E-commerce 1011

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When it comes to e-commerce, a word that first comes to mind is growth.E-commerce expert Gary Hoover’s research shows that just in the last 14 years, the growth of e-commerce companies has skyrocketed across the board22 across the board全面地。.Growth projections estimate that by 2022, e-commerce revenues will exceed $638 billion in the U.S.alone.

提到电子商务，首先浮现脑海的词就是增长。电子商务专家加里·胡佛的研究表明，过去短短14年，电商公司全线增长，一飞冲天。增长预测表明，到2022年，仅美国的电商收入就将超过6380亿美元。

What is E-commerce?

Essentially, e-commerce(or electronic commerce)is the buying and selling of goods(or services)on the internet.

From mobile shopping to online payment encryption3encryption加密。and beyond, e-commerce encompasses a wide variety of data, systems, and tools for both online buyers and sellers.

Most businesses with an e-commerce presence use an e-commerce store and/or an e-commerce platform to conduct both online marketing and sales activities and to oversee logistics and fulfillment.

什么是电子商务？

本质上，电子商务就是在网络上买卖商品（或服务）。

从手机购物到在线支付加密等，电子商务包含各种各样在线买家和卖家的数据、系统和工具。

多数参与电子商务的企业会使用网店或电子商务平台来组织在线市场营销活动和监管物流及订单完成情况。

Types of E-commerce

Generally, there are six main models of e-commerce that businesses can be categorized into.

1.Business-to-Consumer(B2C)

B2C e-commerce ecompasses transactions made between a business and a consumer.

This is one of the most widely used sales models in the e-commerce context.When you buy shoes from an online shoe retailer, it is a business-to-consumer transaction.

2.Business-to-Business(B2B)

B2B e-commerce relates to sales made between businesses, such as a manufacturer and a wholesaler or retailer.

This type of e-commerce is not consumer-facing and happens only between business entities.

Most often, business-to-business sales focus on raw materials or products that are repackaged or combined before being sold to customers.

3.Consumer-to-Consumer(C2C)

One of the earliest forms of e-commerce is the C2C e-commerce business model.

Customer-to-customer relates to the sale of products or services between customers.This would include customer to customer selling relationships like those seen on eBay or Amazon, for example.

4.Consumer-to-Business(C2B)

C2B reverses the traditional e-commerce model(and is what we common-ly see in crowdfunding projects).

C2B means individual consumers make their products or services available for business buyers.

An example of this would be a business model like iStockPhoto, in which stock photos are available online for purchase directly from different photographers.

5.Business-to-Administration(B2A)

This model covers the transactions made between online businesses and administrations.An example would be the products and services related to legal documents, social security, etc.

6.Consumer-to-Administration(C2A)

Same idea here, but with consumers selling online products or services to an administration.

C2A might include things like online consulting for education, online tax preparation, etc.

Both B2A and C2A are focused around increased efficiency within the government via the support of information technology.

电子商务的种类

大体上，电商模式主要有6种。

1.商对客模式（B2C）

B2C模式是指企业与消费者之间进行交易。

这是使用最为广泛的电商销售模式。消费者从网上鞋店购鞋，就是商对客交易。

2.商对商模式（B2B）

B2B模式是指企业间的交易，如制造商与批发商或零售商之间的交易。

这种模式的电子商务不面对消费者，只在企业之间进行。

很多时候，商对商模式主要应用于原材料买卖，或那些在出售给消费者之前需要重新包装或组装的产品。

3.客对客模式（C2C）

C2C模式是最早的电子商务形式之一。

客对客模式就是消费者之间销售产品和服务。这种模式涵盖了消费者之间的销售关系，就像易趣或亚马逊里的一样。

4.客对商模式（C2B）

C2B模式与传统电子商务模式相反（常见于众筹项目）。

C2B指个人用户为企业买家提供产品或服务。

iStockPhoto是这种模式的一个例子。在该网站的素材库里，需求者可以从万千摄影者那里直接购买图片。

5.商对政模式（B2A）

这种模式涉及在线企业与行政机构之间的交易。例如与法律文件、社会保障等有关的产品和服务。

6.客对政模式（C2A）

道理同上，只是此模式是消费者向行政机构销售在线产品和服务。

C2A可能包含在线教育咨询、在线报税等事项。

B2A与C2A都注重在信息技术的支持下提高政府内部的办事效率。

History of E-commerce

The history of e-commerce dates back further than you might think.It was initially introduced about 40 years ago in its earliest form.

