Marketplace (also known as “online market”) refers to a broader concept in the field of online sales. Through marketplaces, multiple stores have the opportunity to place their products for sale in a single channel .
Just like in a shopping mall or physical shopping center, the marketplace provides sellers and buyers with a possible way to market and purchase products.
The marketplace does not sell its own products , but is the platform through which others make their sales.
The marketplace concept has been present in this scenario for some years now, extending to major leaders in the sector. On the other hand, specialized thematic marketplaces those phone data focused on a category, could be in a position to compete with the major players in the sector.
The advantages of marketplaces are those we share with you below.
Provides visibility
It provides greater visibility of products , making them available to a greater number of potential buyers and giving businesses the opportunity to have a display window at a low cost.
Provides a new positioning strategy
It allows you to rethink management and communication from a different perspective, acquiring competitive advantages through comparison and selection. That is, in a marketplace, customers will have the possibility to buy, choose the best price and make a single payment without going through endless and numerous separate payment processes.
Allows efficiency in investment
It is possible to save on logistics, customer service, shipping and product delivery costs in cases where this is possible. In addition, since the same platform hosts several stores, it is possible to save on other costs inherent to digital marketing.
Marketplace vs. e-commerce: why integrate both sales methodologies?
After analyzing the concepts of each term and the advantages that each of them has to offer, we can address our next and final point: how to integrate both e-commerce channels .
Since in the online sales scenario the main objective by nature is to achieve the greatest possible reach , we can deduce that the combination of an e-commerce with a marketplace would expand the possibilities and facilitate both a single sales channel (as is the case with an e-commerce) and a multiple sales channel (such as marketplaces).
While choosing the right strategy to execute them simultaneously will require greater focus and determination , the sales projection you can make from this alliance will be significantly greater than using a single channel.
Not only that, but everything seems to indicate that the alliance between marketplaces and e-commerce will be gaining ground in the coming years , since the advantages they offer to both sides of the screen (users and sellers) are well established: they provide flexibility, agility and a range of opportunities when it comes to optimizing the shopping experience.