The Rise and Struggles of Smaller E-Commerce Sellers: Lessons from 2015 to Now

Adrian and Renaud examine how small e-commerce sellers surged in popularity between 2015 and 2021 and why many are now struggling. They discuss the boom in dropshipping, the impact of rising advertising costs, the dominance of big brands, and how platforms like Amazon, Meta, and Google have changed the game. This episode explores why success has become increasingly challenging to attain for small to medium-sized e-commerce sellers and what strategies can still be effective.

 

Show Sections

• 00:00 – Introduction

• 01:28 – From 2015 to 2020: The e-commerce gold rush

• 03:08 – The dropshipping and ODM model: Opportunities and pitfalls

• 06:17 – Post-COVID Challenges

• 07:38 – Advertising Costs and Market Changes

• 09:02 – Online ads were cheap… until they weren’t

• 10:34 – Big brands enter e-commerce and dominate paid ads

• 11:00 – Brand trust drives better ROAS and lower ad costs

• 12:49 – Rising CPC trends from Google, Amazon, and Meta

• 15:26 – Ad costs spike during peak seasons, another burden

• 16:00 – Amazon’s costs and risks: Fulfillment, storage, bad reviews

• 19:47 – Challenges for small sellers vs. household-name brands

• 21:06 – Bigger budgets = better ad performance due to AI

• 23:39 – Strategies for Small E-Commerce Sellers

• 27:02 – Platform dependence: Sellers get squeezed from all sides

• 34:34 – Can small sellers still succeed—and how?

• 42:10 – Building a Brand and Community

 

Related content...

• Google Ads Statistics for 2024: Usage, Demographics & CPCs – DemandSage
• Top Cost Per Click (CPC) Statistics 2024 – Amra and Elma LLC
• Brand Performance: Maximizing Ad ROI – Search Engine Land
• Branded vs Non-Branded Keywords: The Impact on Your Marketing Strategy – QuickCreator
• The TikTok Shop Era of Super-Subsidies Is Ending – WIRED
• 2025 Trend: Mounting Pressure to Squeeze the Long Tail in Retail Media – eMarketer
• The Ecommerce Experiment: How I Spent $11K and Sold 4 Items on Amazon – Business Insider

 

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• • Connect with us on LinkedIn
  • Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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