saw Internet corporations such as Yahoo!, Amazon.com and Ebay taken from obscurity and thrust into the eCommerce spotlight (Flew, 2002, pp.6-7). Despite the consequential dot.com crash of 2000 and 2001(Shade, 2001, p.44), Business-to-Consumer applications are still revered in the world of eCommerce.
In today’s society, consumer sovereignty reigns. Individuals are increasingly demanding convenience and quality but at lower prices (Kalakota and Whinston, 1997, p.21). B2C companies are very consumer oriented (May, 2000, p.83). They provide quality goods and services to consumers at competitive prices. So competitive in fact, that they often are cheaper than their bricks & mortar counterparts (Rowley, 2002, p.8). This is particular evident through online retail. Online retail is exactly as the name suggests; retail stores based on the Internet. Successful web-based retail requires two major components: diversity of products and economies of scale (May, 2000, p.101). A classic example of an online retail giant is Amazon.com. More recent examples of successful online retail stores are pharmaceutical sites such as DrugStore.com.
A secondary example of a Business-to-Consumer application is online advice sites. These sites do not sell goods to consumers as such, but they do provide an invaluable service: advice. The web was originally designed as a communications tool for research groups to share and exchange information (Rowley, 2002, p.25). The introduction of eCommerce meant that this group exchange had the potential to be commercially beneficial as well. Many companies realized the economical potential of B2C advice sites and structured their businesses accordingly. Sites such as e*Trade offer ‘Free Advice’ to consumers in the hope that they will retain their custom and loyalty (May, 2000, pp.117-118). Search engines such as AltaVista, Google and AskJeeves offer links to other sites related to the users search queries.
Business-to-consumer applications have proved critical to the success of eBusiness. There is great potential for future expansion in the B2C field and this area will continue to grow for many years.
Aisling McCartney 07:36, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
Flew, T. (2002) New Media: An Introduction, Victoria: Oxford University Press
May, P. (2000) The Business of eCommerce: From Corporate Strategy to Technology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kalakota, R. and Whinston, A. (1997) Electronic Commerce: A Manager’s Guide, USA: Addison-Wesley
QUT School of International Business (2003) Introduction to E-Business Revised Edition, North Ryde: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
Rowley, J. (2002) E-business: Principles and Practice, New York: Palgrave
Shade, W.P. (2001) “Video Review: The Future of eBusiness�, Information Management Journal, vol.35, no.4, retrieved October 24, 2004, from http://proquest.umi.com.gateway.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=3&did=000000088826322&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1098961122&clientId=14394#fulltext.
