Business-to-Consumer (B2C) is a type of e-commerce in which transactions are carried out between a company and end-user consumers. (as defined by www.investorwords.com) For example, an organization may setup an online store and receive order from consumers online without physically meeting the consumers.
I believe that this type of e-commerce is by far, one of the most popular ways to carry out transactions today. the rise of B2C goes along with the exponential growth of the Internet since 1999. (pg 2, source) Organisations that are engaged in B2C activity today came from a wide range which includes auction and shopping site (Lelong) and travel service (AirAsia)
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| Lelong.my |
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| AirAsia |
The business model today has evolved from the conventional way as e-commerce has opened up new horizons to which the competition is no longer confined to competitors in the industry alone, but also those from the Internet. People now no longer need to travel far to get what they want as they can get it delivered to their home via an online order. Besides that, through the power of Internet, the business is now transcending geographical and international barrier.
The B2C type of e-commerce is used internationally. For example, eBay being one of the largest auction sites. The site offers a wide range of products, and also very specific items which is especially attractive to those who collect limited edition items. eBay has position themselves very well, appealing for the mass while attractive for the niche market. On the other hand, British Airways also utilized e-commerce very well, offering more value-added services alongside the flight service.
| British Airways |
| eBay |
In Australia, being one of my favourite country, there are also similar auction sites such as GraysOnline which is operating with a similar framework used by eBay. This site sells items which ranges from wine to industrial products. On the other side, the airline industry in Australia also utilized e-commerce to reach out to consumers. Airlines company such as Qantas also offers similar services to compete with some of the global players.
| GraysOnline |
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| Qantas |
One of the differences between GraysOnline and Lelong would be the establishment of Grays. Although they started off late in e-commerce, somewhere in 2000. Grays has a history in the auction for more than 100 years, making them a more experienced company compared to Lelong, (source). Lelong can be seen as a newborn in the auction industry, pioneered by History Interbase Resources Sdn. Bhd. in late 1998, (source). Both companies shared similar framework, but the products offered by Lelong is relatively diverse compared to Grays. Lelong has a wide product range in the auction, from antiques and collectibles to electronics, whereas the product offered in GraysOnline are limited, from wine to jewellery.
However, if we were to compare the airline industry, we would see the drastic difference between the companies. AirAsia is an low cost carrier compared to Qantas which is the flag carrier for Australia. Both companies have a different target market, as AirAsia practices price discrimination with its low cost pricing compared to Qantas which is a premium airline.
