Types of Ecommerce: 6 Models With Examples

Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services online. It covers everything from a brand selling directly to consumers through its own store, to two businesses transacting at scale, to an individual selling secondhand goods through a marketplace app.

Global ecommerce sales are projected to reach $6.88 trillion in 2026, according to eMarketer. That volume moves across a range of business models, each with different buyers, pricing structures, and fulfillment requirements. Understanding which model a business runs, and which it could run, shapes every decision from platform choice to channel strategy.

This post covers the major types of ecommerce, how each one works, and how to think about running more than one at once.

What is ecommerce?

Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet. Depending on the model, transactions happen between businesses, between businesses and consumers, or between individual people.

An ecommerce business can sell physical products, digital goods, or services. It can operate through an online store, a marketplace, a social platform, or a combination of channels. The model a business runs determines who it sells to, how it prices, and how they fulfill orders.

Business to consumer (B2C)

Business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce is the sale of products or services from a business directly to an individual customer. It’s the most common ecommerce model: a customer visits a store, browses products, and completes a purchase.

B2C includes products at many price points, from everyday consumables to high-consideration purchases. The buyer is an individual consumer, not another business. 

How B2C ecommerce works

A B2C store lists products, sets retail prices, and sells directly to individual consumers. Orders are fulfilled directly to the customer, whether by shipping a physical product, delivering a digital file, or providing access to a service.

B2C stores typically handle high transaction volumes with lower average order values than B2B. Checkout is self-serve, pricing is public, and the sales cycle is short.

Watch how to create a beautiful online store on Shopify to see the process from theme selection through launch.

Start a B2C store with Shopify

Shopify lets store owners build a B2C storefront with a custom domain, theme, and checkout. Themes control the layout and appearance of the store without requiring code. The Shopify admin manages products, orders, inventory, and payments from one place.

Direct to consumer (D2C)

D2C is a subset of B2C, where a brand sells directly to the end customer through its own channel, cutting out retailers, wholesalers, and other intermediaries. The brand owns the storefront, the transaction, and the customer relationship.

D2C vs. traditional retail: What’s different

In traditional retail, a brand sells to a retailer, which then sells to the customer. The brand sets a wholesale price; the retailer sets the shelf price. The brand rarely knows who the end customer is.

In D2C, the brand handles both sides. They control pricing, presentation, and post-purchase communication. Customer data stays with the brand rather than the retailer.

Why brands go D2C (and how Shopify supports it)

US D2C ecommerce sales account for around 19% of total US retail ecommerce sales and are forecast to hold that share through 2028, according to eMarketer.

Hedley & Bennett, a chef apparel and kitchen goods brand, shifted toward D2C after COVID-19 disrupted their wholesale business. 

“We decided to simplify B2B and focus on DTC. DTC went up to 80%. It became 80% of the pie. So, it was a huge change for our organization,” founder Ellen Bennett told the Shopify Masters podcast.

Business to business (B2B)

B2B ecommerce is the sale of products or services from one business to another, conducted online. The buyer is a company, not an individual consumer.

What makes B2B ecommerce different

B2B transactions are structured differently from B2C. Orders are larger, pricing is negotiated, and payment terms replace immediate checkout. A buyer might place a bulk order on net-30 terms, require a custom price list, or need approval from multiple stakeholders before completing a purchase.

The global B2B ecommerce market is valued at $36 trillion by 2026, growing at a 14.5% compound annual growth rate, according to the International Trade Administration.

Running B2B on Shopify: blended and dedicated stores

Store owners running both D2C and B2B don’t need separate platforms. Shopify supports a blended store model, where D2C and B2B operations run from a single admin, or a dedicated B2B storefront built separately.

En Gold, a home furnishings brand expanded from D2C into wholesale using the blended store model. By establishing a blended store, En Gold was able to expand its B2B operations while also ensuring that its ecommerce team could easily manage both DTC and B2B selling.

After upgrading to Shopify Plus, En Gold saw:

• 45% increase in total year-over-year sales
• 35% increase in returning customer rate
• 26% increase in total year-over-year orders

Shopify B2B, Shopify’s native suite of wholesale selling tools, includes company profiles, custom price lists, volume pricing, payment terms, draft orders, and quick order lists. The Trade theme is built for B2B storefronts.

Consumer to consumer (C2C) and marketplace selling

C2C ecommerce is the sale of goods or services between individual consumers, facilitated by a third-party platform. The platform handles the transaction infrastructure; the individuals handle the buying and selling.

C2C platforms vs. owning your own store

On a C2C platform like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Etsy, sellers access an existing audience but operate on the platform’s terms. The platform sets fees, controls the customer relationship, and owns the data.

