More and more people are making the decision. However, online sales through marketplaces in Argentina are a great attraction for those who start a business or are looking for an alternative that gives them more exposure.
This constantly growing sales channel has unique characteristics and, in this article, we are going to get to know them in depth. So, grab a pencil and paper, we’re about to start! đź“ť
What is a marketplace?
The word marketplace comes from the union of two terms in English: market (market) and place (place).
Therefore, the meaning of marketplace is local to make purchases. However, in a less literal sense it is a kind of virtual showcase.
In other words, a marketplace, by definition, is a website that connects buyers with sellers to carry out a commercial transaction.
It is usually managed through a third party and serves as a broadcast platform for thousands of businesses and individual sellers.
Imagine a marketplace as a large mall or shopping center where you can find various brands, products and prices. All managed through a company that is in charge of the maintenance and performance of this space, for a standard fee covered by the sellers of the site.
This concept is not new in Argentina or in Latin America (in 1999 we already had Mercado Libre, the region’s leading marketplace), but in recent years the sector has experienced exponential growth, influencing the rhythm of and the preferences of buyers.
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How does a marketplace work?
The operation of a marketplace is quite simple. In general, you need to open an account on the platform and to start selling, photos, descriptions and other elements are required to create the publication.
The profitability of these pages is given through sales commissions. To sell a product you can be charged a commission that ranges from 9% to 30%, depending on the platform, the category of the item, whether it is new or used, among other conditions.
When making the sale, the transaction money is retained by the platform until it is ensured that the customer received their purchase. Upon confirming this, the profit is transferred to the seller, with previously accepted commission discounts.
What is the importance of a marketplace?
Having a presence in a marketplace not only has a direct impact on the visibility of your business, making it an excellent recruitment strategy, but it also offers very useful tools when it comes to building customer loyalty, such as special promotions.
In addition, they have the advantage that you do not have to restrict your actions to a single marketplace, since there is no exclusivity, you can use as many as you want, depending on the needs of your business.
This is an important aspect for any company, since the more presence it has, the more opportunities the brand will have when customers make their purchase decision.
What types of marketplaces exist?
There are different types of marketplaces, such as vertical, horizontal, B2B, C2C or B2C. We can distinguish them mainly by the type of item they sell and the audience they are aimed at. Below we explain what each of them is about.
Types of marketplaces by articles
👉 Vertical or niche marketplace
A vertical or niche marketplace is one in which sellers or brands dedicated to a specific product or category meet. One would be Dafiti, an exclusive marketplace for clothing and footwear, or DeMotores .com, which is dedicated to the purchase and sale of vehicles.
👉 Horizontal or general marketplace
Unlike the previous one, a horizontal or general marketplace is one where you can find various items, usually grouped by categories. Good examples of these marketplaces are Mercado Libre, Amazon and eBay.
Types of marketplaces by audience
👉 B2B or corporate marketplace
They are classified as B2B (business to business) to those platforms dedicated to companies or groups of companies where, in general, sales are by hundreds or thousands of units, having the advantage of acquiring products at wholesale prices. Alibaba, the Asian giant, would be a good example of this type of marketplace.
👉 C2C or social marketplace
C2C (consumer to consumer) are platforms designed to connect consumers with consumers. The connection is much more social, helping sellers find customers interested in their products. It is one of the most used and well-known in Argentina.
👉 B2C or global marketplace
B2C (business to consumer) marketplaces are perhaps the best known by users, as they are spaces designed for brands to advertise their products and find new customers. Tienda Naranja is an example of a local marketplace that falls into this category.
What are the marketplaces in Argentina?
There are many marketplaces in Argentina; however, in general terms, we could say that the most popular in our country are:
- Free market
- OLX
- Dafiti
Let’s take a closer look at each of them!
Free market
Born at the end of the last century in Argentina, Mercado Libre was able to position itself as the leading marketplace platform in all of Latin America.