Since then, electronic commerce has helped countless businesses grow with the help of new technologies, improvements in internet connectivity, and wide-spread consumer and business adoption.

1969—CompuServe is founded.

Founded by electrical engineer students Dr.John R.Goltz and Jeffrey Wilkins in 1969, early CompuServe technology was built utilizing a dial-up connection.

In the 1980s, CompuServe introduced some of the earliest forms of email and internet connectivity to the public and went on to dominate the e-commerce landscape through the mid-1990s.

1979—Michael Aldrich invents electronic shopping.

English inventor Michael Aldrich introduced electronic shopping in 1979,which operated by connecting a modified TV to a transaction-processing computer via telephone line.

This made it possible for closed information systems to be opened and shared by outside parties for secure data transmission—and the technology became the foundation upon which modern e-commerce was built.

1982—Boston Computer Exchange launches.

When Boston Computer Exchange launched in 1982, it was the world’s first e-commerce company.Its primary function was to serve as an online market for people interested in selling their used computers.

1992—Book Stacks Unlimited launches as first online book marketplace.

Charles M.Stack introduced BookStacks Unlimited as an online bookstore in 1992—three full years before Jeff Bezos introduced Amazon.

1994—Netscape Navigator launches as a web browser.

Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark cocreated Netscape Navigator as a web browsing tool, and formally announced its introduction in October of 1994.

During the 1990s, Netscape Navigator became the primarily used web browser on the Windows platform before the rise of modern giants like Google.

1995—Amazon and eBay launch.

Jeff Bezos introduced Amazon in 1995 primarily as an e-commerce platform for books.

That same year, Pierre Omidyar introduced AuctionWeb, which would later become what we know today as eBay.

Since then, both have become massive e-commerce selling platforms that enable consumers to sell online to audiences around the globe.

1998—PayPal launches as e-commerce payment system.

Originally introduced as Confinity by founders Max Levhin, Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek and Ken Howery, PayPal made its appearance on the e-commerce stage in late 1998 as a money transfer tool.

1999—Alibaba launches.

Alibaba Online launched in 1999 as an online marketplace with more than$25 million in funding.

By 2001 the company was profitable.It went on to turn into a major B2B, C2C, and B2C platform that’s still widely used today.

2000—Google introduces Google AdWords as an online advertising tool.

Google AdWords was introduced in 2000 as a way for e-commerce businesses to advertise to people using the Google search tool.

With the help of short text ad copy and display URLs, online retailers began using the tool in a pay-per-click(PPC)context.

2005—Amazon introduces Amazon Prime membership.

Amazon introduced Amazon Prime in 2005 as a way for customers to get free two-day shipping for a flat4flat（价钱）无涨落的。annual fee.

The membership also came to include other perks5perk额外福利。like discounted oneday shipping and later access to streaming6streaming流媒体，指将一连串的媒体资料压缩后，经过网路分段传送资料，在网路上即时传输影音以供观赏的一种技术与过程。services like Amazon Video and members-only events like“Prime Day.”

2005—Etsy is launched.

Etsy launches in 2005, allowing crafters and smaller sellers to sell goods through an online marketplace.This brought the makers community online—expanding their reach to a 24/7 buying audience.

2009—Square launches.

Square7Square用户（消费者或商家）利用Square提供的移动读卡器，配合智能手机使用，可以在任何3G或WiFi网络状态下，通过应用程序匹配刷卡消费，它使得消费者、商家可以在任何地方进行付款和收款。was founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey.The first Square app and service launched in 2010.

Square allowed offline retailers to accept debit and credit cards in their brick-and-mortars8brick-and-mortar砖墙加灰泥式的，实体的。and absolutely anywhere for the first time ever.

The idea occurred to Dorsey when in 2009 when McKelvey(a St.Louis friend of Dorsey at the time)was unable to complete a $2,000 sale of his glass faucets and fittings because he could not accept credit cards.

2009—BigCommerce launches.

Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper co-founded BigCommerce in 2009 and introduced it that year as a 100% bootstrapped9bootstrap自增长，（指初创企业）早期不融资、靠自己能力成长。e-commerce storefront platform.

