electronic commerce (eCommerce)
The term electronic commerce (e-commerce), which originated from electronic data interchange ( EDI), refers to the use of electronic media to initiate and conduct business transactions. Electronic marketplaces( EM) serve as uniform trading platforms.
They are supported by the use of information technology systems for the collection, transmission and processing of information related to a purchase of a delivery and payment for the goods or services. Depending on whether the interaction and transaction is between administrations (A for Administration), businesses (B for Business), and consumers (C for Consumer or Customer), or among themselves, it is referred to as A2A, A2B, A2C, or B2A, B2B, B2C, or C2C.
The strategies for using electronic commerce are aimed at automating administrative activities, realizing cost benefits or generating higher revenues through the use of electronic media.
E-commerce covers all business activities from ordering, booking and delivery to payment processing with e-cash using real money or e-money. Parts of electronic commerce can be Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), e-mail, e-forms, file transfer, automatic processing of faxes, transfer of CAD data, use of the World Wide Web(WWW) for an online store, a shopping mall or a merchant server. The same applies to mobile commerce, with the difference that m-commerce takes place regardless of location using mobile devices. If the e-commerce is accompanied by several members of a social network, then it is social commerce, S-commerce. And collaborative commerce, C-commerce, involves collaborative trading activities between several users or a group ofusers.
E-commerce on the Internet is regulated by consumer protection laws. In particular, trade between companies and end consumers, B2C, is regulated by the Distance Selling Act ยง 13 ff BGB. Inconnection with the Distance Selling Act, the legislator points out the company's special duty to provide information and the end consumer's right of withdrawal.