From cost efficiency to measurable profitability in e-commerce

Profitable e-commerce: What causes many companies to fail

When will your online business (finally) start turning a profit? The basis for this is undoubtedly a cost-efficient shop system with an attractive total cost of ownership (TCO). However, this alone is no guarantee of increasing sales and profits.

What slows down the success of many companies is the lack of a clear connection between technological possibilities and business opportunities. On closer inspection, however, the reasons for missing targets are as varied as the business models, industries, and requirements of the companies themselves. In B2B or B2C, the challenges and levers can be very different. Decisive factors that need to be examined more closely include, for example:

• market environment and competition
• product and pricing strategy
• logistics and supply chain management
• understanding the target group, including retention, marketing strategies, and the quality of digital sales and service
• customer experience and brand image
• extent and speed of innovation and adaptability

In addition, there is often a problem that should not be underestimated: missing data, poor data quality, and, last but not least, a lack of KPIs and metrics. Without valid data or data-based performance measurement and strategy, every business is a high-risk gamble.

What are the strongest levers for profitability in B2B and B2C?

In B2B commerce, the technical complexity is usually higher, as complex order processes with many dependencies often have to be digitally mapped. Many B2B companies fail to transfer this complexity to the digital world and thus to raise the quality of consulting from offline business to online channels. This often leads to the self-service concept of an e-commerce or customer platform being limited to less complex ordering processes and, in case of doubt, only shifting sales from the offline to the online world without really exploiting the sales potential of digital touchpoints.

In the B2C environment, the technical hurdles tend to be lower – which does not mean that there are no complex business models here that place high demands on the underlying technology components and architecture. But whenever relatively simple, understandable products are the focus, other factors determine whether a business is profitable: the visibility of the brand and offerings, clear messages across all omnichannel touchpoints, high-quality traffic, and – against the backdrop of maximum transparency – pricing.

The following applies to both B2B and B2C: The platform must solve real challenges facing the company and address genuine problems or needs of customers. However, before attempting to tackle specific challenges technically in order to achieve set goals, I should always ask myself whether the real levers for greater profitability might not (also) be found elsewhere.

How does the tech stack drive profitability in e-commerce?

It sounds wild, but in practice we sometimes see that companies still struggle to provide reliable information about delivery times digitally, and that in case of doubt, a phone call to a service representative is still necessary. The question of whether this results in lost sales potential is easy to answer. In most cases, technology is not the limiting factor: it is the processes that have not yet been adapted to the new digital reality.

In other words, technology can be a powerful lever for delivering high-quality advice and value-adding customer experiences. However, without the necessary adjustments in the background, the tech stack – no matter how cost-efficient it is on paper – remains primarily a cost factor rather than becoming a revenue lever.

How can optimization potential be identified – and exploited?

The basis for targeted optimization is always access to data. The better and faster companies can understand data, KPIs, and correlations, the clearer it becomes to identify, prioritize, and leverage potential. Therefore, it is generally advisable to first take stock of the situation as part of a structured assessment.

A proven tool for identifying, quantifying, and planning measures for digital levers is, for example, a performance audit as part of a holistic digital commerce consultation: We use a framework that helps to identify digital optimization potential. Based on six key business and IT dimensions, operational and strategic areas of action can be derived that aim to achieve short-term efficiency gains and long-term strategic competitive advantages.

Which e-commerce trends are crucial for long-term success?

AI, AI, and more AI. The speed at which AI technologies are developing is enormous. Intelligent tools not only automate, accelerate, and streamline processes; AI will also change the pace at which companies can respond to changes in customer behavior. This is about true hyper-personalization on a 1:1 basis. Another prerequisite for this is data. In a market that will be increasingly dominated by AI agents in the future, companies must succeed in making their data usable for AI and leveraging the resulting potential with the help of technology. Against the backdrop of a world increasingly shaped by AI, it is difficult to predict what digital points of contact with customers will look like in a few years’ time. Your own IT and architecture should therefore have a certain potential for chameleon-like adaptability in order to avoid falling behind in case of doubt.

Are you still looking for the right levers to increase profitability in e-commerce?

Let’s talk about your current challenges and work together to find out how you can make your online business cost-efficient and profitable in 2026.