What is the difference between b2c and b2b, and what do the abbreviations c2c, f2c, b2e mean?

04/10/2022

C2C

C2C z angielskiego, skrót od wyrażenia consumer-to-consumer - rodzaj relacji biznesowej między konsumentami. C2C jest często wykorzystywane na portalach ogłoszeniowych, gdzie konsumenci mogą kupować i sprzedawać produkty bezpośrednio. Słownik e-commerce: c2c

F2C

F2C z angielskiego, skrót od wyrażenia factory-to-consumer - rodzaj relacji biznesowej między producentem a konsumentem. F2C jest często wykorzystywane w dropshippingu, gdzie producent dostarcza produkty bezpośrednio do klienta. Słownik e-commerce: f2c

B2E

B2E z angielskiego, skrót od wyrażenia business-to-employee - rodzaj relacji biznesowej między przedsiębiorstwem a pracownikami. B2E jest często wykorzystywane wewnątrz przedsiębiorstwa, aby zapewnić pracownikom dostęp do informacji, narzędzi i usług. Słownik e-commerce: b2e

In the e-commerce industry, we often come across the abbreviations b2c and b2b. It is worth knowing what they differ and what consequences the appropriate determination of the business profile and customers has. It is also worth getting to know new types of sales c2c - used for example on classifieds portals, f2c appearing in dropshipping and b2e - used within the company.

B2B B2C

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Definitions of B2C, B2B, C2C, F2C, B2E

Let's start by looking at the e-commerce dictionary and listing what the abbreviations b2c, b2b, c2c and f2c mean. Knowing their meaning will allow us to better determine the profile of the business and make better decisions tailored to the appropriate company profile.

B2C

B2C from English, an abbreviation of the expression business-to-consumer, business-to-client "a type of business relationship between companies and individual customers". Currently, this contact has been dominated by online trading, i.e. e-commerce. E-commerce dictionary: b2c

B2B

B2B from English, an abbreviation of the expression business-to-business - a type of business relationship between companies". The B2B business model may involve providing services or be related to delivering products. E-commerce dictionary: b2b

C2C

C2C from English, an abbreviation of the expression consumer-to-consumer - a type of business relationship between consumers. C2C is often used on classifieds portals, where consumers can buy and sell products directly. E-commerce dictionary: c2c

F2C

F2C from English, an abbreviation of the expression factory-to-consumer - a type of business relationship between the manufacturer and the consumer. F2C is often used in dropshipping, where the manufacturer delivers products directly to the customer. E-commerce dictionary: f2c

B2E

B2E from English, an abbreviation of the expression business-to-employee - a type of business relationship between the company and its employees. B2E is often used within the company to provide employees with access to information, tools and services. E-commerce dictionary: b2e

C2C

C2C (from English, an abbreviation of consumer-to-consumer) - a type of market relationship based on the purchase/sale of goods or services between individual customers using a platform enabling the transaction or through another sales instrument offered by an external company. E-commerce dictionary: c2c

F2C

F2C (from English, an abbreviation of factory-to-consumer) - a type of trading relationship based on a direct transaction between the manufacturer of the goods and the buyer, bypassing the chain of intermediaries. In this business model, consumers have the opportunity to purchase large quantities of goods directly from the manufacturer (straight from the factory, from the production plant). E-commerce dictionary: f2c

B2E

B2E (from English, an abbreviation of business-to-employee) - a type of internal communication within a company that facilitates its functioning with commercial elements in the form of e-commerce using the company's internal network, which allows companies to provide products and/or services to their employees. Companies use B2E networks to automate their business processes related to employees. E-commerce dictionary: b2e

Differences between b2c and b2b sales

The most popular forms of sales are b2c and b2b. In b2c sales, the store has many more customers, they order more often, but the average order value is lower than in the case of sales to business customers. In b2b sales, the relationship between the customer and the seller is more important. It is stronger, customers need more information, and when they decide to make a transaction, they come back to the store more often.

The b2c customer is more sensitive to price, and the business customer values good solutions more. In the first case, customers buy on impulse, in the second case, the driver of sales is demand from end customers.

See the comparison of differences between B2C and B2B

B2B B2C
Number of customers small large
Average order value large small
Customer Relationships Close Impersonal
Sales Consultative Persuading the customer
Sales impulse Demand Marketing
High sensitivity to price Yes No

Learn more about the differences between b2c and b2b: What is the difference between B2B and B2C?

C2C Sales

C2C sales, or sales between consumers, has become increasingly popular in recent years. These are various types of classifieds portals and sales applications, such as olx.pl, https://www.allegreolokalnie.pl, https://www.vinted.pl and many others. C2C sales does not mean that companies do not appear there, but when adding their offer to such places, they must fit into the model of a given platform.

This is a rapidly developing branch of e-commerce and it is worth appearing with your offer also on portals whose main feature is C2C sales. Below is an estimated number of monthly visitors for the given services and graphs showing trends from the last year.

OLX OLX

Allegro Lokalnie Allegro lokalnie

Vinted Vinted

Methodology for calculating estimated visits: data based on Ubersuggest reports - determine the estimated number of organic entries from Google search to websites.

Wholesalers, Dropshipping and F2C

The sales model, which is becoming increasingly popular thanks to dropshipping, is f2c - factory to consumer. In f2c, the goods are sent directly from the manufacturer (factory) to the customer. This is a solution used in some online stores that use integration with wholesalers. The store presents the wholesaler/manufacturer's offer, reaches customers and collects orders, which are then fulfilled directly from the wholesaler/manufacturer and sent to the ordering party.

Find out what dropshipping is: Dropshipping

B2E Sales Model

This is a model that involves selling products within a company. It is mainly used in large companies where dedicated e-commerce solutions are used, but the use of ready-made shop platforms to create an internal shop is becoming increasingly popular, even in smaller companies. In addition, this form allows for a detailed understanding and testing of the technological solutions used externally in the b2c and b2b models.

Summary

Regardless of the model we use in our store, it is worth getting to know it well in order to better optimize sales and effectively reach customers. If we sell both b2c and b2b, it is a good idea to prepare independent business strategies for both models.


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