While big-name retail brands may have been among the first to get heavily involved in ecommerce, it's the smaller merchants that are seeing better sales as they take the plunge. According to the new edition of the Internet Retailer's Second 500 guide, the average up-and-coming merchant has experienced a significant sales growth over the past year.

The guide suggests that smaller merchants have seen sales growth of 17.7 percent compared with 2011, compared to the average 14 percent increase observed among larger companies. Of course, this doesn't include the very tip of the top – Amazon's sales surged 40 percent and actually raised the growth rate of the top 500 by 6 percent.

Being small has several key advantages, such as being able to quickly respond to changing demand.

"We have the liberty to think through challenges and strategies quickly and without the hindrance of history," says Richard Mumby, vice president of marketing for web-only retailer Bonobos. "We are a new brand so we can speak to customers the way we want to."

Information is critical to responding to customer demands, and Retail Pro's software can help small retailers become even more flexible and responsive.