What Is E-commerce: B2C, B2B, D2C, C2C and Marketplace Models

The short answer

E-commerce is any sale where the order, and usually the payment, happens online: on a website, in an app, through a Telegram bot or on a marketplace. The product itself can be physical (clothes, electronics), digital (a course, a subscription) or a service (a doctor's appointment).

The e-commerce model answers two questions: who is the seller and who is the buyer. Almost everything else follows from that: pricing, payment methods, logistics, marketing and the software you need.

The five main models

B2C: business to consumer

The classic online store. Money goes from the buyer through a payment provider to the store's account. Goods leave the store's warehouse via courier or pickup point. The store buys its own stock, tracks inventory and handles returns.

What matters: an easy catalog and checkout, fast payment, clear delivery options and marketing to a broad audience.

B2B: business to business

The buyer is a company, so deals are more complex: customer-specific prices, volume discounts, payment by invoice or on credit terms, contracts and tax documents. Several people often approve one order. Money arrives by bank transfer, sometimes weeks after shipping. Goods move in large batches.

What matters: a customer portal, price lists per customer group, order history and integration with accounting software and a CRM.

D2C: direct to consumer

A brand cuts out distributors and retail chains and sells through its own site or app. It keeps more margin per sale and, more importantly, owns customer data: who buys, what and how often. The cost is that the brand must run marketing, payments, logistics and support itself.

D2C is often combined with other channels: a brand sells on marketplaces for reach and on its own site for loyal customers.

C2C: consumer to consumer

A platform connects private sellers and buyers and earns from commissions, paid listings or ads. Items change hands in person or via the platform's delivery service. The owner's core jobs are trust (ratings, protected payments) and listing moderation.

Marketplace: many sellers, one storefront

The operator does not have to own the goods. The buyer pays the marketplace, which keeps its commission and service fees (storage, delivery) and pays the rest to the seller on a payout schedule. Stock is either kept in the marketplace's warehouse (often called FBO or fulfilled by the marketplace) or by the seller, who ships each order (FBS).

For sellers it means instant access to an audience, in exchange for strict rules, price competition and dependence on the platform's ranking.

How to choose a model

• You make your own branded products — start with a D2C site and add marketplaces for reach.
• You resell goods to a mass audience — a B2C store plus marketplaces as an extra channel.
• Your customers are companies — a B2B portal with accounts and custom pricing, not a plain shopping cart.
• You want to connect other sellers and buyers — you are building a platform (C2C or marketplace), and most of the work is rules, moderation and seller payouts.

Models are not exclusive. One business can sell retail on its site, wholesale through a B2B portal and on several marketplaces at once. What matters is a single record of stock and orders, or the same item gets sold twice.

Common mistakes

• Running B2B sales through a retail cart with no custom prices or invoice payments.
• Relying only on marketplaces and never building your own customer base.
• Launching a marketplace without deciding how sellers get paid and who handles returns.
• Tracking stock for each channel in separate spreadsheets.