The Truth About How to Spell  Ecommerce

By Scarlett Payne   |    June 22, 2021

CULTURE

People spell  ecommerce  many ways:

ecommerce e-commerce eCommerce Ecommerce e-Commerce E-commerce ECommerce But which spelling  is correct?

Why So Many Spellings?

Ecommerce is an abbreviation for electronic commerce, so it’s easy for people to take on many ways of abbreviating the word.

Is There a Hyphen?

Much confusion comes from whether to use a hyphen.  A hyphen indicates an abbreviation, but over time, people drop hyphens from use. E-reader and e-book use a hyphen. Email doesn’t.

What the Experts Say:

Dictionaries and style guides agree on e-commerce. Still, industry players like Shopify, WordPress and Facebook all vary. Google even uses ecommerce and e-commerce in different places.

The Big Mix Up

Ngram shows that  e-commerce is more common – likely because it reviews literary works that follow style guides. Google Trends shows that ecommerce is preferred among the general population.

Which Is Right?

It depends! E-commerce is ideal if you work in academia or journalism. Ecommerce is what everyday people use and where the term may end up if style guides conform to the people.