Small Internet Retailers Are Using Web Tools to Level the Selling Field

[mandy]

Of the $26 billion in sales that are projected for Internet retailers this holiday season, about 45 percent will go to small retailers, according to Forrester Research, up from 42 percent last year. Even so, with revenues starting to flatten at eBay, the site so many of them use to market their wares, some analysts doubt they will ever be able to break through the 50 percent mark.

But other analysts are not so sure. In the fast-changing world of Internet commerce, they say, smaller merchants have gained two important advantages: Google and consumers who are fussier than ever.

...All of which leads to another phenomenon that could further threaten the dominance of the big players - simplified e-commerce software with the potential to lure hordes of hitherto reluctant merchants onto the Internet...

full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/19/techno...9ecom.html

[bargainbloodhound]

with revenues starting to flatten at eBay, the site so many of them use to market their wares, some analysts doubt they will ever be able to break through the 50 percent mark.

Revenues are starting to flatten at eBay? 

If small retailers do break through the 50% mark I think it will be shortlived unfortunately because eventually everyone will be on the web and there won't be any difference between the online and B&M worlds.  Those with money (the Wal-Marts, Targets, etc) will dominate both worlds.

[valleygirl]

the latest incarnation of e-commerce services.

Yahoo Stores has been around how many years?  :

[bargainbloodhound]

[quote author=valleygirl link=topic=1791.msg6828#msg6828 date=1135905257]

the latest incarnation of e-commerce services.

Yahoo Stores has been around how many years?  :
[/quote]

Shhh...the writer seems to think it is something new.  He also didn't seem to be aware that ProStores was around for years in its former incarnation of StoreSense.

The one thing he totally left out of his article is that online shopping is rapidly expanding to platforms besides the PC browser: namely mobile devices.  There really is no affordable ecommerce software right now that will allow small sellers to compete on a "level playing field" (or even gain a toehold in the mobile ecommerce door) with "the big boys".  The emerging m-commerce channel is another reason I think small sellers won't be able to break above the 50% mark in Internet sales anytime soon.