Why e commerce competition is extremely intense

The market-niche strategy is as old as the study of competitive advantage. What has changed is that without the limits imposed by physical storefronts, the number of business opportunities is as large as the Web. The challenge strategists face is to discover and reap the benefits from profitable niches before the competition does so. Differentiation involves providing a product or service that is not available elsewhere. For example, Amazon. Many buyers and sellers must be able to enter the market at little or no entry cost no barriers to entry.

Large buyers or sellers are not able to individually influence the market. The products must be homogeneous commodities. For customized products, therefore, there is no perfect competition. Cost leadership. Can you be a low-cost producer and sell equivalent or better goods in the marketplace for less?

How can you distinguish your product or service in the marketplace? Is there opportunity to create a new way of doing business, perhaps one that changes the nature of the industry? Are there opportunities to expand production, sell into new markets, or introduce new products? Can partnerships with suppliers, distributors, and others improve current or prospective production, promotion, and distribution?

Can your competitors offer same-day pick-up? Such a system requires a brick-and-mortar solution where customers can get their goods, which can be an expensive proposition for businesses that don't want to invest heavily in a network of retail stores. But there are other options available. Pick-up centers are a new breed of brick-and-mortar that don't require the same level of management and expense as a full-blown retail outlet.

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About Our Blog Let Cura Group help you stay informed about industry, market, and technology changes that can impact your business. Subscribe to Our Blog. Recent Posts. Recent Blog Posts. If you do not harbor this desire, either secretly or overtly, you probably won't last long in e-commerce.

The competition between online retailers is cutthroat. You must be equally cutthroat to survive. Attitude is only half the battle. You've got to match a must-win attitude with the strategies to actualize your goals of domination.

If you're unsure of where to start, there are a few key ideas you can focus on as you build your business plan. The place to start your quest to conquer is your competition's website. Study it carefully. If you see some good ideas, note them, and implement them on your site. While doing this, you should, of course, ensure that you are not plagiarizing or violating someone's intellectual property.

Note the bad ideas too, and you can give your website an advantage by avoiding those mistakes. By building on proven success and avoiding past downfalls, you can create a site that beats out the competition. Find out how your competitors are pitching their products and services and what they believe to be their differentiators. You should dilute their differentiators by replicating them again, make sure to avoid plagiarizing , while simultaneously striving to create your own differentiators that can't be as easily copied.

If you want to beat your competition, you are going to have to establish the best supply chain and maintain the best wholesaler relationships. This isn't an easy process.

It'll take time, and it may even take a few rounds of trial-and-error. Run test batches of your product to ensure that the quality and price are what you want. Trade magazines may give you a head start if you're just starting your search for the perfect supply chain partners.

The best supply chain isn't necessarily the cheapest source. If you choose the cheapest wholesaler or distributor, you may end up compromising on quality or reliability. If you're trying to create a budget product, you may be looking for a cheap option, but ensure that the product actually functions as you intend.

Low costs could attract customers, but poor quality products will ensure they don't come back. Many e-commerce professionals make the mistake of thinking too narrowly while striving to crush the competition with better sales. Having better sales isn't only about selling more product for better prices, it's also about better meeting the customer's needs and desires. When you fulfill the customer's needs, you have the possibility of driving more sales through return customers.

This crucial aspect of e-commerce is too often overlooked.