Every year, entrepreneurs are identifying new business models to find and serve customers in niche areas. Amazon and Walmart are automating their in-store business. Many e-commerce players like Everlane, Casper, Lenscart etc. are extending themselves to innovative physical stores for more orders.

Whether you are a bootstrapped startup or a retail giant, understanding the top running industry models is your key to success. You should also have a grasp on DevOps, Progressive web apps etc. which are helping retailers get ahead in emerging economies. E-commerce giants are investing more in technology and expert teams. There are existing and new models which are going to stay on top.

The Big List is as below:

1. Single Vendor Manufacturer – Operated by a manufacturer to sell their products. ex: Dell
2. Daily Deal – Daily offers on specific product categories. ex: Daddy Deals
3. Group Buying – Intended for group-based purchases. ex: Groupon
4. Flash Sales – Offers appearing for a short span. ex: Gilt
5. Single Vendor Facilitator – Stores and sells handpicked items from group of manufacturers. ex: Bluestone
6. Single Vendor Inventory – Stores large volume of inventory sourced from manufacturers. ex: Myntra
7. Single Vendor Drop-Shipping – Procures and delivers custom built products sourced from manufacturers after receiving orders. ex: Caratlane
8. Single Vendor Multi-Brand Store – Showcases a multi-brand store of products. ex: Williampenn
9. Multi-Vendor Fulfilment – Multiple retailers to showcase their products and portal manages fulfilment. ex: Amazon
10. Multi-Vendor Managed – Marketplace where merchants sell and do fulfilment themselves. ex: Flipkart

11. Multi-Vendor Special – Marketplaces with niche offerings. ex: Sparefoot
12. Social Product Marketplace – Producers and Buyers interact directly for C2C products. ex: eCrater
13. Social Service Marketplace – Service providers and Buyers interact directly for C2C services. ex: Fiverr
14. Coupons – Coupons for other e-commerce portals or retail shops. ex: Cuponation
15. Deal Aggregator – Showcases interesting deals from other e-commerce sites. ex: Desidime
16. Price Comparison – Compares pricing in different portals for same product ex. Scandid
17. Gift Vouchers – Gift Cards for major retail stores or e-commerce sites. ex: Yougotagift
18. Cashbacks – Get cashback on purchases from major e-commerce sites. ex: Cashkaro
19. Social Business Directory – Service providers reviewed and suggested by customers. ex: Zomato
20. Social Networking – Where likely minded people interact and exchange information and are charged for premium services or ads. ex: Xing

21. Social Networking for Niche – Platform for niche groups such as a neighbourhood. ex: Nextdoor
22. Multi-level Marketing – Anyone can become a sales representative and earn rewards for promoting MLM sales. ex: Avon
23. Real Estate – Verified listing of real estate properties in an area. ex: Trulia
24. Real Estate Deals – Listing site which shows chosen property price deals ex: Movoto
25. Real Estate Rent – Lists properties or spaces for rent. ex: Airbnb
26. Real Estate Social – Social portal to engage residents in properties. ex: Adda
27. Subscription Commerce – Periodic delivery of specific category of products based on long-term subscription. ex: Birchbox
28. Subscription Commerce Aggregator – Handpicked subscription packages from different providers. ex: Mysubscriptionaddiction
29. Closed Group Reward Program – Offers for a closed segment of users usually associated with a firm. ex: DubaiFirst
30. Product Rent – Get high-value items for a short period at affordable prices. Renttherunway

31. After Market Circulation – Customers get second-hand products at marginal prices. ex: Chegg
32. Hotel Booking – Finds the best accommodation at a destination. ex: Hotels.ng
33. Hotel Booking Deals – Offers on accommodation at a destination. ex: Scoopon
34. Creative Commerce – Products can be customised and ordered online. ex: Nike
35. Auction – Customers compete and determine the highest price to be paid for items. ex: Shopgoodwill
36. Reverse Auction – Sellers compete and bring down the pricing to win customers. ex: Fedbid
37. Classified Advertisement C2C – Customer interact each other for selling their used or un-boxed items. ex: Quikr
38. Food Ordering – Order food items from menu of top restaurants in an area. ex: Uber Eats
39. Grocery Delivery – Order fresh groceries to be delivered to home. ex: Instacart
40. Grab & Go – Customers can go in, grab products and just walk out from store while they are billed automatically online. ex: Amazon Go

41. Events and Tickets – Know and book events in advance. ex: Ticketmaster
42. Click & Collect – Buy online and pick up at a local store [Also known as BOPUS]. ex: Johnlewis
43. Multi-Channel – Enhances in-store purchases with additional online options. ex: Marksandspencer
44. Crowd-Funding – Sourcing investment from individual users for interesting propositions. ex: Kickstarter
45. Crowd-Sourcing – Shared economy concept platform where users share their assets and make earnings from them. ex: Blablacar
46. Wholesale – Customers are able to procure products at wholesale prices directly. ex: RoseWholeSale
47. Gift Registry – Add selected products to an online registry and source funds by sharing with acquaintances. Others can also gift items by adding to registry of receiver. ex: Myregistry
48. Unboxed – Products that are unboxed or refurbished for reasons other than defects. ex: Greendust
49. Online Wallet – Users can keep digital money to share and make purchases both online or in-store. ex: Paytm
50. Cab Booking – Book and pay for Cabs with ease. ex: Uber

If you’ve identified an online store idea with a fabulous growth potential, it’s a really good start. But what about the e-commerce model that you need to zero in? Which of the above models you would like to explore more?