Online Retail Store Business

Online Retail Store Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 10th, 2024

Are you considering breaking into the world of ecommerce? Launching an online retail store might be your best move. In simple terms, an online retail store involves selling products via a virtual storefront.

You'll need to select a platform, like Shopify or WooCommerce, where you can display your products, categorize them, and manage customer transactions. While setting up is relatively straightforward, the real work involves curating inventory, handling marketing, and ensuring excellent customer service.

The potential here is immense; there’s a diverse range of products you could choose to sell based on your interests and market demand. Think niche markets or trending items. Whether it's boutique clothing, handcrafted goods, or tech gadgets, your online store could capture a piece of the burgeoning ecommerce market. If you're ready for the challenge, an online retail store offers plenty of opportunities for growth and creativity.

In this list, you'll find real-world online retail store business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a online retail store business that makes money.

1. OXO Packaging ($6M/year)

Salman Shahid, a digital marketing expert, came up with the idea for OXO Packaging after realizing the demand for sustainable custom packaging. With the global packaging industry predicted to reach $1.3 trillion in the next 10 years, Shahid saw an opportunity for success. Now, OXO Packaging brings in an average revenue of $500,000 per month with the goal of becoming the best custom packaging manufacturer in their target markets.

How much money it makes: $6M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 0

How A Marketer Started A $500K/Month Custom Packaging Business

OXO Packaging is a successful custom packaging manufacturer generating an impressive $500,000 per month in revenue with around 40-50 orders per month, and aims to become the top packaging manufacturer in the USA and Australia.

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2. Dance Dress Couture ($96K/year)

Duffy Betterton and her business partner, Debi Camp, started Dance Dress Couture after realizing the demand for ballroom dance dresses while competing as amateur dancers. After successfully selling dresses through their website and traveling to competitions, they had the idea to launch The Ballroom Box, a subscription service for ballroom dancers. They tested the idea with a small run of Christmas gift boxes and officially launched in July 2020, steadily growing their subscriber base and expanding their offerings.

How much money it makes: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $250
How many people on the team: 0

How We Started A Niche Business For Ballroom Dancers And Pivoted When Our Industry Shut Down

Learn how Dance Dress Couture launched The Ballroom Box, a quarterly subscription box targeted to the ballroom competitive industry, and grew it to double the number of subscribers with each box released, while also providing tips on attracting and retaining customers.

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3. Scotty's Cigars ($78K/year)

Scotty, the founder of an online business selling cigars and tobacco products, got his start in the tobacco business with a small kiosk in a local mall. Seeing the success of big companies like Amazon and eBay, as well as the opportunity with pipes and pipe tobacco, he decided to jump into e-commerce in 1999. Over the years, he made strategic shifts in product selection and rebranding, navigating changes in regulations and market demand, to build a successful online business.

How much money it makes: $78K/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 6

How I Started A $6.5K/Month Premium Cigars And Tobacco Ecommerce

Entrepreneur Scotty shares how he started an online business in 1999 selling premium cigars and pipe tobacco, eventually becoming the largest direct-to-consumer distributor of pipe tobacco in the USA and generating over $6.5k/month in revenue, and how he pivoted his business from RYO supplies to premium cigars and tobacco products.

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Read by 10,765 founders