The Complexities Of Building An E-commerce Business
Sometimes I get asked - do you ever get bored in e-commerce? I can honestly say I never have.
Building e-commerce businesses is so different each time - there can be no cookie-cutter.
You have to start with the brand and what it is. Then you move to the experience you want to create. Then you need to get creative. Brainstorm. THEN start talking about technology. Too many people start in the opposite direction.
There are a variety of factors that can completely change the complexion of a business and how you plan to make money from one brand to the next:
brand experience
average selling price
return rate
repeat customer purchases
partners needed
logistics
marketplace vs drop ship vs owned inventory
initial investment
Board payback period needed
All of these things make one brand quite different from the next, and the nuances add up. Never mind the fact that every few years the entire game changes. Just think about this:
Sometime in 2015-2016, Amazon delivered its own parcels for the first time (I'm talking about Prime Now in Los Angeles - not just FBA). In 2019, Amazon delivered 2.3 billion packages in the United States. This was pre-COVID.
So yeah, it's a fun space to be in.