Comments on: Building Better eCommerce Sites

By: Free eCommerce Store

Free eCommerce Store — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:18:41 +0000

Thanks for these mate, was a good read.

By: Magazin Online

Magazin Online — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:07:11 +0000

Do you consider the biggest flaw in an ecommerce solution the lack of communication tools? My company recently launched a shopping cart software and as per now we haven't developed such module, although at some point we surely will. What other lacking features you'd outline? I am truly curious.

By: sbspalding

sbspalding — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:48:07 +0000

Very true. I should have said “basically the same products.” As a tee-shirt company, for example, you can differentiate pretty substantially but you still sell tee-shirts so it might be hard to fight against the more general interest retailers like Amazon or Threadless without nurturing trust and loyalty through stellar service and community.

By: Monsterzeug

Monsterzeug — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:28:36 +0000

If you are in a market where “thousands of sites out there looking to sell the same products that you offer” than you probably will have a hard time anyway. Once you focus on a nische it will also become easier to attact an active community and reap the benefits that you mentioned.

By: sbspalding

sbspalding — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:13:10 +0000

The size is obviously different, but what I was trying to illustrate was
that where Amazon has succeeded has been in making their site a portal as
well as a simple "store." I think where smaller retailers have to stand out
is creating community around their offerings, even if it is something as
simple as a forum. It can really help.

Thanks for the input mate.

By: Business networking

Business networking — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:32:05 +0000

Interesting analogy. Elephants are the last thing I think of when I think of eCommerce and Amazon.

It's not fair to compare Amazon to regular eCommerce sites unless you are talking about other major sites with over 10 million in revenue. Most eCommerce sites are small mom and pops, or it is a side business to a retail store. These stores don't have the $7 billion Amazon has to hire analyst, SEOs, buyers, programmers, and the other 10,000 plus staff that Amazon employs. It's like comparing apples to oranges.