{"id":687,"date":"2015-07-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therope.it\/guide\/competere-contro-amazon-con-il-proprio-e-commerce\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T18:02:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:02:29","slug":"competing-against-amazon-with-your-own-ecommerce","status":"publish","type":"guide","link":"https:\/\/therope.it\/en\/guides\/competing-against-amazon-with-your-own-ecommerce\/","title":{"rendered":"Competing against Amazon with your own eCommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We often meet clients who want to work with our web agency to build and launch a new e-commerce. Selling products online is extremely difficult, especially considering that it is a market dominated by a few major players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post we describe 4 strategies to create a sustainable business even when facing Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years it has been written that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, was the modern Sam Walton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creator of the retail chain Walmart, Sam Walton placed customer care at the center of his company and the need to provide products at the lowest possible price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same attention was later replicated by Amazon starting in 1994, the year of its birth, but leveraging the advantages of the Web: the ability to serve customers worldwide from day one; infinite shelves<\/strong>; an immense amount of data about its customers, better customer service, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, the names of the two giants were mentioned again when the Seattle-based company, born just over 20 years ago, surpassed Walmart\u2019s market capitalization, reporting a market value of nearly $250 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a cocktail of wide selection, ease of purchase, and low prices, Amazon over the years has become a true giant<\/a>, gaining many fans (among customers) and many detractors (among competitors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, if you operate in e-commerce and sell other brands, you are not only competing with local competitors but with everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this type of market, the company that wins is the one that achieves the greatest economies of scale, has a true obsession with cost optimization, and a long-term focus that allows it to forgo profits for years. Such a company obviously exists, and it is Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So how can you compete against the giant of eCommerce?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to Andy Dunn, founder of the e-commerce Bonobos<\/strong>, four strategies remain to compete against Amazon: proprietary pricing, product selection, shopping experience, and brand creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at them together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Proprietary Pricing<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Proprietary pricing is the model behind flash-sale sites. By offering exclusive access to a better price, an e-commerce can grow very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, the price of a product is a very important element in a purchase, and offering a substantial discount is a perfect strategy to attract new users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The best evidence of this is Cyber Monday.
Or, without going too far, it is the model behind the Milan-based startup Lovli, with which our web agency worked in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially exploited by major brands to clear warehouses, today flash-sales are used by small companies that, alone, would not have the skills to enter the market or manage an e-commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash-sales instead provide the opportunity to sell their products, increasing brand visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Proprietary Selection<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The strategy here is to focus on a very well-defined selection of products with a clear positioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the items are not exclusive to the e-commerce since they are produced by other brands. However, they can be perceived as such for three reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n