You have conquered your local market.
Now, it's time to take your business beyond your fence. It's time to take it to the whole world.
Fortunately, the whole world is at your fingertips. With ecommerce, 2.14 billion people shop online. Where are they going, exactly?
They are heading on to marketplaces. Such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Walmart, Rakuten, and many more for shopping.
Selling on a marketplace can help you build your brand. It enables you to provide a smooth shopping experience to customers. And it can multiply your profits. Marketplaces provide a great opportunity to expand your business.
So... in today’s blog post, I will talk about:
- What are online marketplaces?
- What are the benefits of selling on the marketplaces?
- The best online marketplaces for your business.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in…
What Are Online Marketplaces?
Remember that Simpsons episode where Lisa goes to the internet to find her daughter?
She plugs herself in, and bam! There are virtual doors in front of her. She just types in what she's looking for, and she's there in an instant.
Our technology is not quite there yet, but online marketplaces are like those doors. They are shopping platforms made easier.
They simplify eCommerce transactions between buyers and sellers.
Which doors do you think get visited a lot? Amazon and eBay come to mind. The sellers on these websites don't have to deal with any technical problems.
You can see how convenient marketplaces are. Much like the doors above, they present products in ways that boost views and sales. Buyers can easily shop from marketplaces as they can find all the products under one roof.
Your customers can also compare prices and options between brands. They can also read product reviews before adding products to their carts. Marketplaces also offer a hassle-free checkout system by simplifying the payment process.
It's only natural for you to ask:
“Is it worth selling on global marketplaces? What benefits will I get?”
Don’t worry! Marketplaces aren’t only beneficial for customers only. They provide tons of benefits to online sellers too.
Let’s check out the...
Benefits Of Selling On A Marketplace
Admit it: You are guilty of online shopping far too much during the quarantine. Whether it's for food, groceries, or even overstocking on tissue paper. (pun intended. LOL)
You're not the only one. In 2020, marketplaces generated around 62% of eCommerce online sales globally.
A lot of customers prefer to shop on an online marketplace instead of individual websites. Thus, if you join the marketplace, you will also see a rise in your sales.
Now, let’s talk about the part you're anxious about:
The benefits of selling on the marketplace!
1. Access To Millions Of Buyers
Suppose a customer wants to buy a ring, coffee pods, and baby diapers. Which website do you think he’ll head to that provides everything he wants? Amazon or Walmart, right?
Because he can find all the products in one place and wouldn’t need to visit different websites. Many people visit the marketplaces to check off the items in their shopping list.
If you decide to sell on marketplaces, you can get access to a large audience:
- eBay – It has a customer base of 187 million buyers.
- Walmart –The website receives 410.5 million visits each month.
- Amazon –In June 2021, Amazon.com received 2.45 billion visits. Making it the most visited website in the United States.
Selling on these huge marketplaces will lead your brand to…
2. Increased Visibility And Brand Awareness
If your products are available on marketplaces, they’ll be visible to more people. They will learn about your brand and will buy your product if it fits their needs.
Once the customer buys your product, you can make him familiar with your website. You can mention your website link and social handles on your products. If the customer wants to learn more about you, he can visit your website or social profiles.
Another benefit of selling on marketplaces is that it…
3. Helps Winning Customers’ Trust
Customers trust marketplaces. They are less hesitant to buy products that are available on the marketplaces.
Hence, if your products are available on marketplaces, people will buy them. Because of their trust in the marketplace. Also, many marketplaces include ratings and reviews of the products. Good ratings further strengthen the trust of the customers.
Next up, we have:
4. Testing Grounds
Do you want to test out if your new products will work or not? Try selling them on a marketplace instead of your online store.
Marketplaces receive massive traffic than your website. Hence, introducing your products to these platforms will give them better exposure. You can understand if the people are willing to spend on your new product or not.
You can introduce the product on your website if it’s a success on the marketplaces.
Another benefit of selling on the marketplace is that it enables you to…
5. Expand Your Brand Globally
Marketplaces like Amazon and many others operate in many different countries worldwide.
