Adrian and Renaud examine how small e-commerce sellers surged in popularity between 2015 and 2021 and why many are now struggling. They discuss the boom in dropshipping, the impact of rising advertising costs, the dominance of big brands, and how platforms like Amazon, Meta, and Google have changed the game. This episode explores why success has become increasingly challenging to attain for small to medium-sized e-commerce sellers and what strategies can still be effective.

00:00 – Introduction

01:28 – From 2015 to 2020: The e-commerce gold rush

03:08 – The dropshipping and ODM model: Opportunities and pitfalls

06:17 – Post-COVID Challenges

07:38 – Advertising Costs and Market Changes

09:02 – Online ads were cheap… until they weren’t

10:34 – Big brands enter e-commerce and dominate paid ads

11:00 – Brand trust drives better ROAS and lower ad costs

12:49 – Rising CPC trends from Google, Amazon, and Meta

15:26 – Ad costs spike during peak seasons, another burden

16:00 – Amazon’s costs and risks: Fulfillment, storage, bad reviews

19:47 – Challenges for small sellers vs. household-name brands

21:06 – Bigger budgets = better ad performance due to AI

23:39 – Strategies for Small E-Commerce Sellers

27:02 – Platform dependence: Sellers get squeezed from all sides

34:34 – Can small sellers still succeed—and how?

• • Connect with us on LinkedIn