e-tailers

Web-based vendors only

E-tailers are retailers who conduct business primarily or exclusively online rather than through physical stores.

The term blends "electronic" with "retailers" and emerged in the late 1990s during the first wave of internet commerce.

Amazon started as an e-tailer selling books before expanding into everything.

While the word was once novel, it now sounds slightly dated as online shopping has become the norm rather than the exception.

platform

Amazon

Greek warrior women

  • eBayWeb auction marketplace
  • AlibabaPersian folklore woodcutter
  • EtsyHandmade goods marketplace

Shopify · Zappos · Overstock · Rakuten · Wayfair · Newegg

storefront

webstore

Online retail platform

filters · navigation · wishlist · customer reviews · buy button · digital catalog · user interface · landing page · homepage

transactions

payment gateway

Software routing card transactions

return policy · SSL certificate · order confirmation · refund processing · invoice · promo codes · gift cards

business

vendor

One who sells goods

customer acquisition · conversion rate · analytics · profit margins · warehousing

convenience

doorstep delivery

Parcels left at threshold

home delivery · reordering · accessibility

Categories
Opposites
retail channel/medium

e-tailersbrick-and-mortar stores

Shops with street addresses

department stores · corner shops · big-box stores · local shops · boutiques

business model scale

e-tailersstreet vendors

Outdoor merchants on sidewalks

peddlers · hawkers · traveling salesmen

Family

retailer, retailers

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Everyday, not technical · Rated G