What Is the Difference Between eCommerce and eBusiness?

Updated · Mar 06, 2023

With the advent of the internet, businesses have been able to reach a global audience, and each other, like never before. 

However, many people still don't know the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness.

These are often taken to mean the same thing, but this is incorrect. It’s more complicated than that.

So, what is the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness? Join us as we investigate.

What Is eCommerce?

eCommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services through the internet.

It has transformed the way we shop, making it possible to purchase items from anywhere in the world with just a few clicks. 

eCommerce has also made it easier for businesses to reach a global market and has created new opportunities for entrepreneurs. 

It is vital to today’s economy, and any business not adopting ecommerce is doing itself a disservice, which brings us to our next point...

What Is eBusiness?

eBusiness is electronic business and refers to the conducting of business through any digital platform

Unlike ecommerce, it’s not limited to buying and selling but includes procurement, business meetings through remote platforms, customer service, and management.

eBusiness has allowed companies to save time and money by making communication quicker and automating various parts of the business process.

What Is The Difference Between eCommerce and eBusiness?

It’s then accurate to think of ecommerce as an aspect of an electronic business.

It is the part of ebusiness that focuses on sales, but ebusiness is also present throughout the ecommerce process. 

In other words, the two are intertwined. It’s less of an ebusiness vs ecommerce situation, and more of an ebusiness and ecommerce situation.

Digital customer management is an example of a perfect overlap between the two.

However, there are still a few different particulars.

Aims

eCommerce is typically focused on the buying and selling of goods and services, while ebusiness encompasses a wider range of activities, including communication, collaboration, planning, and transaction processing.

In addition, ecommerce is typically conducted between two separate parties, while ebusiness can also involve internal transactions and processes within a company.

How It’s Done 

A major difference between ecommerce and ebusiness is that ecommerce is done exclusively through the internet.

An ebusiness model, on the other hand, is done through the internet, but also through the use of “intranets”, which are internal networks, and “extranets”.

Extranets are private networks that multiple organizations can use for secure cooperation.

What It Does

eCommerce’s focus is on selling. It’s all about getting products and services to customers and getting paid.

Of course, ecommerce activities also involve things like order fufillment, but this is just one area in which the line can begin blurring. 

eBusiness is all about digitizing a business.

It can be the digitization of one aspect of the business, or the business at large. Even making use of something straightforward like cloud storage is part of ebusiness.

What's more, an individual can digitize their business by simplifying going online or augmenting their performance with a virtual assistant.

Conclusion

So, what is the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness?

More than anything, it’s all a matter of scope and focus.

With the advent of digitization and discussions of “global reach,” it’s easy to get caught up on “external” interactions of the kind that ecommerce thrives on.

However, nonretail businesses shouldn't ignore the big online, and all the things digitization can do for them too. eCommerce vs ebusiness, it doesn't matter your focus, digitization can assist you.

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Garan van Rensburg
Garan van Rensburg

Garan is a writer interested in how tech reshapes the environment, and how the environment reshapes tech. You'll usually find him inoculating against future shock and arguing with bots.