Have you ever wanted to know how other ecommerce sellers are doing in this economy? Are you curious if some of the challenges you face are similar to what your peers are experiencing? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from ecommerce business leader and entrepreneur, Andrew Youderian. In his conversation with Scott, Andrew opens up about how he got started in ecommerce, the results of his 2018 State of the Merchant eCommerce Report, common challenges that sellers like you are facing, and much more! Don’t miss a minute of this informative episode featuring Andrew! Amazon, foe or friend? Many ecommerce sellers wrestle with the issue of Amazon, is it good for business or is it bad for business in the long term? This question comes from a place of uncertainty for many sellers, they don’t know if their business is safe for the long term relying solely on Amazon. What’s the answer, is Amazon a foe or a friend? According to Scott and Andrew, it depends! While Amazon remains a wonderful platform to get your brand up and running, it is dangerous to place all of your eggs in one basket! Hear more from Scott and Andrew about this important topic by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! What is a brand? How would you define an ecommerce brand? Is a product that you are selling online or is it something else? What separates a brand from a line of products? Is there a distinction? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Andrew Youderian as he provides his definition of an ecommerce brand. According to Andrew, an ecommerce brand is a proprietary product or service, something that you can offer that other people can’t. An ecommerce brand can even include a white-labeled product that is differentiated from what’s available on the marketplace. Get more helpful information from Andrew’s valuable perspective by listening to this episode! Why digital products are a no-brainer. What if there was a product that you could sell with very little overhead costs and a huge ROI? Does that sound too good to be true? It doesn’t have to be! While the number of ecommerce sellers featuring digital products has dipped in the last year, it doesn’t mean that the effort isn’t worth the investment! In fact, if you can produce a digital product like an ebook or a small report that provides value to your customer base, you’d be crazy not to give it a shot. Both Andrew and Scott are huge fans of leveraging digital products to support your brand, hear more about their perspective on this subject by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! The state of the ecommerce industry. Scott often gets asked the question, “Is there still an opportunity to build an ecommerce business or am I too late?” At the heart of this question is another question, “What is the state of the ecommerce industry?” While Scott has his own thoughts and answers to this question, Andrew Youderian has gone through the trouble to create an in-depth report. Covering facets like fastest and slowest growing ecommerce categories, common challenges for sellers, and more, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to learn from Andrew’s valuable report. Check out Andrew’s report located in the resources section at the end of this post! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:00] Scott runs through the background of his guest, Andrew Youderian. [4:00] Andrew talks about how he got started selling online. [6:15] What’s the status of the ecommerce industry? [8:30] The attitude toward Amazon among many ecommerce entrepreneurs. [11:15] How are most sellers driving traffic? [14:20] Scott & Andrew talk about the fastest & slowest growing ecommerce categories. [18:20] Andrew shares some surprising findings from his ecommerce report. [21:45] Is the public comfortable buying off of Amazon? [23:15] What is a brand according to Andrew? [26:00] Common challenges for ecommerce business owners. [31:00] Are