Table of Contents

  • E-commerce has been high on the agenda of policy makers since the mid-1990s. In 1998, the OECD and the Government of Canada jointly organised a Ministerial Conference on Electronic Commerce in Ottawa, calling together leaders from national governments, heads of major international organisations, industry leaders, and representatives of consumer, labour and social interest groups, to discuss the development of global e-commerce. Participants unanimously recognised that e-commerce offered a radically new way of conducting commercial transactions and could become a global driver of growth and economic development. They also recognised that business would have to play a key role in developing and implementing solutions essential for the development of e-commerce.

  • As digital transformation has accelerated, the e-commerce landscape has become increasingly dynamic. New players have emerged at the same time that established actors have taken on new roles; some barriers to e-commerce at the firm, individual and country levels have been overcome, while new barriers have emerged. New business models have transformed buyer-seller relationships and pushed out the frontier of what is possible to buy and sell online. Unpacking E-Commerce: Business Models, Trends and Policies analyses new and emerging e-commerce business models, examines e-commerce trends along a range of dimensions, and identifies how policies may need to adapt to remain fit for purpose in a fast-moving e-commerce landscape.

  • While new opportunities have arisen for e-commerce to boost growth and consumer welfare, unlocking this potential requires an understanding of what e-commerce is today, how it can be measured and which policies are best suited to support further innovations in the e-commerce marketplace. This chapter introduces the concept of e-commerce and the way it is defined and measured, and discusses the range of policy areas that affect e-commerce, with a particular focus on consumer policy, taxation, competition, cross-border trade and the environment. The chapter concludes by identifying key areas for policy action.

  • As digital transformation has accelerated, the e-commerce landscape has become increasingly dynamic. New players have emerged at the same time that established actors have taken on new roles; some barriers to e-commerce at the firm, individual and country levels have been overcome, while new barriers have emerged. This chapter tracks e-commerce trends along several dimensions, presenting new evidence on broad e-commerce trends, developments for firms and consumers, and cross-border e-commerce trends. It concludes by identifying key areas for policy action.

  • E-commerce facilitates trade across borders, increases convenience for consumers, and enables firms to reach new markets. Despite its short history, the e-commerce landscape has rapidly evolved through the development of new business models, which often integrate new and emerging digital technologies as well as new online payment mechanisms. This chapter analyses evolving e-commerce business models, focusing in particular on business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, and includes examples from existing businesses to highlight firm-level innovations. It concludes by identifying key areas for policy action.

  • Measuring e-commerce, and digital transformation more broadly, is complex. While national statistics provide evidence on some broad trends, new tools are needed to better understand e-commerce dynamics at the micro level. One such tool is the Future of Business Survey, which provides monthly data on enterprises with a Facebook page. This Annex analyses e-commerce using data from businesses in 42 countries to shed new light on various dimensions of e-commerce, including with respect to firm size, gender and export dynamics.