E-commerce is a thriving industry. But recently, the term “e-business” has made its appearance to be a term that covers all aspects of “electronic business”. This article explores what these two terms mean and why making the distinction is important for SMEs.
E-commerce is defined as card spend activity on an online platform where businesses and individuals can buy and sell goods and services. E-commerce is on track to meet the expected R 225 billion mark by the end of 2025.
E-business, on the other hand, includes all the business services and activities conducted using the Internet. This can be anything from customer education, procurement of goods/raw materials, supply activities, selling and buying products, or making transactions over the Internet. Websites, apps, digital tools like a Customer Relationship Management (CRM), or even other software can fall into this category.
Key Differences Between E-commerce and E-Business
An e-business may not always be an e-commerce operation, but an e-commerce operation will always have an e-business component. There are a few key differences between these two terms.
E-commerce mainly refers to selling online or purchasing from online shops. Businesses either have an online shop attached to their website, or they use e-commerce platforms such as Amazon South Africa, Takealot.com or Yep!.
The activities related to it include:
- Buying and selling products online
- Online ticketing
- Online payment
- Paying different taxes
- Online accounting software
- Online customer support
E-business mainly indicates that conducting other business activities also occurs electronically, emphasising that an entire business can exist online, be run digitally and require no physical entity (in theory, because all businesses must have a physical address when being registered.
The activities related to it include:
- Online store setup
- Customer education
- Buying and selling a product
- Monetary business transaction
- Supply chain management
- E-mail marketing
Why is It Important?
Whether your business decides to use e-commerce or e-business strategies depends on the nature of the business and its strategic goals.
A business that is primarily focused on the sale of a product needs to prioritise building a reliable and user-friendly platform.
Jaco Roux, Head of Product at Bob Go, a South African smart shipping platform with an integrated e-commerce and fintech company. “We’re seeing SMEs go from a few dozen orders a week to hundreds a day, and without scalable logistics, they can’t keep up. The old way, manual bookings, single-courier setups, no tracking, doesn’t work anymore.”
“What’s emerging is a new kind of South African seller: informal traders, DIY entrepreneurs, home-based creators, many of whom are running their businesses entirely through social platforms. These users want simplicity, speed, and legitimacy. They want tools that enable them to deliver like the big guys, but without the big budgets. And they’re shaping the future of online retail in the process.”
Understanding where your business falls between these terms means that you understand what your needs are, and partners such as logistics companies can better serve their customers.
So, What is E-marketing?
E-marketing, or electronic marketing, consists of techniques that build brand recognition, engage customers and lead to higher profits. It is usually seen as a subsection of digital marketing that utilises social media, content marketing or e-mails. What makes it different from digital marketing is that this usually doesn’t expect customers to interact with the materials.
E-marketing can be categorised as a type of e-business, as it relies heavily on the Internet to conduct business.
Now that you understand the difference between e-business and e-commerce, you are ready to take your business to the next level. You know how to look for services that meet either your e-commerce or e-business needs.