A brand-owned store works differently. The store owner controls pricing, presentation, and the customer relationship directly.

Bubs Naturals, a collagen and sports nutrition brand splits sales between Amazon and their own Shopify store. The trade-off is direct. 

“Selling on Amazon, you just kind of plug along. You’re not there competing for the brand story,” says cofounder TJ Ferrara. “Your Shopify Plus site is going to be infinitely more profitable. You’ll see that scale as you stick with the game.”

For businesses that sell on multiple marketplaces, Shopify Marketplace Connect lets store owners list and sync products across Amazon, Walmart, and other marketplaces from a single Shopify admin while continuing to sell through their own online store.

Subscription ecommerce

The subscription ecommerce business model is where customers pay on a recurring schedule to receive products or access a service. Instead of a single transaction, the purchase relationship continues over time.

Curation, replenishment, and access models

Subscription ecommerce covers three distinct models.

• Curation subscriptions deliver a selection of products chosen on the customer’s behalf, on a set schedule. Beauty boxes and meal kits are common examples. The customer pays for discovery and convenience.
• Replenishment subscriptions automate repeat purchases of the same product. A customer sets a delivery frequency for a product they use regularly, such as supplements or household supplies, and receives it without reordering.
• Access subscriptions charge a recurring fee for membership benefits rather than physical products. Discounts, exclusive pricing, or members-only content are common benefits.

Subscription commerce on Shopify

Shopify’s native purchase options let store owners add subscription selling directly to their online store with the Shopify Subscriptions app. Customers can choose between a one-time purchase and a recurring subscription at the product level. Store owners set billing frequency, pricing, and fulfillment schedules from the Shopify admin.

Social commerce and live selling

Social commerce is the sale of products directly through social media platforms. The transaction starts and, in many cases, completes within the same app where the customer discovered the product.

TikTok Shop, Instagram, and Facebook selling

Each major platform handles social commerce differently.

• TikTok Shop integrates product listings into the TikTok feed and allows purchases without leaving the app. Sellers list products, creators link them in videos and livestreams, and customers check out in-app.
• Instagram Shopping lets brands tag products in posts, Stories, and Reels. Customers tap a tag to view product details and complete a purchase through Instagram Checkout or a linked store.
• Facebook Shop lets businesses build a storefront on Facebook and Instagram, with inventory managed from a single catalog. Customers browse and buy without switching to an external site.

Shopify connects to all three platforms through its sales channels. Products, inventory, and orders sync from the Shopify admin.

Why social commerce is a distinct ecommerce type

In traditional ecommerce, customers arrive at a store with purchase intent. In social commerce, discovery happens inside the platform. A customer watching a video or scrolling a feed encounters a product and buys it without navigating to a separate store.

Live selling extends this further. A seller presents products in real time, answers questions, and takes orders during a broadcast. The format compresses the path from discovery to purchase into a single session.

US social commerce sales will surpass $100 billion in 2026 for the first time, an 18% year-over-year increase, according to eMarketer.

How to choose the right ecommerce type

The ecommerce type a business runs determines who it sells to, how it prices, and how it fulfills orders. Rather than choosing one ecommerce type, many businesses combine several.

Shopify unifies B2C, D2C, B2B, subscription selling, marketplace selling, and social commerce in a single commerce admin—helping merchants manage products, customers, orders, and channels from one place. As businesses grow, they can add new channels without moving to another platform. 

B2C vs. D2C vs. B2B vs. subscription

Each model has different operational requirements.

B2C suits businesses selling individual products to a broad consumer audience at public prices. Order volumes are high, average order values are lower, and checkout is self-serve.

D2C adds a brand ownership requirement. The business controls their own storefront, pricing, and customer data rather than selling through a retailer or marketplace. It’s a channel decision as much as a business model decision.

B2B requires infrastructure that B2C stores don’t. Custom pricing, payment terms, bulk ordering, and company-level account management are standard requirements, not optional features.

Subscription models require recurring billing infrastructure and fulfillment cadences that one-time purchase stores don’t. 

Can you run multiple ecommerce types at once?

Most growing businesses do. A brand might sell D2C through its own store, wholesale through a B2B channel, and list products on a marketplace simultaneously.

Hedley & Bennett ran a B2B-first model selling to restaurants before shifting to 80% D2C during COVID-19. En Gold expanded from D2C into B2B wholesale without leaving their existing store, running both from a single Shopify admin. Bubs Naturals splits sales between Amazon and their Shopify store, treating each channel as serving a different purpose.

The operational question isn’t which type to run. It’s which combination the business can support, and whether their platform can handle more than one model from a single back end, as Spotify does.