E-Commerce is conducting a business, selling a product and collecting payments electronically. It is differentiated from a retail business in that a store front, bricks and mortar, are not required. It is also differentiated from a catalog business in that a catalog is not required. Catalogs are very expensive ways to advertise.

Some 'must haves' for a successful e-commerce business:

Your own domain name.

You own web site.

A product you can sell.

Original content.

Your own merchant program or the ability to accept secure payments on-line.

One definition of an e-commerce web site is a site that:

Offers a product or products on-line

Offers a secure manner of payment processing on-line.

Delivers their product or products on-line or with a timely shipping method.

These are just some basic requirements.