你身边是不是有很多“网购族”？鼠标在各类在线商店随便点点银子就出手了，喜欢的宝贝也入手了。这些网络商店其实跟咱们生活中的retail store（零售店）差不多，只不过他们的商品陈设、交易都是在线完成的罢了，因此，网络零售商就叫e-tailer。

The word e-tailer is a portmanteau word derived² from 'electronic' and 'retailer³', in a similar way to 'e-mail'. The word has been in use since at least 1995.

E-tailer是electronic和retailer两个词组合而成的，与e-mail这个词的构成方式一样。该词的使用至少要追溯到1995年。

Two distinct categories of e-tailers are pure plays and bricks and clicks. A pure play e-tailer uses the Internet as its primary means of retailing⁴. A brick and click e-tailer uses the Internet to push its good or service but also has the traditional physical storefront available to customers.

网络零售商分为纯粹的网络零售店和实体与网络结合的零售店两种。纯粹的网络零售店以因特网为其主要的零售方式。实体与网络结合的零售店则在拥有传统实体店面的同时利用因特网推广其产品和服务。