The democratisation of eCommerce, in its simplest form, is to make eCommerce accessible to all.
In 2021 there are currently more than 20 million online global stores. The websites hosting stores rank as the following:
Traditionally, more prominent sellers would spend hundreds of thousands on site design, website setup, and integration, which were never options for 99.9% of merchants. Democratisation gets its legitimacy in the now growing number of these smaller merchants, who can now pay a fraction of the price for their store to be hosted on a professional website and thus commandeering the assets and infrastructure usually afforded to eCommerce giants, and thus paving their way among them.
The surge in innovative, technology-first 3PL options, like Huboo, have developed their business models catering for SMEs, lowering the barriers to entry for full stack order fulfilment. As a result, we’re witnessing a direct-to-consumer D2C revolution with businesses connecting directly with their audiences to sell them everything from subscription shaving kits to limited-edition whiskies and prescription glasses.
Other, more simplistic forms of infrastructure including platforms like Shopify and Big Commerce are now available for £21 a month with a promise of a 14-day free trial and cheap monthly costs. Similarly, the emergence of social commerce lets small merchants easily connect their online stores to social networks, where their customer base is most active and arguably, most contactable.
As businesses attempt to sell via more online channels and into more markets, traditional fulfilment’s shortcomings are becoming more and more exposed. Fortunately, another pathway is emerging. Across Europe, new fulfilment companies are springing up with propositions purpose-built for smaller or part-time sellers; for fast-growth eCommerce businesses and emerging D2C brands and for anyone let down by the outdated practices of traditional providers. As we said earlier, the importance of the democratisation of eCommerce is all about accessibility.
That availability needs to start with the fulfilment companies that help small businesses pick, pack and send their orders out to their eager, fresh customers. Many of these providers are now more affordable and willing to accept lower baseline order volumes, meaning that eCommerce providers can outsource their fulfilment far earlier in their growth journey. Some have even reimagined the warehousing process, using technology to empower their workers, making a more efficient team better equipped to support customers and clients.
Now we’re seeing enterprise-class services being made available to merchants across the globe for a fraction of the price. Say hello to a democratised eCommerce future!
At Huboo, it’s easy to get started on your fulfilment journey, just click here to begin.
