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B2B, B2C, platforms, self-operation and brands
One earbud, five sales arrangements, five different sets of responsibility
Opening question
Hook 3 min
Same product, five different businesses
Amazon third-party shop JD self-operated procurement SheIn own brand Shopify standalone site TikTok livestream
Learning objectives
O1–O4 2 min
By the end, you can...
List the five B2C operating forms. Separate platform, self-operated and hybrid. Explain why Shopify is not a brand. Label one transaction on four dimensions.
Concept 1 · Five forms
O1 5 min
Five ways to operate a B2C business
Direct sellers: own or buy goods, sell to consumers. Online intermediaries: no goods, matching for commission. Advertising-based: free content, ad revenue. Community-based: shared-interest communities. Live-broadcasting: real-time demonstration and selling.
Speaker notes Ask which form is hardest to run without a marketing team. The answer is not the same for every product.
Concept 2 · Ownership
O2 5 min
Who owns the goods?
Marketplace
Platform
Space and rules; commission and ads; no inventory.
Retailer
Self-operated
Buys and resells; bears inventory and after-sales.
Both
Hybrid
Self-operated items plus third-party shops (JD, Amazon).
Speaker notes Ask who sets the price in each model. Ownership of goods is the clearest test, not the interface.
Concept 2 · Responsibility
O2 4 min
Who owns the goods answers the claim
? Where is the real boundary between a platform and a self-operated store?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
Question Platform Self-operated Who owns the inventory? The seller The operator Where does revenue come from? Commission, ads, services Trading margin Who sets the price? The seller, within platform rules The operator Who answers a damage claim? The seller, with platform mediation The operator, directly Who owns customer data? Shared; the platform controls access The operator Who carries unsold-stock risk? The seller The operator
Takeaway The boundary is who owns the goods. That decides who carries unsold-stock risk and who answers a damage claim.
Many real businesses mix the two models; this table isolates the two pure cases.
Concept only Lesson 06 comparison; no market data
Speaker notes Use a damage claim as the test: who refunds, who inspects, who resells the returned unit?
Evidence · B2C scope
O1 3 min
Two B2C numbers, two scopes
B2C was about 18% of global retail in 2022; China's B2C online retail was about US$1.414 trillion in 2020.
18% is a retail share, not a market size. China-first is a B2C comparison. Neither is the B2B comparison where the US leads.
Speaker notes Ask students to label each number before using it. Mixing them is the most common error in this topic.
Data · Four economies
O1 4 min
Total ecommerce is not a B2C ranking
? Does the largest total mean the largest B2C market?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
0 2 4 6 8 10 US 9 Japan 3 China 2 Korea 1
Takeaway The US total is driven by B2B; China leads B2C. This is not a B2C ranking.
Shares are of the four-economy total (about US$15T), not of the world. Values are approximate.
Estimate USD trillion · 2020 · UNCTAD 2021, via textbook Figure 2-7 (SRC-016); approximate
Speaker notes The US total is driven by B2B; China leads B2C. The brackets are shares of about US$15T, not of the world.
Concept 3 · Brand vs tool
O3 5 min
Shopify is not SheIn
Shopify Sells software, templates and infrastructure Merchant owns goods and brand Earns subscription and service fees SheIn Designs, sources and sells under its own brand Owns customer relationship and data Earns retail margin
A branded-looking store is not automatically a brand
Brand building requires owning positioning, product and repeat purchase - not just a domain and a theme.
Check who owns the goods. Check who owns the data. Check who sets the price.
Concept 4 · Dimensions
O4 5 min
Four questions, four different axes
Who
Parties
B2B, B2C or C2C.
Owns
Ownership
Platform, self-operated or hybrid.
Breadth
Assortment
Comprehensive or vertical.
Scene
Device and scene
Mobile, social, local, live.
Concept 4 · One transaction
O4 4 min
Five labels, no contradiction
The purchase T-shirt Self-operated brand TikTok livestream Bought on a phone Labels B2C (parties) Self-operated (ownership) Social + live (scene) Mobile (device)
Stop asking whether mobile is bigger than ecommerce
One is a subset of the other; the comparison is a category error.
