The growth of the internet shopping mall has led to a critical mass of consumers and firms participating in a global online marketplace. This study is devoted to providing a conceptual framework for describing and analyzing the characteristics of internet shopping mall. We proposed a model which classifies internet shopping mall into four types, including (1) general intermediary (2) general direct-sales (3) specialized intermediary (4) specialized direct-sales. Our framework facilitates greater understanding of the internet shopping mall as commercial medium and allows examination of internet shopping mall in terms of the opportunities and challenges firms facing online business.