Online Shopping Sites That Never Quite Made it (and Why)
The relatively brief history of the Internet is littered with stories of dot-com flameouts -- companies that blew through millions of dollars in Venture Capital funding before riding off into the bankruptcy sunset. Most notable of these failed companies were the online retailers who bragged about their Super Bowl ads, but generated little sales from their monumental branding campaigns. Here's a few selections from the hall of shame.
Pets.com
One of the trademark stories from the crash of the first Internet bubble, Pets.com looked like a sure thing. Plenty of cash, a Super Bowl and an unforgettable sock-puppet mascot all placed this pet food delivery service into the minds of millions of Americans. The problem was, nobody stopped to think about whether or not the business model was sound. Turns out, it wasn't, as people didn't really want to wait for the pet food and supplies to arrive via UPS. The company went under after only a year and a half in business.
Webvan.com
In 1999, Webvan.com was the darling of the Internet world. The online grocer raised almost 400 million dollars in less than six months and looked to be on its way to Internet success. But a funny thing happened along the way -- people just didn't warm up to the idea of shopping for grocery essentials online. The grocery business has very thin margins to begin with, so every time Webvan used a special offer to entice customers, it fell that much deeper into debt. The company closed with little fanfare in 2001.
eToys.com
Although eToys.com was eventually reborn after being purchased by KayBee Toys, the first iteration of the site experienced one of the most spectacular flame-outs in web history. Simply put, the company used the bulk of its $150 million is start-up capital to advertise and build the brand. When the customers didn't come, the stock price sank to nine cents a share. Closure soon followed.
MVP.com
How could a sporting goods and apparel site backed by athletic luminaries such as John Elway, Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky fail? Easy, if you don't have any significant sales growth and can't pay back your loan/investment from partner CBS. Despite a ton of initial PR and almost a $100 million in VC capital, MVP.com closed up shop for good after a single year in business.
Boo.com
The women's clothing company Boo.com was ahead of its time...but not in a good way. The site used Flash and JavaScript heavily at a time when very few people had high-speed Internet connections. As a result, shoppers became frustrated and turn away from the site in droves. Boo.com posted a loss of $160 million dollars before it was liquidated in 2000.
Why Online Shopping Gets in Right in 2009
The Web 2.0 era has been the scene of more online retailer success stories because now, innovative thinking and real customer growth has replaced "pie in the sky" big ideas that generate no money. Auction houses, overstock companies and deal of the day websites are enjoying success in 2009 because they are smart business models that go easy on the "bells and whistles" and instead deliver no-frills discount shopping to an army of consumers. The web has come a long way since these dot-com-busts, and as such, online shoppers are now treated to more secure websites with better selections and more incredible savings.
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