The e-commerce websites that sell goods directly to consumers are considered as B2C, business-to-consumer.  This distinction is important when comparing web sites that are B2B as the entire business models, strategy, execution, and fulfillment is different.  B2C businesses played a large role in the rapid development of the commercial internet in the 1990s. Large sums of venture capital flowed to consumers in the form of free online services and discounted shopping, spurring adoption of the new medium. When the capital markets turned sour, however, the B2C companies were among the first to fall, and they fell fast. Many companies tried to follow the herd of investors by undergoing a B2C to B2B makeover. For a while after the .com bubble, B2C was used infrequently, except when it was followed by "…is dead." However, some analysts still predicted that consumer businesses would thrive online, just not in the way everyone initially predicted. (marketingterms.com)

Source: www.marketingterms.com