Since then, more than $8 billion in sales have been processed through the platform and the company now has headquarters in Austin, San Francisco,and Sydney.

Other e-commerce technology platform providers launched in the same era.Shopify(2006)and Magento(2008)are also recognized as market leaders alongside BigCommerce.

Internet Retailer’s 2018 Guide to the Top E-commerce Platformssaw all 3 of these platforms on the list—with BigCommerce annual store growth and revenue numbers topping out at #1.

2011—Google Wallet introduced as digital payment method.

Google Wallet was introduced in 2011 as a peer-to-peer payment service that enabled individuals to send and receive money from a mobile device or desktop computer.

By linking the digital wallet to a debit card or bank account, users can pay for products or services via these devices.

Today, Google Wallet has joined with Android Pay for what is now known as Google Pay.

2011—Facebook rolls out sponsored stories as a form of early advertising.

In 2011, Facebook began rolling out early advertising opportunities to Business Page owners via sponsored stories.

With these paid campaigns, e-commerce businesses could reach specific audiences using the social network and get in the news feeds of different target audiences.

2011—Stripe launches.

Stripe is a payment processing company built originally for developers.It was founded by John and Patrick Collison.

2014—Apple Pay introduced as mobile payment method.

As online shoppers began using their mobile devices more frequently, Apple introduced Apple Pay as a mobile payment and digital wallet tool that allowed users to pay for products or services with an Apple device.

2014—Jet.com launches.

Jet.com was founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Marc Lore along with Mike Hanrahan and Nate Faust.

The company competes with Costco10美国第一大连锁会员制仓储式量贩店。and Sam’s Club11美国零售商沃尔玛公司旗下的仓储式商店，以沃尔玛创始人山姆·沃尔顿命名。, catering to folks looking for the lowest possible pricing for longer shipping times and bulk ordering.

2017—Shoppable Instagram is introduced.

Instagram Shopping launched in 2017 first with e-commerce partner Big-Commerce.

Since then, the service has expanded to additional e-commerce platforms and allows Instagram users to immediately click an item, and go to that product’s product page for purchase.

2017—Cyber Monday12网购节日，黑色星期五过后的周一。sales exceed$6.5B.

In 2017, e-commerce growth breaks a new record with online sales breaking$6.5 billion on Cyber Monday—a 17%increase from the year before.

Mobile sales also break records with an excess of $2 billion in sales made via mobile devices.■

