There is widespread misconception that eCommerce is being dominated by a few In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are enormous companies somewhat inefficient, but they're also outdated.
In the 1980s - and even, to some extent, in the 1990s - bigger was better. Businesses built on the Wal-Mart model were able to bring in hundreds of thousands of customers because an economy of such massive scale allowed them to outprice the competition. Because they were bigger, cheaper, and could afford to offer a greater variety of products, they were, in effect, everything to everyone. But the emergence of Internet technology has changed all that.
Among other things, it is now possible for consumers to shop outside of the region where they live. Because they can obtain fairly specific products online (and can often have the purchase shipped overnight), people now have the luxury of dealing with merchants who cater to their particular interest. For instance, if you're interested in buying a book of Thai recipes, you might buy it from vendor who specializes in cookbooks, or even in Thai cuisine, whereas ten years ago, you would have had trouble finding such a title in any of the local bookstores. In fact, you probably would have been forced to settle for a title that you didn't really want.So what does all this mean? It means that we've entered into the age of small-business eCommerce. Instead of trying to offer an enormous selection of products, successful online entrepreneurs are targeting a specific segment of the market, and avoiding the costs entailed in offering a wider range of products. Rather than maintaining an enormous staff, they can employ a few specialists, or even contract workers. Rather than maintaining a costly bricks-and-mortar retail chain, they can operate a virtual storefront. And rather than employing an IT department, they can turn over their cyberspace aspects to a host - and that's just smart business.