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Building Better eCommerce Sites

Started by sbspalding · 11 months ago

People don’t buy products from elephants — trust me, elephants are pushy and not big on negotiations.

The biggest problem faced by most eCommerce sites that follow the traditional model (see: 1998 chic) is that they believe that they are still allowed to be elephants. The results are unwieldy, lumbering sites with dozens of static ... Continue reading »

6 comments

  • Business networking

    11 months ago

    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.
    reply
  • sbspalding

    11 months ago

    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.
    reply
  • Monsterzeug

    11 months ago

    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.
    reply
  • sbspalding

    11 months ago

    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.
    reply
  • Magazin Online

    10 months ago

    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.
    reply
  • Free eCommerce Store

    7 months ago

    Thanks for these mate, was a good read.
    reply

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