First, traditional retail businesses usually define success by using the business criteria of profit and growth. However, Paige and Littrell (2002) determined that there are also intrinsic factors that define success. These factors include the personal satisfaction of creating and selling craft and the personal desire of the owners to promote the traditionof handcrafts. Some have seized the opportunity to move beyond hobby or passion for the process to earning more than a livable wage.

Many artisans provide a ‘story’ of how they began their interest in craft. Research on craft buyers (tourists, collectors, etc.) has demonstrated that the ‘story’ can help sell a craft and build customer loyalty to a specific craft person’s work. Building customer loyalty is critical for e-commerce.

There is competition in the craft industry. That competition derives from media, other artisans, national, state and regional craft interests and international sources of handcraft, particularly mass-produced craft from the Pacific Rim nations. More recently (since 2001), a handful of studies have investigated consumer preferences for cultural products online. The tourism industry is a source of research on consumer buying related to what is purchased during travels to tourist destinations. Where small communities and artisans in rural areas are limited to annual, semi-annual, or quarterly fairs where craft are sold, artisans may be losing the opportunity to create repeat customer sales, reach those who are interested in craft but do not attend regional or local fairs/festivals, contact those who are searching for very specific types of craft and prefer to work with an artisan through a relationship that emphasizes the culture and environment and personal philosophy of the creator of crafts.