X + Y = profitability in e-commerce: variables for greater cost efficiency

Tight budgets, increasing cost pressure and uncertain future prospects: In 2025, companies are navigating a tightrope between increasingly complex challenges and the need to position themselves profitably. What strategies and systems will help to build real business value and limit operating costs? Why is waiting often the most expensive approach? Let’s explore and seize the opportunities for a profitable online business together.

Growth opportunities in uncertain times

The number of users in online commerce continues to rise, yet at the start of 2025, companies find themselves in a situation marked by uncertainty: increasing consumer price sensitivity and global competitors drive up customer acquisition costs. Added to this are rising operating costs, energy and raw material prices, as well as complex supply chains, which especially affect B2B commerce. “Companies should focus on profitability – otherwise they are at risk,” warned Handelsblatt just over a year ago. Even major players in e-commerce are still finding it difficult to position themselves accordingly.

Ways out of the e-commerce dilemma

Developments and forecasts for digital commerce sharpen the need to optimize processes and increase cost efficiency. Disruptive technologies and concepts such as Composable Commerce, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Data Centricity open up immense possibilities in both B2B and B2C environments but also require targeted investments in modernizing digital infrastructure. Keywords such as automation, personalization, and omnichannel integration are essential to meet the demands of markets and customers today and in the future. Innovative sales and marketing channels such as self-service portals, which meet the expectations for excellent shopping experiences and quick, reliable service, are also gaining importance.

Diverse approaches for diverse industry challenges

In the race for market share, integrating new, cost-efficient solutions into one’s system landscape in the long run is inevitable. No action is not an option. But what works for one may be entirely the wrong approach for another.

Challenges in e-commerce are as diverse as the industries themselves. While the fashion sector, for example, struggles with immense return rates, the demands on speed, quality and sustainability are growing in the food and beauty commerce industries. The lifestyle sector is increasingly influenced by the demand for individual experiences and personalized products. Wholesale and the automotive industry, among others, face complex sales and logistics processes, while the manufacturing industry needs to minimize maintenance efforts.

Enabler for more cost efficiency in e-commerce

In digital commerce, technologies are a strategic tool to meet these diverse challenges. They help uncover and resolve inefficiencies, optimize shopping experiences across all channels, and tap into new revenue streams while containing operating costs and keeping the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as low as possible. However, those who understand and want to use technologies as drivers for measurable business success must also advance system selection as a strategic process. This should be guided by a multidimensional view and supported by clear evaluation criteria.

Inaction also costs money

What should not be forgotten in the justification of investments: Objective budget determination and allocation also require an integrated approach that considers not only individual KPIs but also views the implications of a technology change from multiple perspectives. The profitability equation only adds up in the long run if, in addition to initial and ongoing expenses, metrics such as opportunity costs and the Total Cost of Delay are considered.

Every euro counts: Using budgets correctly and reducing TCO

The question remains: Which strategies, trends, and technologies are real value drivers for your online business in 2025? Detailed answers and concrete solutions for the challenges in eight key industries are provided in our new whitepaper “Navigating the Tech-Universe”. Case studies and best practices illustrate how you can effectively meet the challenges of your industry in the coming months, contain TCO, and prepare your e-business for the future.