Top » Advertising & Marketing, Web

Bleak Picture for Small Online Retailers

A report just released by Forrester Research paints a depressing picture for small retail business online. With the soaring cost of full service online e-commerce sites, local merchants are unable to compete with the marketing and technology of brand name sites. In the Forrester report "Local Commerce Goes National," the world wide dream of expanding small business markets internationally is hit with a disturbing wake-up call. The Internet has served to further the nationalization of online retail markets. Charline Li of Forrester sums up the trend by stating that "this picture is only going to get worse as the Wal-Marting of America continues." Fortunately for the small guy, local service providers still hold the upper hand with location and personal relations. What effect these trends will have on the consumer remains to be seen.

Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:35:03 -0800