Presenting a quick run-down of some of the best ecommerce sites on the planet. Knowing how the juggernauts did it can help you create your own business model and inspire great solutions to problems you may be encountering right now.
Amazon
Amazon is, by universal vote, the most successful ecommerce website on the planet. It is successful enough to form its own line of products (such as the Kindle) and serve as a kind of hub for every other ecommerce website out there. Amazon started off as a simple online bookseller and quickly became the Mecca of all ecommerce sites out there.
Amazon's simple, user-friendly design is a throwback from the 90s, but is still seamless and familiar. Amazon's uses a variety of add-ons and methods to entice the customer such as online newsletters that are customized to the user's preferences, freebies for signing up and personalized algorithms that come up with a list of suggested products. Great delivery times, free and international on-time shipping and a variety of payment methods make this the website to beat.
eBay
eBay's iconic auction model made it one of the first, and most popular, ecommerce sites because of its extreme usability and function. eBay was also initially user-driven, so the buyers and sellers online decided not just the prices per item, but the overall market.
The website still features a simple design that many new users can easily learn -- it takes about 3 minutes to set up an auction, which includes loading times. By making it fast and easy to sign-up, access and create user IDs, eBay allows customers to join an auction in very little time.
Apple Store
Apple's iconic merchandise and online store are one of the biggest success stories of the Internet, with millions of sales per day. The streamlined and beautiful design website was a celebration of functionality and beauty, much like the products it represents.
This is an example of a business model that integrates products and software, and by limiting product and software, Apple created a captive market. Not only that, it changed the existing market by opening up new possibilities. Going to the Apple Store allows you not only to put an order in for their latest product but also to buy applications, music, movies, Podcasts and more. Apple created a self-sustained online ecosystem that is not only successful in its own right but is seamlessly packaged to meet its real-world counterpart.
Groupon
Groupon, as an ecommerce website, took a very separate look at the merchant economy both on and offline and came up with a novel way to join the market. Instead of offering products or services for fees, it decided that discounts and coupons were the way to go. Groupon allowed its users to sign up and take advantage of deals, promotions or discounts from its partners and affiliates, often merchants in an area.
Groupon's web design --like most ecommerce websites -- is laughably easy to use. It allows customers to narrow down which deal they want using categories and locations. This allows users to find the deal they want in very little time. The timer countdown added to the site also increases the sense of pressure in the customers -- if they do not take advantage of the sale now, then they may never get the opportunity again.
Etsy
Etsy is an example of a niche ecommerce website that found an area that was often ignored by other, giant ecommerce sites: the handmade or vintage category. They combined this need with a user-driven interface that allowed sellers to sign up and showcase their merchandise online. This ranged from hand-sewn or knitted clothing to vintage pots.
Etsy's main difference was their emphasis on finding an audience for their sellers. The company invested in finding ways to bring customers to the site and increase their member-made sales. Etsy is known as well for its focus on experimentation. They constantly add or remove software to create a better user experience. They also constantly upgrade their system.
Learning tips and tricks from these ecommerce giants can be very helpful to the small or medium sized ecommerce entrepreneur. In fact, many of them serve as lessons -- this companies often started up small and moved up as behemoths in the business through a combination of great products, good pricing and excellent web design.
