There’s nothing more exciting than seeing how new eCommerce startups are changing the online purchasing experience, from buying a cup of coffee, through planning the perfect vacation, and even to taking a cab.

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Some might say that the most exciting services have already been developed. With giants like Amazon AMZN, Google GOOG, and Facebook FB firmly entrenched, and big eCommerce companies like Uber and Airbnb thriving, what role is there for new startups? In reality, the opportunity for new ecommerce startups is as great as it’s ever been. A more mature web economy requires an army of smaller companies to keep it humming along. For these companies, there is not only a great opportunity for growth and wealth creation, but also to help content providers, publishers, and other entrepreneurs tap into the incredible energy that drives web businesses.

Dozens of nascent e-commerce companies spring up weekly to compete with the thousands that are already established. It can be hard to sift through all of these web companies, so here are our favorite 10 small ecommerce startups that are helping to reshape the web economy. Before you know it, they may turn into the next billion dollar tech giants.

Neema – Taking care of the virtual currencies

Neema is a dollars to dollars banking system that uses digital currency as the middleman in the background. The front end dollar system allows this bankless market to have a solid and predictable currency standard with which to send, deposit or receive money, while carrying all the cross border, unregulated benefits of a digital currency. Neema handles all the messy conversion details in the background. Using the Neema service, users can pay online, get a credit card attached to the account, and of course, send money to other users with ease. The company is able to offer this option in a cost effective way given that it relies on a technology infrastructure based on Bitcoin. Analysts speculate that this is the next big thing in banking, despite still having difficulties and challenges since its rate is very volatile against the dollar.

The Israeli company won the first place at GKT Conference 2014, thus, securing a booth at Web Summit Ireland, the largest startup conference of its kind.

Mobilizr – What’s your selfie worth?

Most of the selfies we take usually go straight up to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter where they don’t provide any additional value, at least to the people who posted them. Mobilizr is looking to tap into this trend and reward users for the multitude of photos they snap with their smartphones.

Mobilizr created a mobile app that allows users to become “brand ambassadors” and get rewarded for the photos they post online. The idea is simple: a brand posts a campaign idea and Mobilizr users post selfies and other images along the guidelines of the campaign. Users are rewarded (with real money) for every like, share, and tweet their images generate.

Storyroll – Bringing micro-video to e-commerce

This team heralds all the way from Lithuania, and has come knocking on doors in Asia because of the opportunities the four founders see in the region. With GoPro, YouTube, and Instagram everywhere, there must be a better way to create and leverage end-user video content for product presentations and reviews. Its mobile app (now available on Android) helps small e-commerce businesses create videos to showcase their products, no matter how amateur they are, by imposing structure on video creation and editing.

All users have to do is capture video shots that follow a given storyboard, and Storyroll will stitch them into a looped micro-video, which can be uploaded and embedded in their e-commerce stores. The startup is also aiming to integrate with eBay, Shopify, Etsy, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, among others, so users can share their micro-videos there too. British fashion online retailer ASOS arguably pioneered the catwalk video in its online catalog, and Storyroll is hoping to eventually introduce such a format, as well.

MakeSpace – Your closet in the cloud

MakeSpace is a convenient, simple, on-demand storage solution that takes the “self” out of “self storage.” The company is trying to make sure you never have to visit a storage unit ever again. A friendly MakeSpace team member delivers high quality, durable, reusable plastic bins to a customer’s home which they then fill with whatever they want to store.

The team member returns and transport the customer’s bins to our secure storage facility until they decide they want them back. Just like cloud computing where users can access their data remotely, MakeSpace allows customers to access their belongings any time with a photo inventory on their smartphone or computer. Customer’s belongings can be returned to them in as little as 24 hours for a small fee.

