How Ecommerce is Changing in 2019
In 2019, the e-commerce ecosystem has become a huge battlefield. Amazon has taken over 50% of the e-commerce market, and now generates over $250 Billion in sales each year.
This is great for e-commerce, however, it also means that a lot of retail shops are not performing as well as they used to.
A lot of business owners have put their heart and soul into building up a brand over 20 years or more, and now it is being threatened by the huge changes.
Another trend that we’re seeing become mainstream is dropshipping. Over $85 Billion of products were dropshipped during 2017 alone. And that number is only continuing to grow.
Facebook and Instagram moving into E-commerce
The other big player that is moving into the e-commerce space is Facebook. Through the Instagram platform, they are beta-testing a service called ‘Checkout On Instagram’. This service lets Instagram users browse, select, purchase and ship items directly through the app.
The obvious strategy seems to be to abandon conventional websites and only focus on drop shipping and social shopping. But is it the best way to future proof your business?
Your Brand Must Be Strong to Survive
The biggest issue with only focusing on e-commerce platforms like Instagram or Amazon is that if the platform changes you don’t have control. The privacy scandal and facebook outage have shown that even the biggest platforms can be threatened.
If your entire business is built around the e-commerce platforms, you are at their mercy.
However, by investing time in building your brand, and growing an engaged following, you are able to keep traffic moving towards your website.
As the e-commerce platform changes, make sure you keep up to date, and keep your brand up to date and keep growing the social following you have as much as you can.
This is key when you focused on growing your business in 2019.
