E-tailing strands for electronic retailing. This means selling products or services over the Internet. E-tailing can have a B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) approach, depending on the products and services the business is providing.
Strong distribution is one of the most important things for the e-tailing business. While some might think that it is easier to develop an e-tailing business compared to a brick and mortar store, an e-tailing business requires a lot of assets, including a website, distribution channels, and even a warehouse as the business is growing.
Types of e-tailing businesses
B2B E-tailing: This type of business focuses on offering services and products for other businesses. Consultants, software developers, and freelancers can also be considered as e-tailing businesses.
B2C E-tailing: These businesses sell products and services directly to the end consumer. Most e-commerce businesses practice B2C E-tailing. The main differences between B2B and B2C businesses are the approach, the products sold (or the services), and the distribution channels.
Why is e-tailing important?
As technology is improving, consumers are looking for better, more convenient alternatives to brick and mortar store shopping. That’s how e-tailing first appeared. Since the journey of shoppers starts online, retailers found a way to sell directly on the Internet. However, e-tailing can’t provide the same shopping experience that physical stores offer.
E-tailing is important because it allows customers to shop at any time of the day or night and because it offers a bigger variety of products. Delivery is one of the biggest problems in e-tailing. While shoppers can go to the store and take their products at home after the purchase, with e-tailing, they have to wait for their products to be delivered. Some products end up broken or delivered after a long period of time. This leads to negative reviews and a broken brand image for the eCommerce store.
Examples of e-tailing businesses
E-tailing businesses are developing and COVID-19 forced their development even further. One of the biggest e-tailing businesses in the world is Amazon. On Amazon, customers can find almost any product they are looking for. Since Amazon discovered that delivery is quite a problem, they are offering a special service Amazon Prime Delivery and shoppers can receive their products in 24 to 48 hours.
