The categorization of e-commerce into different configurations based on the degree of digitization of the product or service sold, the process of the transaction and the delivery agent.
Traditional e-commerce - where products or services are physical, the process of the transaction is physical and the delivery agent is physical. For example a corner shop stocks newspapers that are bought with cash over the counter and are taken away by the customer out of the shop.
However, in reality in today’s world, it is very rare that a business is truly traditional because of the use of EPOS systems for payment (electronic point of sale systems).
Pure e-commerce - Where products or services are digital, the process of the transaction is digital and the delivery agent is digital. For example, software update services of companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec; downloading of electronic books; peer-to-peer file sharing like Napster would also be considered pure e-commerce.
Partial e-commerce - Where either one or two of the dimensions are physical. For example in the case of booksellers Amazon, the products (books) are physical, the process is digital and the delivery agent is physical.
