According to the transaction subject, cross-border e-commerce can be divided into B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Customer), C2C (Customer to Customer or Individual to Individual) and other models, and many new types have been derived. The common models are as follows.
(I) B2B model
B2B (Business to Business) cross-border e-commerce refers to the e-commerce transaction model between “enterprises” in different countries or regions, that is, the exchange of products, services and information between enterprises in various countries through the Internet.
The B2B model has a small number of transactions, but a large single transaction amount, which is suitable for the transaction and sale of bulk goods between enterprises and suppliers and customers. In addition, the B2B model has a wide range of transaction objects, and its transaction object can be any product, that is, intermediate products or final products. Therefore, most of the e-commerce transactions in the world are currently completed between enterprises through the B2B model. For my country’s cross-border e-commerce or foreign trade enterprises, since most of the transactions in international trade are large transactions between enterprises, the B2B model occupies a dominant position in terms of transaction amount.
(II) B2C Model
B2C (Business to Customer) Cross-border e-commerce refers to the business activities of enterprises in one country or region providing goods or services to customers (usually direct consumers, small customers or individual customers) in another country or region through the international Internet. It is an electronic retail model that adopts online sales and uses network means to enable domestic enterprises to provide consumer goods and services to the public abroad, and realizes the electronic payment methods related to it. For example, Chinese enterprises use intermediary platforms such as eBay, AliExpress, and Amazon to directly sell products to foreign consumers. This model is increasingly valued by cross-border e-commerce enterprises or sellers, and its share is gradually increasing.
(III) C2C Model
C2C (Customer to Customer) Cross-border e-commerce refers to the transaction of individuals in one country providing products or services to individuals (customers) in another country through the international Internet. This model is usually completed through C2C e-commerce platforms, such as the well-known foreign website eBay.
From the perspective of operation, the processes of the C2C model and the B2C model through third-party platforms are almost the same, the only difference is that one seller is an enterprise and the other is an individual. Since the C2C model has a low threshold, many sellers, and is difficult to manage, the experience it brings to buyers is gradually declining. Therefore, various platforms have restricted this model, resulting in a small share of this model in cross-border e-commerce.
(IV) M2C model
The M2C model is a new model proposed in recent years, namely Manufacturers to Customer (manufacturers to consumers), a business model in which manufacturers (Manufacturers) directly provide consumers (Customers) with their own products or services. This can actually be regarded as a special form of B2C, that is, B here stands for Manufacturers. In addition, a model that is almost synonymous with M2C is F2C, namely Factory to Customer. As many manufacturers directly participate in cross-border e-commerce, the M2C or F2C model is becoming more and more common.
(V) B2B2C
B2B2C is the abbreviation of “Business to Business to Customer” in English. The first B refers to the exporter in a broad sense (i.e., finished products, semi-finished products, material providers, etc.), the second B refers to the trading platform, which provides a platform for the exporter and the importer to contact each other, and at the same time provides high-quality additional services (such as customer management, information feedback, database management, decision support, etc.), and C refers to the importer. In China, a typical example of this model is JD.com, which has both “self-operated” goods and “stores in stores” that are recruited by merchants. “Stores in stores” belong to the B2B2C model. In cross-border e-commerce, platforms such as Amazon and Walmart have such operating models. In most cases, it can also be regarded as a variant of B2C.