Despite the risks, e-commerce pays

by Paul Baldwin | Jan 03, 2000 8:00:00 AM

Tags: Paul Baldwin

Takeaway: With online retailers seeing record business this year, why wait any longer to bring e-commerce to your business? Here are two articles that examine the reasons, risks, and rewards that come with e-commerce.

With the holiday rush over, it’s time to see who came out ahead this season among online retailers. While the numbers were up across the board, one dot com took center stage at this year’s holiday sales pageant. According to New York’s Media Metrix, Amazon.com led the way with 6 million unique visitors between Thanksgiving and Dec. 19.

The next-closest online retailer was Ebay.com with 4.1 million unique visitors, followed by eToys.com at 1.9 million. Fellow toy retailer Toysrus.com had 1.7 million unique visitors, and Barnesandnoble.com saw 1.6 million.

And while analysts had predicted this would be the breakout year for e-commerce, the big question is, with statistics like this, why isn’t your business online?

There is no reason to delay taking your wares to the Web. To provide the advice you need, TechRepublic’s Mary Ann Fitzharris looks at e-commerce and its role in the enterprise in two articles. The first, "E-commerce strategy: Start small and learn fast ," outlines how businesses can get started. The second, "E-commerce strategy: Real-life lessons from online companies ," examines some successful and not-so-successful attempts at jump-starting a company’s online business.
What has worked for your business? Post a comment below, or send us an e-mail .