Ask instead: what share of B2C retail happens on mobile? Or: how much social-scene commerce is B2C? Name the dimension before comparing.
Case · Teaching case
O1–O4 6 min
Five ways to sell one earbud
Case: five ways to sell one earbud (teaching case)
Amazon third-party shop JD self-operated procurement SheIn own brand Shopify standalone site TikTok livestream
The factory's margin depends on its role
Supplier
Manufacturing margin
Sells to JD or SheIn; no traffic or returns.
Seller
Trading margin
Owns listing and after-sales; pays for traffic.
Brand
Brand asset
Owns customer relationship; needs acquisition and service.
Speaker notes Ask which role the factory is ready for. Capability, not ambition, decides.
Common misconceptions
O1–O4 3 min
Four claims to retire
A platform is the seller. Self-operated means owning a warehouse. Shopify is a brand. Mobile or social is a fourth transaction type.
Classroom activity
O1–O4 12 min
Role table
4 min Draw four columns: goods, brand, traffic, after-sales. 4 min Fill the table for the five arrangements. 2 min Label each on at least four dimensions. 2 min Choose the brand-building arrangement and name one capability.
Materials on this slide
Exercise: role table for five arrangements
Five questions
Q1 five forms · Q2 JD hybrid Q3 multiple labels · Q4 Shopify vs SheIn Q5 eBay's evolution
What you can now do
Place a store in one or more B2C forms. Use goods ownership to separate platform and self-operated. Tell a brand from a site-building tool. Label one transaction on independent dimensions.
Sources and preparation
Textbook §2.2.1, §2.2.4, §2.3.4, §2.4; Figure 2-3; Table 2-1. JD (SRC-086), SHEIN (SRC-087), Shopify (SRC-088). Next: the parties and process of one cross-border order.
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Slide 1 of 20
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1
B2B, B2C, platforms, self-operation and brands
2
Same product, five different businesses
3
By the end, you can...
4
Five ways to operate a B2C business
5
Who owns the goods?
6
Who owns the goods answers the claim
7
Two B2C numbers, two scopes
8
Total ecommerce is not a B2C ranking
9
Shopify is not SheIn
10
A branded-looking store is not automatically a brand
11
Four questions, four different axes
12
Five labels, no contradiction
13
Stop asking whether mobile is bigger than ecommerce
14
Five ways to sell one earbud
15
The factory's margin depends on its role
16
Four claims to retire
17
Role table
18
Five questions
19
What you can now do
20
Sources and preparation
Lesson 06 · 50 min · 1 / 20
B2B, B2C, platforms, self-operation and brands
One earbud, five sales arrangements, five different sets of responsibility
Open with the five arrangements. Ask who owns the goods in each; most students will not know.
Opening question · 2 / 20
Same product, five different businesses
Amazon third-party shop JD self-operated procurement SheIn own brand Shopify standalone site TikTok livestream Ask: which one makes the factory the seller? Which one makes it only a supplier? Hold the question.
Learning objectives · 3 / 20
By the end, you can...
List the five B2C operating forms. Separate platform, self-operated and hybrid. Explain why Shopify is not a brand. Label one transaction on four dimensions. O3 is tested by Q4; O4 by Q3 and Q5.
Concept 1 · Five forms · 4 / 20
Five ways to operate a B2C business
Direct sellers: own or buy goods, sell to consumers. Online intermediaries: no goods, matching for commission. Advertising-based: free content, ad revenue. Community-based: shared-interest communities. Live-broadcasting: real-time demonstration and selling. Ask which form is hardest to run without a marketing team. The answer is not the same for every product.
Concept 2 · Ownership · 5 / 20
Who owns the goods?
Ask who sets the price in each model. Ownership of goods is the clearest test, not the interface.
Concept 2 · Responsibility · 6 / 20
Who owns the goods answers the claim
? Where is the real boundary between a platform and a self-operated store?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
Question Platform Self-operated Who owns the inventory? The seller The operator Where does revenue come from? Commission, ads, services Trading margin Who sets the price? The seller, within platform rules The operator Who answers a damage claim? The seller, with platform mediation The operator, directly Who owns customer data? Shared; the platform controls access The operator Who carries unsold-stock risk? The seller The operator
Takeaway The boundary is who owns the goods. That decides who carries unsold-stock risk and who answers a damage claim.
