Correct spelling and/or hyphenation for electronic commerce
What is the correct spelling and/or hyphenation for the abbreviation of electronic commerce?
I have seen the following variations.
- eCommerce
- E-Commerce
- ECommerce
- E-commerce
According to this Google Ngram, both E-Commerce and E-commerce are valid and interchangeable:
Likewise, when not beginning a sentence (or in a headline, etc.), the term e-commerce is not capitalized:
e-commerce |ˈēˌkämərs|:
(noun) commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet.
See what happens when e-commerce is added to the Ngram.
According to Wikipedia, eCommerce is a viable, though less often used alternative. The Ngram supports that assertion. The only variation which is completely incorrect is ECommerce.
Definition from: New Oxford American Dictionary
Conclusion:
- E-Commerce is almost always hyphenated. The only non-hyphenated alternative is eCommerce.
- Furthermore, e-commerce is not capitalized unless one begins a sentence with it, or uses it in a headline/title.
- When capitalized, both E-commerce and E-Commerce are correct, though I prefer the latter.