Main Street businesses need to form online networks that enable them to compete with Amazon on price, convenience, and brand. E-commerce platforms Shopify, Lightspeed, Woocommerce, and Square, could enable this collaboration. For example: when one local retailer doesn't have a product in-stock, why don't they suggest another local shop that does? T... See more

this is traffic that stores are paying for already via FB, Google Ads, etc. Because Shopify already makes money through SaaS, Payments, etc, it can effectively “bundle” demand gen into its product, offering traffic at below-market rates. That could be net good for merchants, even if they may lose the occasional purchase to a competitor. The reality... See more

These successful companies in most cases weren’t true platforms, but aggregators, locking in demand and exerting central control.