ABSTRACT
e-Commerce (electronic commerce, or EC) include the buying, selling of goods and services and the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network. These business transactions occur business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and consumer-to-business (C2B). The terms e-commerce and e-retailer are often used interchangeably in our chapter. We are primarily interested in e-retail business, which is a form of e-commerce that allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the internet by using a Web browser or a mobile app. It is projected that in the year 2017 the online e-retail industry will grow to upwards of $600 billion dollars. While most of these e-retailers operate on a B2C business model, a B2B model or a combination of both is also common. Many businesses have migrated from owning a brick-and-mortar shop alone to include an e-retail business to cater to the needs of the customer and to keep up with the competition, while others operate only via the e-commerce route.
