For many consumers, online retail is now an essential part of how they shop. For hard to find items and good deals, most people will immediately look online and see what their options are. Recently, online shopping kingpin Amazon surpassed Wal-Mart in revenue making it one of the biggest retailers in the world - all from a website and warehouses.
For consumers, looking online has become the first step in making a purchase. In 2007, online retail sales in the US amounted to $175 billion and that figure's expected to grow to $370 billion by 2017. However, e-commerce hasn't always been taken seriously. Despite its incredible growth, no one wants to believe that the next Google will begin in someone's basement.
Gap and Staples, once proud retailers have closed hundreds of their locations throughout 2015. RadioShack, one of the last remaining stores of its kind, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and Barnes and Noble isn't far behind. And still 28% of large media companies believe that online stores are unimportant to their business and another 16% are uninterested in working alongside digital content to boost their growth.
It's hard to believe that after so many years of uncontested growth there are still those that refuse to see the power of web as a viable platform for consumers. The economic force of the online business is paving the way for future business owners, leveling the playing field for young minds with great ideas. Today, you don't need a storefront to make it big.