Many real businesses mix the two models; this table isolates the two pure cases.
Concept only Lesson 06 comparison; no market data Use a damage claim as the test: who refunds, who inspects, who resells the returned unit?
Evidence · B2C scope · 7 / 20
Two B2C numbers, two scopes
18% is a retail share, not a market size. China-first is a B2C comparison. Neither is the B2B comparison where the US leads. Ask students to label each number before using it. Mixing them is the most common error in this topic.
Data · Four economies · 8 / 20
Total ecommerce is not a B2C ranking
? Does the largest total mean the largest B2C market?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
0 2 4 6 8 10 US 9 Japan 3 China 2 Korea 1
Takeaway The US total is driven by B2B; China leads B2C. This is not a B2C ranking.
Shares are of the four-economy total (about US$15T), not of the world. Values are approximate.
Estimate USD trillion · 2020 · UNCTAD 2021, via textbook Figure 2-7 (SRC-016); approximate The US total is driven by B2B; China leads B2C. The brackets are shares of about US$15T, not of the world.
Concept 3 · Brand vs tool · 9 / 20
Shopify is not SheIn
Shopify Sells software, templates and infrastructure Merchant owns goods and brand Earns subscription and service fees SheIn Designs, sources and sells under its own brand Owns customer relationship and data Earns retail margin Ask who owns the customer list for a Shopify store. The merchant does; Shopify provides the tool.
Common error · 10 / 20
A branded-looking store is not automatically a brand
Check who owns the goods. Check who owns the data. Check who sets the price. This slide prevents the most common slide-deck error: equating a self-built store with a brand.
Concept 4 · Dimensions · 11 / 20
Four questions, four different axes
Add flow (export/import) as a fifth axis if needed. The point is that the axes are independent.
Concept 4 · One transaction · 12 / 20
Five labels, no contradiction
The purchase T-shirt Self-operated brand TikTok livestream Bought on a phone Labels B2C (parties) Self-operated (ownership) Social + live (scene) Mobile (device) Ask whether any label excludes another. None does; they answer different questions.
Pseudo-question · 13 / 20
Stop asking whether mobile is bigger than ecommerce
Ask instead: what share of B2C retail happens on mobile? Or: how much social-scene commerce is B2C? Name the dimension before comparing. Ask students to rewrite one pseudo-question from their own reading into an answerable one.
Case · Teaching case · 14 / 20
Five ways to sell one earbud
Amazon third-party shop JD self-operated procurement SheIn own brand Shopify standalone site TikTok livestream Assign one arrangement per group and have them report on the four columns. The case is fictional.
Case analysis · 15 / 20
The factory's margin depends on its role
Ask which role the factory is ready for. Capability, not ambition, decides.
Common misconceptions · 16 / 20
Four claims to retire
A platform is the seller. Self-operated means owning a warehouse. Shopify is a brand. Mobile or social is a fourth transaction type. Take each claim and ask for one counter-example from the five arrangements.
Classroom activity · 17 / 20
Role table
Expect groups to mix arrangements 3 and 4. Ask who owns the brand in each.
Self-check · 18 / 20
Five questions
Q1 five forms · Q2 JD hybrid Q3 multiple labels · Q4 Shopify vs SheIn Q5 eBay's evolution Q5 tests whether students treat labels as descriptive rather than permanent.
Summary · 19 / 20
What you can now do
Place a store in one or more B2C forms. Use goods ownership to separate platform and self-operated. Tell a brand from a site-building tool. Label one transaction on independent dimensions. Return to the opening question: which arrangement makes the factory a seller?
Sources & next · 20 / 20
Sources and preparation
Textbook §2.2.1, §2.2.4, §2.3.4, §2.4; Figure 2-3; Table 2-1. JD (SRC-086), SHEIN (SRC-087), Shopify (SRC-088). Next: the parties and process of one cross-border order. Remind students that platform descriptions are self-reported and that the case is fictional.