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My thesis today, however, is that there is an opportunity for online merchants to build a sort of brand relationship with consumers, and that this opportunity hinges on stellar customer service. Those online stores and retailers who engender the trust of consumers should, under this thesis, obtain a measure of loyalty from those consumers. This thesis will be easy to test – if it’s true, the merchants who succeed will be able to charge higher prices than those who fail. If, on the other hand, Zappos and those like them, are exactly price-competitive with the field, then the correct conclusion will be that great customer service is actually a red herring. As a consumer, I certainly hope this isn’t true, and as an investor I hope the same thing, since I continue to look for online commerce businesses that have an opportunity to build something truly defensible over time.

-Eric Weisen

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