Welcome to part 2 of our "Under the Hood" series, where we're talking
this week about some of the most potent marketing and business strategies
being used in our industry today, and how YOU can use them in YOUR
business, starting today.
Today, we want to talk about e-commerce and how it pertains to that dreaded
word we keep hearing here in the U.S.: Recession.
You may have noticed in our Going Natural series and case study videos,
we're primarily talking about the success people have when applying our
Traffic and Conversion strategies to e-commerce stores.
That's not just our members, but even Brad Fallon and I are primarily
focused on e-commerce businesses. That is, businesses that sell
PHYSICAL products online, which are then shipped to paying customers.
So why do we love e-commerce so much, and what does that have to do
with the impending U.S. economic recession?
Let's look at some numbers. Bad ones first…
Gas prices are at an all time high. So much so, that rather than fill
up when they need to, incidents of people running out of gas WHILE
DRIVING are up 400%.Food prices are climbing drastically. Restaurants are altering their
menus to stay profitable, and grocery stores are having to scale back
on variety because people aren't buying as much.The U.S. Department of Labor says that over 80,000 Americans have
lost jobs so far THIS YEAR. And it's not confined to any particular
industry – cutbacks are happening across the board.Bankruptcy filings are up 50% this year, and of course you've
heard about the skyrocketing foreclosure rate nationwide.
It's nothing you won't see if you watch any major news network for 10
minutes or less.
It's a fact that many real world, brick and mortar businesses are
having to face.
The high gas prices keep people from driving around to spend money. The
higher energy costs mean a lot of families don't have enough in the budget
to spend on much of anything except bills. Less consumer spending
decreases demand, so production of new goods is scaled back. That means
fewer employees are needed, and that leads to layoffs.
Downward spiral, right?
But let's take a look at how VIRTUAL e-commerce stores are doing in this
so-called recession…
MILLIONS of new online business
were started in 2007.
Online shoppers are WEALTHIER than the average consumer. I mean, you
need a thousand dollar piece of equipment (your PC) to even participate,
and that's an indicator that online shoppers are going to have some
disposable income.
And because of that higher income rate, those folks are going to be more
resistant to any downturn in the economy.
So we're already talking about a customer base that ISN'T quite feeling the
huge pains we hear about on the news.
Meaning, even the folks that are LESS affluent are using the web
to shop… Why?
It may seem counter-intuitive, but consider – fuel prices are now so high, it
actually seems like a SAVINGS to have something shipped to your door
than to have to drive around to go get it yourself. And there's so much
"Free Shipping" to be had from Online Merchants….
E-commerce ALREADY had a ton of advantages over retail:
- no crowds
- easy comparison shopping
- lower prices
- home delivery
- shop any time, day or night
The list goes on.
Okay – cool – that's my take on it. So what?
Wait….
The gigantic and well respected Forrester Research says that:
"E-Commerce is projected to continue its double-
digit, year over year growth rate in 2008 and beyond."
What are the ACTUAL numbers there? How much are consumers REALLY
going to be spending online in the near future?
2008: $204 Billion
2009: $235 Billion
2010: $267 Billion
2011: $301 Billion
2012: $334 Billion
Add that up. In the next 4 years, over $1 TRILLION dollars are going to be
spent online by consumers – and that's over $130 Billion in GROWTH.
The fact is, if you want to make a lot of money in the next few years, there's
a LOT of cash about to be poured into a DRASTICALLY underdeveloped
marketplace.
That's why we think e-Commerce is the way to go for the SERIOUS online
entrepreneur. Whether you're starting out, or diversifying your businesses,
you need to consider this.
In our own case studies, we've shown it doesn't HAVE to be the big-time
super slick guys in suits who get wealthy off this trend. It CAN be the single
mom working two jobs, it can be the disabled retiree, it can be the struggling
personal trainer.
Forget that – it HAS BEEN those sorts of folks!
The barrier to entry is still extremely low for online business, and that is
good news for me AND you.
BUT… you need to pick the RIGHT kind of products. Even though
spending is going to rise, there are some things people just AREN'T buying
online.
It used to be extremely difficult to find reliable product sources, especially
ones that were flexible on shipping. That's a big concern for a small time
operator. If you're working out of your basement, you don't want to have to
order a cargo container worth of product to warehouse in your garage,
you know?
Before long, company formed to serve that need, and World Wide Brands
became like a catalog of catalogs for product sources. Whether you needed
to buy a ton of products up front or just needed to drop ship one piece at a
time – no matter what the product – if you wanted to sell it, WWB could
hook you up with a SOLID supplier. No factory middle-men, and no 2nd
tier resellers.
The reason I'm telling you about them today is that they've put together a
video series about how people can get started with e-commerce
starting today.
And they've taken a page from our own playbook, and they're giving the
whole video series away for f'ree!
StomperNet LOVES what WWB has done for us and our customers
ALREADY over the years, and we have nothing but the highest hopes for
what they've got in store with these videos.
I've already watched the first one myself – in fact, I may have spoiled a
little bit of it for you so far with my article here…
But at about 3:00 minutes in, Chris Malta (CEO) and Robin Cowie
(President) are going to tell you exactly how you can get in on the
ground floor in the one economic sector that's GROWING while everything
else seems to be shrinking.
Coming up tomorrow in Part 3 of our "Under the Hood" series, we're going to
talk about "Moving the F'ree Line" and we're going to answer some of the
BIGGEST questions we've gotten about the StomperNet launches, and how
you can build a SUCCESSFUL business even though you're giving away
your best stuff for f'ree.
Until then, keep Stomping!
~Andy Jenkins
