E-commerce players must differentiate from big three or fall behind

Mid-market online retailers must differentiate in order to survive against the might of Amazon, Alibaba and eBay. That was the message from Patrick Wall, Founder and Director, MetaPack, in his keynote speech at The Delivery Conference in London this week. 

Wall said that the three main marketplaces were predicted to dominate up to 40% of the e-commerce market by 2020. “The only way retailers and brands can avoid the dangerous middle ground in the e-commerce sector is to drive a distinct proposition,” he said. “This can be based on cost, or differentiation based on specialisation, range authority, brand loyalty, design or experience.” 

Sir Ian Cheshire, Chairman of Debenhams, added: “Amazon looms extremely large in our market by thinking differently and driving change. They are a player with a commitment to innovation which is quite extraordinary, and as retailers we have to add value and work out where to focus, where to invest and where to be flexible.” 

The winners of the Delivery Excellence Awards were also announced at the conference. In the ‘E-commerce Retailers’ category Asos won Best Use of Innovation and PrettyLittleThing was awarded Best Domestic or International Delivery Options. In the ‘E-commerce Delivery Partners’ category, ReBOUND won Best Use of Returns and On the Dot took home the Best Use of Innovation award, and CollectPlus landed Best Customer Experience. Finally, in the ‘E-commerce’ category, Best Newcomer went to BeautyBay.