To sell through this platform, you do not have to pay a monthly fee but you do have to pay, which ranges from 11% to 30%.
It is also possible to sell without commission if you meet certain conditions. However, this type of publication is more focused on users who sell used items or who only have one product in stock.
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OLX
OLX is an easy-to-use marketplace that allows you to get in direct contact with your customers, without intermediaries.
So much so that you can publish your e-mail and your telephone number so that people interested in your product can call you if they want to ask any questions, which facilitates communication between the parties. However, this is sometimes a disadvantage since you can receive messages or calls at any time of the day.
Like Mercado Libre, but with much less monthly traffic, you can choose between free or paid publications.
Dafiti
Dafiti is the leading marketplace for the sale of clothing, shoes and accessories of various brands in Latin America.
It is an ideal platform for clothing and footwear businesses that want to grow their business online.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is the best-known social sales platform in Argentina. One of the main reasons why its users choose it is that it has no cost for subscription or commission for sales.
This means that any user with a Facebook account can publish their articles for free, although, of course, as in all marketplaces, there are.
A peculiarity of this platform is the geolocatable suggestions: depending on the region in which the user is located, the platform shows nearby publications, from one kilometer to 200 kilometers around.
What is the most sold in the Argentine marketplace?
If you are going to be in a marketplace in Argentina, you have to evaluate what type of items are currently being sold the most.
According to the study , prepared by Kantar TNS for the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE), this is the ranking of the most popular categories:
- Sports apparel and goods
- non-sports clothing
- Food and drinks
- Audiovisual content
- Tickets to shows
- Education
- Cell phones and accessories
- Technology
- Mobility and transportation
- White line
Advantages of selling on a marketplace
After having seen the different types of marketplaces, it is time to talk about their benefits since, if you are, they can be widely recommended tools to accelerate your positioning.
Some of the main advantages of selling on a marketplace are:
For new brands, a marketplace can be the ideal channel to promote their products in the digital market. But beware, for those who already sell online, betting on this model is also very positive!
Marketplaces like Mercado Libre, for example, receive millions of users daily. In this way, the chances of your products being seen and bought are very high.
A few years ago, marketplaces began to optimize their platforms not only so that the customer finds what they are looking for faster, but also so that the seller can easily publish their products.
In addition to that, these platforms began to provide tips to advertising brands on how to achieve greater visibility, writing a complete description of the product or publishing excellent quality photographs.
- Benefits of Cross Selling
One of the main advantages of marketplaces is that users can find complementary items to those they are looking for.
Usually, these platforms have sections like “Other users also bought…” or “Products similar to your search”, which increases your chances of selling.
For example, if you sell cell phone accessories, you may appear in the searches of users who are interested in buying a mobile device.
Disadvantages of selling on a marketplace
Although a marketplace can bring many benefits, it also has certain disadvantages that you have to consider, especially if your business is in a maturing phase.
Some of the disadvantages to consider are:
Just as you can reach a considerable audience, there are also a large number of sellers on these marketplace platforms, with prices perhaps more competitive than yours.
All you have to do is enter your favorite marketplace, search for an article like “coffee maker” and more than a thousand publications will appear among which you will have to stand out. This, in most cases, requires an additional cost or comply with the conditions that the platform demands of you.
- Conditions and commissions for use of the service
It may be that at the beginning the commissions do not seem so high to you, however, it is possible that later they will lead you to increase your prices to cushion the cost of the platform.
In addition, it is the marketplaces themselves that decide the order in which they display the products, the commissions for free shipping, among other things. The rules of the game are in your hands and, if you do not accept them, your publications may be removed or have less visibility.
- Difficulty distinguishing yourself
If there’s one thing marketplaces have in common, it’s that all posts look similar.
If you want to include information about your brand, colors or even your logo, the spaces to differentiate your publication from the rest are relatively few.
Therefore, although you can initially win many sales, building your brand and generating positioning is an extremely…
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