Lo and behold, when you think about it, commerce and communities have a lot in common. Without communities, commerce becomes an uphill battle. Communities, for starters, are full of people, and people buy things. However, communities contribute far more to the commercial landscape than just people. They provide structure and definition.
Communities develop cultures, and culture is the root of style.
And style sells. Think for a moment of the importance of the 'home market' for most companies. Most of today's mega multinationals were nurtured within their home markets before they went out to conquer the world. Communities need commerce. The early Internet was very much an artificial community.