E-commerce business is facilitated through platforms such as websites, mobile apps, or online marketplaces.

Where e-commerce once described a simple process, a consumer purchase from an e-commerce site, for instance, the term has expanded as technologies have advanced. Today, e-commerce can refer to business-to-business commerce or internal business transactions. It can also apply to, for example:

The online stores of multichannel retailers with brick-and-mortar locations
Sharing economy platforms facilitating the purchase of services like rideshares
Social media sites like Facebook where consumers engage with so-called social commerce
Organizations selling digital products for enterprise use