Buyers and sellers that engage in e-commerce retail trade are no longer restricted by store hours, geographic marketing areas, or catalog mailing lists. With a few simple clicks they can gain access to a variety of goods 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Studies show that the “US ranks 3rd in annual per capita online spending at $355 per person, behind the U.K. ($578) and Denmark ($466). And when it comes to e-commerce growth, China, Brazil, and Mexico are all expecting to see increases of up to 30 percent a year for the next five years, excluding inflation.” With numbers like this it is impossible for any e-commerce site with a long-term growth strategy, to ignore the global market demands for American goods & services.
The challenge to small business centers around how to best service the needs of their global customers. Globalization is paving the way for new businesses that handle specific challenges discovered by e-commerce. International logistics is one area that can present significant obstacles for even the largest websites. Companies founded to specifically manage the details of international shipping, taxes & customs allow companies of all sizes to expand their business opportunities globally. Other companies handle site translation including currency conversion so the user experience can be seamless no matter where your customer wants to shop. Other options for consumers are third party services like MyUs.com or Borderfree.com who will provide international customers with a domestic address even a credit card issued by a domestic bank so that they can place US orders and have them shipped internationally for additional fees. Michael DeSimone, CEO of FiftyOne, the market leader in international e-commerce, says “it's a mistake to assume that customers overseas wouldn't be willing to pay higher shipping costs”.
How can the small business compete with Walmart’s low prices in an environment where price is so transparent online. Traditional business values are still very important to all customers – customer service differentiates companies where price is equal. Zappos.com, was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn after he was unable to locate a specific pair of shoes in a local mall. People 
were skeptical at first about buying shoes, a product that was considered a must try before you buy, online but that did not deter him because he knew it was a 40 billion dollar market in the US. The company instead focused their business model on service rather than price, building free shipping and return postage into their prices. They are so famous for their customer service and company culture that the Zappos Way has become an inspiration for many companies world-wide. Even though many believe that e-commerce creates more price transparency allowing well informed customers to buy solely on price, but Zappos is proof that consumers haven’t completely forgotten what good old fashioned customer service is worth. There will always be room for small business to create a niche in the market and out perform their bigger competitors. When a small business becomes so successful that the larger company can no longer compete, they buy it – Zappos was eventually acquired by Amazon after they launched their own footwear site, endless.com but failed to attract the loyal customer base away.
Smaller companies also have an advantage in their size because they are able to react to the changes market needs quicker than the larger corporations. Small businesses have a shorter value chain which is one reason they can adapt to market changes quicker than larger companies. Since many small business are run by entrepreneurs that recognized a need and created a business plan, it is in their nature to continue to innovate their market and product. That is the nature of capitalism.
While market globalization does have its challenges, I do not believe that it cannot all be viewed as negative. The positives outweigh the negatives as long as small businesses continue to think outside the box and respond to their customer’s needs, they can succeed in any market.
http://www.supplychainquarterly.com/print/scq201102monetarymatters/
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69105.html
http://www.supplychainquarterly.com/print/scq201102monetarymatters/
http://tutor2u.net/economics/revision-notes/a2-micro-growth-of-firms.html
http://geospace.co.uk/files/compass.pdf
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20101201/how-to-support-global-online-sales.html
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