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by Peter Cooper

Merely developing an e-commerce site nowadays doesn't ensure its success. In fact, it could be a costly mistake for your company. "Slow down!" I hear you cry. "Everyone else is telling us to get onto the Web and implement e-commerce as soon as possible!" Hold back that enthusiasm for a second, and let me explain.

The Year 2000 has been a dangerous year for e-commerce. Thousands of employees have lost their jobs and scores of popular sites have folded. These are volatile times. Not everything is bad, as Riyaj Shaik's article The Future of eCommerce tells us. Still, rushing headlong into a new e-commerce venture isn't wise. But, believe it or not, a bit of American history can actually help us put a bit of perspective on things.

The Gold Rush Story

Think back to the legendary gold rush ages. The prospectors are enthusiastically running back and forth across the land trying to get rich. However, we all know that the people who eventually did become rich from the gold rush were those who set up shops and services along the routes which the prospectors used. In essence, the retail industry boomed. But, the retailers were selling to the people that the prospectors attracted, as well as to the prospectors themselves. Effectively a business to business (B2B) market.

Imagine someone who opens a general store on a busy section of a prospecting route, with no competition nearby. The shop is inundated with business and hungry prospectors. Compare this to Amazon.com when it launched. Similar, isn't it?