As internet use increases, so does online retail – already over 71% of internet users in Germany shop online 1 AGOF e.V.: internet facts. 2013-04. Hg. v. AGOF e.V. o.O. 2013. . The following section briefly explains and summarizes the areas of e-commerce relevant to the objective.

E-commerce is understood as “buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks” 2 Karim Heidari (2009): The Impact of Semantic Web on E-Commerce. In: WorldAcademy of Science, Engineering and Technology (27), S. 303–306. o.O. 2009. , i.e. trade with sales contact design via the Internet or other networks.

The sales volume of e-commerce was estimated at 70 trillion US dollars worldwide in 2008, doubling approximately every two years 3 Fritz, Wolfgang (2008): Suchmaschinen-Marketing. Braunschweig 2008. . Books, tickets, shoes, clothing, hotel stays, travel, music, toys, and films are the main items traded via the internet.

The most important goals in e-commerce include acquiring new customers, increasing sales, improving customer satisfaction, increasing customer loyalty and increasing market share 4 Fritz, Wolfgang; Dees, Heiko (2005): Die Standardisierung des Marketing iminternationalen E-Commerce. Braunschweig 2005. .

With regard to the target groups , a distinction is made between B2B e-commerce (trade between companies), B2C e-commerce (trade between companies and consumers) and C2C e-commerce (trading platforms for consumers among themselves)5 Vossen, Gottfried; Hagemann, Stephan (2007): From Version 1.0 to Version 2.0: Abrief history of the web. Münster 2007. .