Difference Between E-Commerce and E-Business

You must have heard the terms e-commerce and e-business. Although they are often used interchangeably, they represent different concepts that play various roles in online business. For businesses, it is crucial to understand the key differences between them.

E-commerce is a subset of e-business, where e-commerce is the online buying and selling of products and services and e-business is the broader user of digital technologies.

What Is E-Commerce?

E-commerce is the buying and selling of products and services online. It can include transactions between businesses, consumers or both. E-commerce is popular because of its convenience and accessibility.

Businesses use e-commerce to sell their products online or expand the reach of their other distribution channels. Consumers use e-commerce to shop directly from websites, mobile apps or voice assistants. Governments can use e-commerce to conduct transactions with companies, this may include legal documents, registers, social security and employment.

Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Paytm Mall, and sellers of digital products like ebooks, online services etc. are examples of e-commerce.

Activities Of E-commerce can be:

• Buying and selling of products online
• Online customer support services
• Online payment
• Payment of taxes
• Online accounting software

What Is E-Business?

E-business or electronic business is any commercial activity that involves using the Internet to share information or conduct transactions. A wide range of business processes come under e-business like online sales, marketing campaigns, customer support, payments, employee services, information transfer and supply chain management.

E-business is playing a key role in modern commerce, allowing businesses to reach global markets and take their business operations to the next level. It is a broader concept than e-commerce and mainly focuses on the exchange of products and services between businesses, groups and individuals. Examples of e-businesses are Amazon, eBay and Ajio.

Activities of e-business can be:

• Buying and selling products
• Customer education
• Supply chain management
• Email marketing
• Monetary transactions
• Business-to-business (B2B)
• Business-to-consumer (B2C)

What Makes E-commerce and E-business Different From Each Other?

E-commerce is limited to online transactions, while e-business is a broader approach that includes all business activities and services. Let us understand these two based on scope, location, time frame, distribution channels and customer service.

Scope

E-commerce includes buying and selling products online, while e-business is a broader approach that covers supply chain management, customer relationship management and other essential business functions. E-business integrates internal business functions with external business processes, expanding its reach beyond transactions.

Location

E-commerce is not as wide an approach as e-business. It is limited to the Internet, while e-business can take place on the Internet, intranet or extranet. E-commerce allows businesses to sell products to customers globally and transactions occur online. However, e-business may include offline processes such as local production or in-store sales.

Time Frame

E-commerce can be done at any time, while e-business is typically limited to business hours. In e-commerce transactions can be done at any time, run by online platforms that are open 24/7, while e-business focuses on the long-term process to build relationships, improving efficiency and driving growth.

Distribution Channels

E-commerce is usually limited to an online store, while e-business can include brick-and-mortar storefronts or phone sales. E-commerce uses direct online sales platforms like websites, mobile apps and others. E-business, however, leverages a wide range of distribution channels including physical stores, digital channels and B2B exchanges.

Customer Service

E-commerce includes buying and selling products, while e-business can refer to the customer service department that can also handle emails and phone calls. E-commerce customer service focuses on handling transactions, resolving issues and facilitating product delivery through digital channels, while e-business involves a more comprehensive customer experience. E-business focuses on overall customer satisfaction and handles marketing, sales support and post-sale services.

E-commerce SEO services can help you enhance the visibility and performance of your online business. They can help improve organic traffic, provide user experience, and enhance local SEO. You can hire an SEO team who can handle your business and spread it globally. They will also target a local audience and make local SEO a success.

Conclusion

E-commerce is a subset of e-business. E-business is a wider approach than e-commerce and includes almost every business activity. From monitoring transactions to email marketing e-business is a widespread approach. You can connect globally to local businesses and spread your products and services.

E-commerce is available can be done at any time while e-business can be done at particular working hours. The two can be differentiated on the basis of scope, location and distribution channels. If you are looking to take your business to the next level then take the help of e-commerce SEO services, they will help your website rank higher and increase sales and visibility.