Why have so many online retailers had difficulty in achieving profits? How has this changed by 2016?

There are several reasons for the difficulties experienced by many online retailers in achieving profits. The path to success in any form of retail involves having a central location to attract a larger number of shoppers, charging high enough prices to cover the costs of goods as well as marketing, and developing highly efficient inventory and fulfillment systems so the company can offer goods at lower costs than competitors and still make a profit. Many online merchants failed to follow these fundamental ideas, lowering prices below the total costs of goods and operations, failing to develop efficient business processes, failing to attract a large enough audience to their websites, and spending far too much on customer acquisition and marketing. Now, however, the lessons of the past have been learned, and far fewer online merchants are selling below cost, especially if they are start-up companies. There's also been a change in consumer culture and attitudes. In the past, consumers looked to the Web for cheap prices. However, by 2016, consumers now look to online purchasing for convenience, time savings, and time shifting (buying retail goods at night from the sofa). Consumers have been willing to accept higher prices in return for the convenience of shopping online and avoiding the inconvenience of shopping at stores and malls. As a result, online merchants are afforded more pricing freedom.