The single channel e-tailer is the standalone company selling their wares online. While this is a common eCommerce business model these folks can have a hard time competing with the conglomerate e-tailers and the big box stores out there. This site sells one product, or one type of product or a single brand. You'll find examples of these that adhere to the clicks and bricks methodology and some.....

In this model, a single website will pull from multiple brands and companies and sell through one single portal. Amazon.com is a great example of this, as is Overstock.com which focuses on discount products and extra inventory. In the clicks and bricks category of conglomerate e-tailers, we can look at monsters like Target.com , JCPenney.com or Walmart.com . The information comes into these sites in.....

In this model, the company is offering a service to customers through their web site . This could include services of graphic designers, marketing companies, home furnishing services like carpeting or even financial transactions like the buying and selling of stocks . There is sometimes crossover with the Advertising model if a website is offering a tool as a free service and profiting from web advertising.....

eCommerce is such a huge topic. Tackling it in any sort of organized fashion is going to be difficult, so what we've done is created a series of articles based on business models that will serve as a launching point for various topical discussions. This means that whether you are an individual e-tailer or an advertising site , you'll find information about technology, IT, marketing and traffic.....

In this eCommerce model, you will usually see a company offering some sort of free service, tool or information and their revenues are generated through advertisers. They may use Google AdSense or they may develop advertising packages where companies can place banner ads, text ads or other advertising throughout the site for a specific fee. Traffic is the key to the success of this model - page views.....

JIT is a business model where an eCommerce company carries as little inventory as possible but they do complete most of the shipping of the products they sell. This is not the same as having the manufacturer drop ship the item direct to the consumer, rather the eCommerce website will order the items upon receiving the customer order, put everything together at their own site and then ship the order.....

B2B, also known as Business to Business, are websites that are out there to sell items to businesses that will then turn around and sell to consumers. These are the manufacturers, the suppliers and the importers that make the goods and get them out into the market. For example, perhaps my company designs and imports Christmas ornaments. I then launch a website to market these Christmas ornaments and.....

“Click” and Mortar is also known as Bricks and Clicks and is a hybrid business model where a company has two channels of developing customers - both a physical storefront or location and a web site . For example you might sell sporting goods equipment in Chicago, Illinois and you may have a business of the same name online, selling the same or a broader offering of sporting goods equipment.....

B2C is also known as Business to Consumer and is probably the most common eCommerce model out there. These are sites like Amazon.com , Zappos.com and smaller web sites that sell products, services and even information to you and me. This is a relatively simple business model at first glance – put up a website, add some products, do some marketing, Harry and Jane come to the site, choose their.....