What is B2C? (Business-to-Consumer)

B2C is selling your product directly to individual people rather than to companies.

How does B2C work?

One person decides, usually in minutes. You acquire through paid ads, search, social, or word of mouth, convert on a page rather than in a meeting, and charge a small amount many times over. Volume replaces negotiation.

Why does B2C matter?

The economics are unforgiving in a specific way: acquisition cost is paid up front and recovered in small increments, so payback period decides whether you can grow. Churn is higher than in B2B because switching costs nothing. The upside is that you can test pricing, messaging, and onboarding on thousands of people in a week.

Where did B2C come from?

The label came out of the late-1990s dot-com era, when online sellers needed a way to distinguish consumer commerce from business commerce. Direct-to-consumer, the version that skips retailers entirely, is a variation on the same model.

How do you sell B2C well?

Instrument the funnel, then fix the worst step rather than buying more traffic. Watch acquisition cost against average order value and repeat rate together. Run real A/B tests rather than trusting the last thing you changed. And treat retention as the growth lever it is, because a returning buyer costs nothing.

Bottom line: B2C wins on volume and speed of learning, and loses to B2B on the price of a single yes.

For more startup terminology, visit startupdefinitions.com.