電子商務的搖錢樹

????電子商務占便宜的一點是,，當用戶進入阿里巴巴、亞馬遜,、eBay或其他流行的網購網站時,，他們希望獲得的就是購物體驗，而且也愿意為此埋單,。而搜索引擎公司和社交網絡就沒有這種優(yōu)勢了,。他們必須用間接手段獲得收入，還得面臨更大的風險，也就是說,，廣告和其他試圖獲得收入的手段會破壞用戶體驗,。

????作為電商領域的領軍者，亞馬遜主要依靠資本密集,、垂直整合的戰(zhàn)略采購存貨,，同時運營一個十分龐大的庫房和運營中心網絡。亞馬遜是一個完備的線上版零售業(yè)務,，將成品銷售視為收入和毛利的主要來源,。不過盡管亞馬遜增速迅猛，它電商業(yè)務的成功卻是以龐大的資本投入和微薄的利潤率為基礎的,。

????與之相對的是,，阿里巴巴和eBay的商業(yè)模式基礎卻是運營網上市場。這類生態(tài)系統(tǒng)主要靠牽線搭橋來運轉,，而不是和數量龐大的商戶,、批發(fā)商、生產商以及物流和快遞公司競爭,。

????比如,，阿里巴巴一直以來都在和成千上萬的中國小商戶做交易。這些商戶獲得產品銷售的收入和毛利,，而阿里巴巴的收入主要是靠基于效果的廣告和傭金,，以及一系列重要的增值服務。阿里巴巴的獨特做法是,，不向眾多商戶收取入場費,，從而把自己的收入和這些商戶的成功經營更好地掛鉤【信息披露：銀湖投資（Silver Lake）是阿里巴巴的投資者之一】。

????對絕大多數打算在中國進行在線銷售的企業(yè)來說,，加入阿里巴巴的生態(tài)系統(tǒng),、而不是與之競爭是個管用得多的戰(zhàn)略。阿里巴巴每天吸引的獨立訪客超過1億人,，他們產生的銷售收入比亞馬遜和eBay全球網站的總和還要多,，快遞包裹數則占中國半壁江山還多。其他規(guī)模較小的中國電商企業(yè)則在大型垂直購物領域選擇了亞馬遜式的發(fā)展模式,，但為了獲得增長,，它們只能砸下巨資。

E-Commerce Monetization Machine

????The blessing of e-commerce is that when users enter the domains of Alibaba, Amazon, eBay (EBAY), or other popular destinations, they anticipate a commercial experience and are prepared to pay for it. Search companies and social media networks do not share this advantage. They must generate revenue using indirect methods and face greater risks that ads and other monetization efforts will impair the user experience.

????As the pioneer in e-commerce, Amazon relies upon a capital-intensive, vertically-integrated strategy to purchase inventory and run a massive network of warehouses and fulfillment centers. Operating as the online version of a full retail operation, Amazon recognizes completed product sales as its primary source of revenues and gross profits. Yet despite Amazon's enormous growth, its e-commerce success has come at massive capital cost and thin profit margins.

????In contrast, Alibaba and eBay run business models based on operating online marketplaces. These ecosystems are based on partnering, rather than competing with a vast spectrum of merchants, wholesalers, manufacturers, and logistics and delivery companies.

????Alibaba, for example, has entered into a grand bargain with thousands of Chinese merchants. The merchants receive the product revenue and gross profit while Alibaba's revenues are generated by a combination of performance-based advertising and commissions, as well as a range of important value-added services. Alibaba uniquely has chosen not to charge listing fees to better align its revenues with the success of its merchants. (Disclosure: Silver Lake is an investor in Alibaba)

????For the majority of businesses seeking to sell online in China, joining the Alibaba ecosystem has been a more effective strategy than trying to compete with it. Alibaba attracts over 100 million daily unique visitors who generate more sales volume than the global sites of Amazon and eBay combined and more than half of the parcel deliveries in China. Other smaller Chinese online retailers have pursued Amazon-type models in large shopping verticals but have consumed extraordinary amounts of cash in order to grow.