Electronic Commerce
Until relatively recently, when the popular media published stories on how the Internet can create efficiencies in the marketplace, it focused on the distinction between "e-tailers" (e.g., Amazon, e-Toys, Pets.com, etc.) and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
While this phenomenon is indeed interesting, the truly paradigm-shifting impact of the Internet will likely come from the business-to-business ("B2B") market as opposed to the business-to-consumer ("B2C") market. B2B marketplaces are online bazaars where the buyers can cut transaction costs as sellers benefit from larger volume. While versions of B2B marketplace have existed in more primitive forms throughout the past decade, now they have reached a sophistication and ease of use that their presence is likely to be more noticed.