Care.com – The leading marketplace for caregivers

Care.com (NYSE: CRCM) is the world’s largest online marketplace for finding and managing family care. As of March 2014, the Company had 10.7 million members spanning 16 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and parts of Western Europe. The company helps families address their particular lifecycle of care needs, which includes child care, senior care, special needs care, pet care, tutoring and housekeeping. Care.com’s web and mobile platforms enable families to connect to care providers and caregiving services in a reliable and easy way, while also helping care providers find meaningful work. Through its consumer matching platform, tools and resources, Care.com allows families to make more informed hiring decisions. The Company also enables families to pay caregivers electronically online or via mobile device and also subscribe to Care.com HomePay to manage their household payroll and tax matters.

Celuv – Flipboard for fashion shopping

This Korean startup touts itself as Flipboard for fashion shopping – it is an m-commerce aggregator in the form of an app (currently on Android) that lets users browse and then tap through to the site to buy anything that catches their fancy. Celuv is a partner of Asia’s top online fashion shopping merchant which starts from Korea, Singapore, and Thailand to China and Japan. The team says that it doesn’t make sense for online fashion shops, particularly the small operators, to offer their own apps, so it steps in to bring multiple stores into a single “virtual mall” on its mobile app. It also gamifies the shopping process by displaying two items at a time and asking the users to choose the one they like better. “What Flipboard and Instapaper do for news, we do for fashion shopping,” the startup says. There are plans to launch an iOS app.

Better Finance – Innovative leasing and credit solutions

Better Finance, Inc. is a financial technology company providing innovative leasing and credit solutions to consumers and small businesses online, in-store and via mobile.

Consumers rely on SmartPay, the company’s lease-to-own payment plan, to get smartphones, accessories and other high-value items. SmartPay spreads the payments over an extended term to make them more affordable.

Small businesses use SmartBiz to quickly and easily apply online for low-interest, long-term, SBA-guaranteed working capital loans between $5,000 and $150,000. The SmartBiz online application process can take less than 20 minutes and the loan can be funded in as little as 5 business days after completing the application.

Better Finance, Inc. based in San Francisco, was founded in 2009 by a team of experienced financial services entrepreneurs with backing from leading venture capital firms.

Sharewall – Social sharing as currency

One of the greatest challenges facing the Web economy is how are companies going to monetize the massive amounts of content being produced when so many aren’t willing to pay for it? Ads are always an option, but so far they aren’t generating the numbers that some publishers were used to back in the days of print. For some, the answer is to lock content down behind a paywall – you may limit your audience, but you’ll generate more revenue per individual piece of content. Sharewall is a young startup that believes there is another way. Instead of locking down content behind a paywall, users will be able to access content in exchange for a social share. The site wins because its content is passed on to a wider audience and the reader wins even more free content. Beyond that, the company is looking to build a closer relationship between publishers and readers, which will help content providers find new pathways to monetize.

Lyft – Your friend with a car

Launched in the summer of 2012, Lyft is a friendly, safe, and affordable transportation option. Passengers download the app to their iPhone or Android, sign in through Facebook, and enter a valid phone number and credit card details. When they require a ride, they open the app and see a map displaying the locations of the nearest Lyft drivers. After requesting a ride, the app shows the driver’s name, his or her rating by past passengers, and photos of the driver and their car, enabling the client to make safe and sensible travel choices. Lyft also created a community that makes transportation an uplifting experience.

Awear: Shazam for fashion items

A Tel Aviv-based fashion startup that helps you craft the perfect wardrobe with the help of a point-and-shop app. Awear Solutions, through a fun highly addictive application, enables users to precisely identify exactly what someone is wearing from up to 30 feet away. Complete with all the style details and pictures at their fingertips, they can purchase or share it right on the spot.

The unique patent-pending modules, specially curated for the fashion industry, are seamlessly embedded within the items to promote brand awareness, one on one relationships with consumers, and impulse purchases at every turn, while simultaneously providing companies with real-time consumer data.

According to the company, the most significant advantage is the rewards. Every time someone grabs an item they scanned, the owner of the scanned item will receive some fashion points which they can convert to various discounts or benefits. In other words, every person on the street can become an ambassador of the brand, and also get paid. Awear recently won the audience choice award at GKT Conference 2014.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Man holding tablet pc and credit card indoor, Shopping Online