Global trade consists of numerous subdivisions. One of the most important parts of the worldwide commerce is the B2B branch. B2B stands for ”business to business” and it comprises sales and transactions between companies. As opposed to that, there is B2C commerce, where the acronym stands for “business to customer“. Although B2C is more easily comprehended, B2B is the essence of the world trade and if there were not cooperation and financial transactions between large players, i.e. manufacturers and wholesalers or retailers, customers would not be that important.
In the world of online shopping, these divisions have become even more complex and some new relations have been developed.
Fast growing developing countries
Maybe it is insulting to call countries such as Brazil, China or Russia developing countries. These countries have been having a substantial economic growth year after year and their participation in the global online commerce is growing as we speak (or read). China is supposed to surpass the total amount of online commerce in the USA in 2014. Also, all the BRIC countries will have produced a larger total BDP than the USA, the UK, Italy, France and Germany by 2020. All these facts add to the statement that online commerce has never been more global than it is becoming now.
When it comes to B2B business in global terms, ecommerce services are here to alleviate trading between companies. Although a part of global trade is handled via phones and faxes, online solutions are overtaking the leading role. Now business partners can make stronger bonds and they can communicate more easily via the net.
B2B vs B2C Ecommerce
These two sorts of trade make the same world but there are significant differences between them. In B2B commerce, authentication and everything that is included in it, such as pricing, catalogs, content and different offers, specially designed for B2B purposes are an important part of business cooperation.
In B2C area, this is not that vital, but some other aspects, such as visual presentation and user-friendliness. Although user registration has some benefits for the site, it focuses on different concepts.
B2C Commerce Growth
It is not only that B2B e-trade is on the fast run, but the same goes for B2C commerce. With the already mentioned BRIC countries on the rise and the old economy powers standing still in their positions, much more individual buyers from all over the world are ordering goods from all parts of the world. In 2014, Asia and the Pacific region will have more online purchases than North America, as stated here. What is similar for B2B and B2C commerce are search parameters, categorization and online marketing targeting. Businesses that aim at online customers need to develop special strategies for different geographical areas. On some sites, there is an option to choose the country from which you are and sometimes there are special offers, such as frees shipping to your country. What is more, many ecommerce sites have free shipping to most parts of the world.
To say that the world of ecommerce is rapidly changing is an under-statement. Things are happening so swift that every passing hour is already obsolete. However, to stay on board, you need to keep the pace and be faster than the competition.
