Manufacturers
Manufacturers create and sell their own products online. They do not allow other retailers to sell their products nor sell in traditional shops. They can provide lower costs or special offers to customers because they do not need to pay for retail rentals and overhead for a traditional shop. Dell is an example of a manufacturer because they make the computers and dell them online, not through shops like PC World.
Existing Retailers
Existing retailers are businesses who were originally a traditional shop (bricks) but have now expanded to e-commerce and now sell their products online. This means they work in both sectors and get all the benefits of being online and also being on the high street. Although costs for running both ways is high, it means you are selling to a wider customer base which will hopefully increase sales and profits. Tesco is an existing retail businesses as they originally started as a traditional brick store but now also sell and deliver their products online.
Consumer Led e-commerce entities
A consumer led e-commerce entities is a site that allows you to buy or sell your items through auctions. These businesses will charge a fee to those selling products which allows them to make a profit. These sites use rating systems to score how trustworthy a seller is which makes it safer for customers as it reduces the risk of scamming. For instance, E-bay which hosts other people selling their products and get a percentage of the money that is sold.
Service Providers
Service providers are a business who do not sell physical products but sell specialised products for customers to use such as broadband, TV, phone or travel companies that provide holidays. For example, Sky sell customers services such as phone, TV and broadband to customers.
Financial e-commerce entities
A financial e-commerce entities is a service provider focuses on financial services. The main areas are insurance and banking. They will not have a physical shop and everything is done online, although they may have a call centre to improve customer service. Because they have no overheads they can provide good deals to customers. An example of a banking financial e-commerce entities is Smile. An insurance example is quotemehappy. A major issue with these businesses is trust. Because it is all online businesses there is no face to face service which some customers may not trust.
