For private consumers around the globe the most well-known form of e-commerce falls into the business to consumer (B2C) category, also known as online retail or online shopping.
In 2013, global e-retail sales amounted to 839.8 billion U.S. dollars and projections show a growth of up to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars by 2018.
Amazon.com is one of the most popular and well-known example of an online shopping platform.
A worldwide study regarding shopping behavior shows that as of 2014, some of the most popular product categories to be shopped online are electronics, fashion and apparel or home appliances.