There Are Still Opportunities for New E-Commerce Startups
The Internet has evolved from a basic network with a few users to a massive commercial system, in which billions of global users harness its capacities to solve real-world problems in order to satisfy the needs of buyers, sellers, and information seekers and providers. Within that system, many e-commerce startups have helped to connect buyers with sellers worldwide. With today’s technology, small-business owners with only minimal technical skills can establish stores online with e-commerce startups and, for a small fee, connect with potential customers around the world.
As customers shift their spending from offline to online businesses, small-business owners increasingly have to expand their revenue sources from a brick-and-mortar stores to e-retail stores in order to survive in today’s competitive business world. Although increasingly more small businesses have staked out an online presence, a large percentage of small-business owners continue to lack websites. In fact, according to Yodle, 52% of small-business owners in 2013 did not have websites in the United States.
The reason could be that busy small-business owners simply do not have the time to figure out how to keep up with web technology as consumers shift from desktops to laptops and mobile phones in order to browse and buy products. There are many technical steps required to set up and maintain online stores, such as operating the control panel via web hosting, uploading different software, moving files via XML, and updating plugins and themes, to name just a few. In response, many e-commerce startups have made technology for small-business owners to easily establish readymade online stores in just a few hours, all in a hassle-free manner. Small-business owners can also hire startups to build and maintain their online stores, meaning that they can have more time to concentrate on sales.