Definition: E-commerce transaction

Category: OECD terminology

BROAD DEFINITION

An electronic transaction is the sale or purchase of goods or services, whether between businesses, households, individuals, governments, and other public or private organisations, conducted over computer-mediated networks. The goods and services are ordered over those networks, but the payment and the ultimate delivery of the good or service may be conducted on or offline.

Include: orders received or placed on any online application used in automated transactions such as Internet applications, EDI, Minitel or interactive telephone systems.

NARROW DEFINITION

An Internet transaction is the sale or purchase of goods or services, whether between businesses, households, individuals, governments, and other public or private organisations, conducted over the Internet. The goods and services are ordered over the Internet, but the payment and the ultimate delivery of the good or service may be conducted on or off-line.

Include:orders received or placed on any Internet application used in automated transactions such as Web pages, Extranets and other applications that run over the Internet, such as EDI over the Internet, Minitel over the Internet, or over any other Web enabled application regardless of how the Web is accessed (e.g. through a mobile or a TV set, etc.) Exclude: orders received or placed by telephone, facsimile, or conventional e-mail (paragraph 148). http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/oecd_measuring_information_society_2002.pdf