Online shopping is not new to the world. It has been here for more than two decades. However, consumers only really began to adapt to the new shopping trends in the last decade as it became apparent that it was necessary in order to keep up with the rapid technological advances.

Nonetheless, the tables appear to be turning based on developments during the last couple of years. It’s no longer about consumers adapting to new shopping trends, but rather, it’s about online shopping companies adapting to consumer behavior.

This does not only involve creating omnichannel online shopping platforms but also, studying closely the decision-making process of the modern consumer. These days, consumers will look for products reviews before they decide on whether to make a purchase.

Consumers also peruse several online platforms like DontPayFull.com which lists promo codes for various companies including Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN ), eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), and Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN ), among others to seek the most lucrative promotional offers and online coupons. And in some cases, they even go a step further and ask some of their friends who happen to have acquired the same product to give their opinions and ratings.

Therefore, in order to succeed as an online shopping company, these days it is not enough to have a fancy platform that claims to provide the best products at the cheapest prices. It’s all about building a good reputation with your customers and by extension your partners. Feedback-based decision-making is now the order of the day in the e-commerce marketplace. eBay has already realized this and has therefore changed the format of its seller fees and compensation program.

In February, last year, the company revealed that its approach had changed from the auction-driven revenue model to a subscription-based model. eBay President and CEO, Devin Wenig, said that the company was working on a more structured format that would help customers find the products they are looking for easily, especially when searching via a smartphone.

And early this year, the company increased subscription fees by about $20.00 while at the same time increasing the number of products that a seller could sell under a given package. This move seeks to encourage eBay sellers to increase their sales. As for eBay, the fixed subscription packages ensure that the company is able to project future cash flows and revenues more accurately thereby giving it the flexibility to explore opportunities in other business segments.

The company will also be able to deal with the challenging changes in consumer behavior more buoyantly as it seeks to go toe-to-toe with Amazon in the rapidly growing global e-commerce marketplace.

Based on recent data, at least 87% of internet users in the UK bought a product online last year, and the figure for the rest of Europe stands at about 66%. Now, while eBay and Amazon were among the very first disruptors of this intriguing market, the latter, could easily be mistaken to be at least a decade older. In the UK, Amazon ranks highly as an online shopping platform when compared to eBay while the latter is the dominant player in Australia. In the US, it’s not been a straight-up battle because, ideally, both companies have different approaches to the market. In some areas, people will tell you that eBay is more successful than Amazon, whereas others believe that Amazon is by far the biggest e-commerce player in North America.

The bottom line is that if you look at the two companies’ market valuations, then there is no contest really. Amazon easily trumps eBay.

Conclusion

In summary, there is a lot of competition in the online shopping marketplace, but the biggest threat to a company sustaining its performance in the industry is the ability to adapt to the changes in consumer behavior rather than the size or financial muscles of their rivals.

Right now, Amazon is by far the biggest player, but even smaller players like Groupon have found ways to exist in this market due to their ability to match their products to customer profiles. eBay has embarked on a similar project to help consumers find what they need easily, and this could be the key to unlocking its undoubted potential to take on Amazon globally.