Is the buy, throw, buy model in decline? It may be that the tendency to reuse things, repair them and not buy what you don’t need has accelerated, because the consumer is more aware that the environment is being revealed. It’s a complex process because the capitalist, consumerist society is going in the opposite direction. The concept of “because you’re worth it” is very strong, and advertising is very harsh on those who don’t buy what they want. But there are many people who are thinking contrary to what society is supposed to want, and above all they are not afraid to admit it.
The consumer is evolving to a greater awareness of what they are buying, where they come from, what their carbon footprint is, what packaging they bring, etc. In this last concept the packaging is very significant, since online shipments cause a brutal expense of single-use packaging, sometimes heavier than the product itself, several products arriving on the same day and each with different packaging, which clearly could come together.
The ecommerce can and should take advantage of these circumstances to differentiate brands and shops. Fighting against the big market can be complicated in price, shipping, quantity of products, etc, but can be done with conscience. And it is something that these marketplaces have lost. They can never be identified as places of purchase with ecological criteria, or social awareness. Only a small online shop, with a few hundred products, perhaps handcrafted, can include concepts such as convenience shops, reduction of packaging, use of recyclable materials, help for the environment, biodegradable materials, ecological products, seasonal products, reduction of the use of plastics, etc….
You have to take advantage of the benefits of being small. Increase the marketing in that point. It’s not competing for price, nor for express delivery. Sell quality and ecology and earn your share of the target. The large market will lose its share in the long term precisely because it is large, and that size prevents it from encompassing a concept associated with the small.
