Marketplaces are taking over the online sales market today. According to forecasts, in 2022, the volume of trade at these sites will increase by 40%. In general, trading on marketplaces is interesting for buyers and sellers. So that you can increase the sales of your company, explore all the possibilities of these sites and choose one of them for work.

Advantages of selling on marketplaces

Marketplace is an online platform that promotes itself, searches for customers, sells goods and services of third parties. Sellers place their products on marketplaces, pay a commission, and an online platform organizes marketing, sales and delivery. Customers are presented with a huge selection of similar products, but with different price ranges.

The advantages of selling on marketplaces are as follows:

• Growth in the number of sales. Nowadays, marketplaces are increasing the number of customers and, accordingly, sales. You can take the opportunity to create a profile on one of the sites, fill in the basic information of the company and product cards. Decide on the payment and delivery option, as well as on the terms of cooperation with the online platform;
• Reliability. Customers want to buy online safely, so they are increasingly choosing products from reputable marketplaces, realizing that they are only dealing with trusted sellers. If the name of your company is still little known, then you can promote your products/services on one of the marketplaces, which will allow you to gain the trust of buyers;
• Stream of clients. Today you have to fight for customers, and finding them can cost a lot of money spent on advertising. Marketplaces are promoted themselves, so you can take advantage of the platform where you place your products. This will provide you with a stream of new customers, you will interact with an audience that you could not find on your own;
• Successful marketing. Online platforms independently promote themselves and spend money on advertising. Accordingly, sellers may not be promoting their store, since marketplaces independently attract customers;
• Omnichannel. Now you can use all sales channels simultaneously: marketplaces, websites, social networks and even offline. At first glance, all this is difficult to combine, but it is possible to implement it without problems with maintenance programs.

To control all business processes and sales, use the cloud-based maintenance software Gincore. This software will allow you to carry out sales in the store and online, maintain a database of customers, goods, orders, bookkeeping, perform logistics, conduct analytics and successfully develop your business.

Features of trading on marketplaces

Marketplaces have both pluses and some minuses, but they should not interfere with your growth. They can contribute to your development. There are several features of trading through online platforms:

• Competitive struggle. The same site contains the same products from different sellers and with different prices. Customers have a wide range of choices, so it is difficult to attract them by product description, photo or company name. Basically, the choice can be influenced by the cost of the product. In addition, each site has its own algorithms for displaying products in the search list, which you cannot influence;
• Lack of remarketing. Marketplaces do not have a repeat sales tool, so you cannot build long-term relationships with people here and turn them into regular customers;
• Lack of promotion of your brand. By selling a product on the marketplace, you will not increase the brand's popularity; you will act as a contractor for a specific online platform. The client will associate the purchase with the marketplace, but not with your company.

Who is selling on marketplaces suitable for?

Before you start trading on marketplaces, you need to carefully analyze whether such a sales scheme is suitable for your business. It is relevant in such cases:

• For novice businessmen. To save on marketing and promotion, use the resources of marketplaces. This will help you start earning and developing with minimal costs;
• To provide services. On the online platform, you can sell related products and products that are used in your field, which will increase the company's revenues;
• For the sale of goods. You will be able to sell a variety of products, identify popular categories and increase sales. This will help you understand customer demand and develop in the right direction.

It is very important to start selling in marketplaces now, when this direction is starting to gain momentum. Since all platforms are actively developing, you can use the competition to your advantage.

Defining assortment for an online platform

In order for your business to thrive, you need to correctly form your marketplace assortment. Study the demand for different categories and decide on the products that you will sell. Use the following recommendations:

• use tools for the analysis of sales;
• browse the list of "bestsellers" and top products;
• test different categories to study customer demand.

Many companies can organize the sale of goods/services on marketplaces. Take advantage of online sales now. In the near future, you will increase your turnover and sales with minimal costs.

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