E-commerce is an ill-defined phenomenon and therefore one that is difficult to measure. This article refutes the generally accepted definition which reduces it to on-line ordering. It replaces the concept of e-commerce with that of electronization of commerce, since all business functions and not only on-line ordering are affected by network technologies. The author suggests that we should not contrast e-commerce with traditional commerce but rather conceive all commerce as a hybrid of electronized functions and functions involving physical infrastructures. The second part of the article reviews this phenomenon, based on sources available on the internet.