电子商务的历史

电子商务的历史比你能想到的要久远。最早的电商大约出现在40年前。

自那以后，电子商务帮助数不尽的企业发展起来。这都归功于新技术、网络连接改善，以及消费者和企业对电子商务的广泛接受。

1969——“美联网”成立

电气工程学博士生约翰·戈尔茨博士和杰弗里·威尔金斯在1969年创立美联网。早期美联网技术使用拨号连接。

1980年代，美联网向公众推出电子邮件和网络互联的一些最早形式。接着便在整个1990年代中期主导了电子商务领域。

1979——迈克尔·奥尔德里奇开创电子购物

1979年，英国发明家迈克尔·奥尔德里奇把经过改造的电视机与交易处理电脑用电话线连接起来，开创了电子购物。

这使封闭的信息系统得以公开并让外部参与者共享信息以进行安全数据传输。这一技术也是现代电子商务建立的基础。

1982——“波士顿电脑交易网”成立

波士顿电脑交易网于1982年成立，是世界上第一家电子商务公司。其主要功能是为有意售卖二手电脑的人提供线上市场。

1992——第一个在线图书市场“书栈”面世

查尔斯·M.斯塔克于1992年推出网上书店“书栈”，比杰夫·贝索斯推出亚马逊早了整整三年。

1994——“网景导航者”浏览器面世

马克·安德森和吉姆·克拉克联合创办了网页浏览器“网景导航者”，并在1994年10月正式推出。

1990年代，在像谷歌这样的现代巨头兴起之前，“网景导航者”是Windows系统主要使用的网页浏览器。

1995——“亚马逊”和“易贝”创立

杰夫·贝索斯1995年推出以图书为主的电子商务平台“亚马逊”。

同年，皮埃尔·奥米戴尔推出“拍卖网”，后来变成了我们今天所知的“易贝”。

此后，亚马逊和易贝都发展成为大规模电子商务销售平台，让消费者能够面向世界在线销售。

1998——电子商务支付系统“贝宝”面世

创始人麦克斯·拉夫琴、皮特·泰尔、卢克·诺塞克及肯恩·霍威利最初创办的公司叫“康菲尼迪”。1998年底，贝宝作为转账工具出现在电商舞台上。

1999——“阿里巴巴”面世

1999年，“阿里巴巴在线”作为网上商城面世，注资超过2500万美元。

到2001年，公司开始盈利。阿里继续发展为以B2B、C2C、和B2C为主的平台，至今仍广泛使用。

2000——谷歌推出在线广告工具“谷歌关键词广告”

2000年推出时，电商利用“谷歌关键词广告”向使用谷歌搜索工具的用户打广告。

有了短文广告和链接显示，在线零售商通过“点击付费”开始使用该工具。

2005——亚马逊推出“亚马逊Prime会员”

亚马逊2005年推出亚马逊Prime会员，顾客缴纳固定年费即可免费享受两日达速递服务。

会员还可享受其他特权，诸如一日速递折扣优惠，后来会员还有权使用“亚马逊视频”等流媒体服务，参加会员独享的“Prime会员日”活动。

2005——“易集网”面世

2005年“易集网”面世，让手工艺者和小卖家通过在线商城出售商品，由此形成了手工艺者的网上社区——可以全天候接待买家。

2009——Square面世

2009年杰克·多西和吉姆·麦凯尔维创立Square。

2010年，第一款Square应用和服务推出。

Square第一次让线下零售商在其实体店或任何地方接受顾客借记卡和信用卡付款。

这个点子是多西2009年想到的。当时麦凯尔维（多西在圣路易斯的朋友）购买玻璃水龙头及配件，却因为店家不接受信用卡而无法完成这笔2000美元的交易。

2009——BigCommerce问世

2009年，埃迪·马沙拉尼和米切尔·哈珀携手创立BigCommerce，并于同年以100%自增长电子商务平台推出。

此后，平台交易额超过80亿美元。公司目前在奥斯汀、旧金山和悉尼设有总部。

其他电子商务技术平台供应商在同时期启动。Shopify（2006）与Magento（2008）也被认为是能与BigCommerce比肩，同为市场领袖。

这三个平台都被列入《互联网零售商2018顶尖电子商务平台指南》。其中BigCommerce的店面年增长和营业额均排首位。

2011——电子支付方式“谷歌钱包”问世

“谷歌钱包”于2011年推出，提供点对点支付服务。个人能够用移动设备或台式机收付款。

把电子钱包与借记卡或银行账户关联起来，用户就可以通过这些设备为产品或服务付费。

今天，“谷歌钱包”合并了“安卓钱包”，成为我们所知的“谷歌支付”。

2011——“脸书”推出早期广告——赞助内容

2011年，“脸书”通过赞助内容开始向商业版内容用户推出早期广告机会。

这些付费广告让电商们可以触及使用该社交网络的特定群体，并且把消息推送给不同的目标人群。

2011——“国际极简支付”面世

国际极简支付最初是为开发人员建立的支付处理公司，由约翰·科里森和帕特里克·科里森创立。

2014——移动支付方式“苹果支付”面世。

随着网络购物者越来越频繁地使用移动设备，苹果推出移动支付和电子钱包工具——“苹果支付”，用户使用苹果设备就能为产品和服务付费。

2014——Jet.com面世

2014年企业家马克·洛尔与迈克·汉拉恩、纳特·浮士德一道成立了Jet.com。

该公司与好市多和山姆会员店展开竞争，针对的顾客是那些希望以较长运输时间和批量订单来寻求最低价格的人。

2017——可购物“照片墙”面世

2017年，“照片墙”首先与电商伙伴BigCommerce推出照片墙购物。

此后，服务扩展到附加的电商平台，用户点击商品即可进入购买页面。

2017——“网络星期一”销售额超65亿美元

2017年，电子商务增长以“网络星期一”65亿美元的在线销售额创下新纪录，与前一年相比增长17%。

移动销售也以超过20亿美元的成绩打破纪录。□

（译者曾获第五届“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛优秀奖）