online shops

Filed in archive on July 7, 2003

I'm intrigued by the opportunities for small retailers lately. I mean we all have forgotten about this 'stone age idea' some years back already. But it seems the plain business model in various market niches becomes quite successful. Market research shows a strong growth of overall online sales. No wonder customers switch in niche areas from badly maintained, small offline shops to a well sorted online alternative.
Two friends of mine have setup bike24 a German shop for bike equipment. Sales growth is very intact. A have seen another intriguing example at Globetrotter, which sells outdoor equipment. These niche shops have some things in common:

• low or even no stock of products


• hi-margin, high quality products


• low cost of sales, as the internet presentation is very modest


• comparatively low competitive pressure as bigger retail chains haven't attacked these markets


• highly selective and quality focused customers, paying an extra for guidance via information on websites


• easy 'findability' as product naming is very special and search engines become the perfect sales tool, linking the customer directly to your site

Overall this forgotten field is an interesting cash cow within some industries. So it's not too late to turn your ebay-shop into a fully branded website. :-)