Having an eCommerce store requires time, effort, dedication and knowledge of how the online market works. Things that are not within the reach of all companies, especially if they have developed all their activity in the offline market.
In this situation, offering your products through a marketplace is a very good alternative.
What is a marketplace and what do I gain from it
Well, a market place or e-marketplace is a store of stores. Namely, an eCommerce website that provides space for other sellers to display their productsexactly like an offline mall does with physical stores.
For example, or are . Amazon is too, but in a mixed way, since it is both a seller (of books, movies, technology…) and manager of a marketplace space where you can find almost anything. Therefore, having your products on Amazon is an option that you should consider very seriously.
The marketplace concept was born at the same time as eCommerce, although originally it was almost exclusively confined to the B2B field. Today It is a channel in constant growth for the advantages it offers to SMEs to sell online and that has led to the appearance of specialized consultants in optimizing the presence on these platforms, such as .
5 great advantages of being in an e-marketplace
- Cost savings: they provide all the infrastructure and charge you a monthly fee and/or a commission for each sale.
- Payment management: Customers pay, in most cases, directly to the marketplace, which then pays you. Save bank costs.
- Positioning: You forget about and investing in online advertising. Marketplaces are very interested in being well positioned to be attractive to both sellers and end customers. Be careful, that you do not invest in marketplace advertising because they already do it does not mean that you should not promote that your products are there, but it will be easier for you.
- Synergies with products from other vendors. If you sell belts, you really want to be on a site that also sells pants.
- Many marketplaces offer logistics as part of their services. Usually in the form of
5 drawbacks of entering a marketplace
However, being in a marketplace, being a very interesting option, also has its drawbacks:
- more competition: Put your competitors one click away, without even leaving the same website.
- forces you to adjust and review prices constantly. And compare them with your competitors.
- doesn’t let you free To display your products the way you want, you have to stick to their standards.
- It is very complex to create a brand if you are in a marketplace. Their brand will always be above yours, unless yours is powerful enough for the customer to search for it.
- Can be very expensive if your sales volume is high.
Who is interested in being in a marketplace?
If you are starting in eCommerce, you are very interested. It is an excellent way to submit your products to a If your budget is very limited and you see eCommerce as a complementary sales channel and not the main one, in that case the marketplace should be your preferred option. The same if you want to make liquidations or specific offers, remember that there are specialized marketplace-type websites that are dedicated to it.
Even if you have your own eCommerce store, being in a marketplace can be an interesting option for you. You will have another additional sales channel and you can also use it as a way to sell products that, for whatever reason, you are no longer interested in offering in your own store. The trend of large eCommerce websites, as we have already mentioned before, is to become marketplaces.
As has happened in the offline sphere with small businesses and large stores, the trend is the same in eCommerce: the small businesses that survive are those capable of specializing or reinventing themselvesbut there is not much future for a small general trade.
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