When the mainstream media starts recognizing the impact of e-commerce (and off and on, they do), you know our industry is getting big, and the evolution is really worth talking about – for everyone.

Forbes Magazine published an article today entitled, “New Rules For E-Commerce.” The author, Will Hsu, co-founder of MuckerLab, an LA-based startup accelerator, says there are lots of reasons why it’s taken the e-commerce world more than 15 years to shape up. Among them:

– New paid and social customer acquisition channels – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, celebrity endorsements.

– Amazon’s gigantic foot print has finally matured and slowed (transformation into a marketplace, SKU focused, free/fast shipping.)

– Skills sets that used to exist in very different fields but necessary to win in retail and e-tail has finally converged into the same “entrepreneur,” including online acquisition, merchandizing, user interface and supply chain management.

He goes on to list several lessons we as an industry have learned, like how razor thin our margins can be and how difficult logistics and supply chain for e-commerce businesses can be. He’s the expert though – read his words here and tell me what you think. I’m always eager to learn from those in the throes.