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So, How Much Should You Expect To Make With Your E-commerce Store?
E-commerce earnings can vary widely, from casual sellers making under $500 a month to top-tier brands generating millions annually.
A perfect example of top-tier store is this ecommerce brand by the name Celine Victor selling beauty products and making up to €1.55M annually.
Here’s a quick overview of how much money an e-commerce business makes:
Average Revenue and Profit for Small to Mid-Sized Stores
Industry reports show the typical Shopify store brings in about $5,583 per month, or roughly $66,996 per year in revenue. If you operate in a niche with higher repeat purchase rates, then you can expect even higher earnings.
High-Performing Stores and Top Earners
The top 10 % of Shopify stores see an average revenue of $343 per customer, and some generate millions in annual sales (Source). These sellers often optimize customer lifetime value through email, subscriptions, and loyalty programs. Those tactics can lift net margins above 15 %.
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
What To Expect If You’re Starting From Scratch:
If you’re building your own e-commerce business from scratch, you’re basically starting on a blank canvas.
While that isn’t entirely a bad thing, it’s worth noting that it will take time to start rolling in this case.
For the first few months, you shouldn’t expect your store to earn much (it could be little or absolutely nothing!)
This is because these are still the early stages of your business, and you are still figuring out your niche, setting up your e-commerce site, finding products, dealing with suppliers, and even learning how to market.
You should simply expect to invest a lot of your time (and money) in this stage without seeing much in return.
Typical earnings for Year 1 are as follows:
$0–$2,000 per month for most new stores
Some may break even or operate at a loss initially (totally normal)
Profit margins usually range from 10–30% after costs (product, shipping, ads, etc.)
Pro Tip: Focus entirely on learning at this stage. If you’re testing products and refining your marketing, you're on the right path—even if you're not seeing big numbers yet.
Read This Next: Is Buying An E-commerce Business Worth It In 2025?
Growing Your Store: Getting to Consistent Income
Once you’re through the learning curve above, things should start to click.
You most probably discovered winning products, your store is starting to get some good traffic (whether it’s through social media or SEO), and you probably have some process in place.
At this stage, your hustle can now start to feel like a real side hustle.
Here are typical earnings you should expect in Year 2:
$2,000–$10,000 per month (this is a realistic figure for many store owners
Some businesses break into six-figure annual revenue
Again, the profit margins here will depend on your overhead, but 20% is a common target
Pro Tip: If you want to hit these targets even faster, we advise you to build an email list and run promotions, outsource repetitive tasks to help you focus on growth, and optimize your site for maximum conversions.
Buying An Existing E-commerce Store: Your Shortcut To Earning Faster (If You Do It Right)
Yes, you heard it right…
Buying an already established e-commerce store can be your shortcut to earnings without having to wait for months or years.
You simply skip all the startup hassle, including the learning phase, and jump straight into something that already has customers, revenues, and systems in place.
Buying an established store gives you:
Immediate revenue and cash flow
Proven product-market fit
Existing customer base and data
Historical financial records for planning
You avoid the “zero to one” grind and instead focus on scaling—improving ads, expanding lines, and optimizing operations.
When you buy an existing e-commerce business, you’ve got the freedom to decide your earnings depending on the store you acquire.
For instance, you can go for a small store with $1,000–$5,000/month profit or a mid-range store that brings in $5,000–$25,000/month.
And if your budget allows, you can go for a large, well-run store that earns $50K+/month.
Read This Next: How to Buy an E-commerce Business (A Complete Guide)
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Scaling Up Your E-commerce Business: Turning The Store Into a Real Business
Whether you start your store from scratch or buy an established one, one thing is for sure:
The secret to moving from just “making money online” to building something substantial is scaling. This means doing things that promote your store's growth (and multiply your store’s earnings).
Such things include:
Testing new products regularly
Running high-ROI ad campaigns
Building brand loyalty (repeat customers = gold)
Streamlining fulfillment (maybe using 3PLs or private labeling)
Expanding to new markets or platforms (like Amazon, Etsy, etc.)
Read This Next: 5 things I learned scaling a Dropshipping Store to over $1.37 million in sales
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
Cashing Out: Selling Your E-commerce Store for a Premium
One thing most store owners don’t seem to get is that an e-commerce store isn’t just another source of income—it’s also an asset.
If you grow your store into a profitable, well-oiled machine, you can sell it for a solid chunk of cash!
Think of this like flipping your house…you put in a lot of work to build and scale the business, and once it’s running smoothly and bringing in steady profits, you decide to exit.
The good thing is that there are tons of buyers out there looking to take the business off your hands.
And the payout, well, it’s just as great!
You can expect to sell your business for anywhere from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on your store’s revenue, profit, and growth potential.
The typical e-commerce store's sales multiple is 2.5–4.5x their annual net profit. This means if your store makes $50K/year in profit, you could end up selling it for anywhere from $125K to $225K!
As long as your store has consistent revenue with good margins, a solid customer base and email list, strong branding and social media presence, and smooth operations/systems in place, then you won't have to worry about finding buyers.
Read This Next: How This $25.7M ‘Acquire-to-Flip’ Concept is Disrupting E-Commerce Acquisitions
What’s Next After Selling Your Online Store?
This is where things get interesting: If you’re a smart investor or entrepreneur, you’ll take that payout and invest in another established store.
Rather than build a new store from scratch, you could buy one that’s already generating some income but still packs a lot of growth potential.
You then apply the same strategies you applied in your previous store to grow your new acquisition to scale it up, increase its profits, and either hold it for cash flow or simply flip it later (and earn big!)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Here are answers to some common questions about making money with an e-commerce store:
How much can you make with an e-commerce store?
The amount you can make with an e-commerce store varies widely depending on the business model and niche. On average, small e-commerce stores can make anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 per month, while larger, more established stores can earn upwards of $100,000 or more.
What is the average profit of an e-commerce store?
The average profit margin for an e-commerce store typically ranges between 7% and 20%. However, this depends on several factors like industry, overhead costs, and how well the business is managed. More successful stores with strong branding and marketing can achieve higher profits.
What type of e-commerce makes the most money?
Private label businesses, which involve selling branded products you control, tend to make the most money, with profit margins often ranging between 40% and 70%. The digital products, fashion, beauty, and electronics sectors also generate high revenues due to strong demand and repeat purchases.
How long does it take to make money with e-commerce?
It usually takes anywhere from 3 to 6 months for an e-commerce store to start generating a steady income. This depends on how quickly you can establish your brand, find customers, and optimize your operations. Your success depends on consistent marketing efforts and refining your business model.
Conclusion
E-commerce is full of real income opportunities, whether you’re launching your first product or thinking about buying a store with untapped potential. While it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, you can absolutely build something profitable (and sellable) with the right approach.
Now, if you're leaning toward the "buying an existing store" route, we’ve good news for you:
We can help with that…
At Trend Hijacking, we specialize in helping you find profitable e-commerce stores that are already making money and have plenty of room to grow. We’ll help you spot the gems (not the duds), handle the entire buying process, and even help you scale the store 2–4x after the purchase.
That way, when you're ready to flip it, you're selling at maximum value.
Want to learn more? Just swing by our Acquisition Partnership page—it breaks down how everything works and how we can help you at each stage.
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