It was 2009, all excited, we opened a brand new shop. Full of hopes and ambitions, not knowing what the market was like, we quickly jumped into e-commerce.
We laughed at the thought of the limited amount of e-commerce websites in Lebanon: such a wasted opportunity, right? Wrong.
A major lesson in market selection (recalling post-graduate Marketing lessons) is that when you think you found an untapped market that seems like a great investment... well, think again.
There's a reason why all those investors have avoided it... and this was a fact. They weren't stupid, uneducated, or incapable, as many highly active Lebanese internet users seem to think. They knew better. They knew that the market was not ready yet.
We carefully went for "payment upon delivery"considering the Lebanese reluctance of paying online. Well, guess what? It was not just the online payment that seemed to be the barrier. Lebanese really like to be guided in their purchases. Very few online purchases were completed without a prior phone call!
"Hello, I would like to buy this item on page 3, do you think it's a nice color?"
"Hello, what do you think of this product? Would it be nice for my father?"
Case in point - 1 - Lebanese like to have a second opinion. The salesperson seems to be a must.
-Hello, I was on your webiste, there's this item I want to buy...
-There's something called "add to cart" and then you get a form to fill.
-Yes, but since I called, do you mind taking the information?
Case in point - 2 - Lebanese seem to dislike self-service? Or maybe they just cannot deal with procedures?
Whatever the reason, the lack of e-commerce websites in Lebanon is mainly due to a resistance from the market rather than from the organizations. The field is not as lucrative as it may appear to be; unless you offer some really good incentives for people to go for an online bargain... Something that Groupon-like models have successfully adopted.
