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Short for business-to-consumer. B2C
represents the most visible face of online commerce. Confidence in
the b2c
market suffered throughout 2000 and 2001 after the collapse of several
high-profile businesses, including boo.com in Europe and eToys in the United
States, but ever increasing numbers of web users have ensured that consumers
continue to shop enthusiastically online. Nearly 60m Europeans made online
purchases between November 2001 and April 2002. Americans spent $13.7
billion during the 2002 Christmas period alone, according to a study by
Goldman Sachs, and revenue for 2002 was estimated at $48 billion by Bizrate,
an online research company.
One attraction of online retailing is
the ease with which you can compare prices. There are now many sites that
hunt for the best bargains in almost any kinds of goods, and a trend towards
free shipping costs has encouraged people to spend their money online rather
than in the high street. Jeff Bezos, amazon's ceo, said that
free delivery on orders over $25 was a contributing factor the company's
first ever profit in late 2001. However, the more that online b2c businesses
have to compete on price the more difficult it is for them to be profitable.
Amazon achieved its market share by selling things so cheaply that it made
huge losses. It is impossible to do that forever and survive. |