You can reach new markets by joining the marketplaces. Worldwide customers can buy your products, and you can widen your customer base.
How do they widen your market, you ask?
That's because marketplaces have a global eCommerce fulfillment. Yes, you can run your business locally, but global eCommerce shipping can be a challenge.
That's where the global eCommerce fulfillment of marketplaces can help you.
Global eCommerce fulfillment is the process of storing, packing, shipping, and delivering your customer's orders. It can also include processing returns.
For example, Amazon has fulfillment centers. You can send your products to these centers and they will do the global eCommerce shipping for you.
Sounds like a good deal, huh?
My dear friend, the benefits of joining a marketplace don’t end here. There are many other benefits that you can reap and scale your business.
So, are you ready to join a marketplace?
Great!
Let’s have a look at the list of best online marketplaces you can sell on.
5 Of The Best Online Marketplaces For You To Sell On In 2021
1. Amazon
Amazon.com has become the largest marketplace in America. More than 197 million people browse the website each month. What’s more? 63% of all the product searches happen on Amazon.
Isn’t it a goldmine to attract more customers and boost your revenue?
Another advantage of selling on Amazon is its firm product listing guidelines. It standardizes product listings. This means that whether the buyer sees your product or an Amazon product, they’ll appear the same.
All the products get the same level of trust from the customers, and it helps drive sales.
There is one more benefit of selling on Amazon. It helps businesses rank higher on SERPs. Isn’t it cool? You can attract lots of quality leads to your products on Amazon.
See the top two results on the search result pages. They both are from Amazon. There is a good chance that people will click on the Amazon result. Because it shows the product description and star ratings.
The next marketplace that we are going to talk about is…
2. eBay
eBay is no longer a website to sell used products. It has come a long way and is now one of the largest marketplaces in the world.
Selling your products on eBay gives you access to a huge number of buyers. 168 million buyers on eBay generate a gross market value of $95 billion.
And do you know what I love the most about eBay?
You don’t need to have a website! The eBay Seller Hub will help you run a hassle-free business. You can run advertisements on, print labels, and get insights into important metrics.
Such as:
- Your best selling products
- Most-liked promotion
- Shipping timings, etc.
The next marketplace is the third-most visited marketplace in the USA. Let’s discuss it more.
3. Walmart
Walmart.com receives 410.5 million monthly visitors at its marketplace. It allows third-party sellers in more than 35 categories to sell their products on its website. The best part about joining this marketplace is that you don’t have to be a US-based business.
Walmart is available in 24 countries. Selling your products here means you’ll have access to millions of buyers from all over the world.
Walmart doesn’t charge any setup, subscription, or monthly fees from the sellers. It only deducts a referral fee once the sale occurs on the website. If you ask me, it’s great!
You will only have to give away a small chunk of your earnings after the sale, nothing before that.
Next on our list is…
4. Facebook Marketplace
The world’s famous social networking site also connects buyers and sellers.
More than 800 million buyers use the Facebook marketplace to browse, buy, or sell items. It doesn’t charge any listing fees or commission. This makes it an amazing option for startups.
Selling on the Facebook marketplace is a no-brainer process. You need to sync your up-to-date inventory and wait for Facebook’s approval. Facebook reviews your products, and if it meets community guidelines, it approves you as a seller on the marketplace.
Learn how you can set up your Facebook Shop and boost sales.
Last but not least...
5. Etsy
Etsy is an ideal marketplace for buying and selling unique products. It is perfect for small to medium-scale businesses.
In 2020, there were 4.3 million sellers on Etsy. And the number of people that shop on Etsy is around 81.9 million.
In the previous year, Etsy generated total revenue of $1.72 billion. So, if you sell hand-made crafts, Etsy is the best marketplace for you.
You can create your account and start listing. Etsy doesn’t allow free listings. You have to pay a listing fee to upload your products. But don’t worry, the listing fee is pretty nominal and not heavy on the pocket.
Are You Ready To Expand Your Brand Globally?
Whether you’re planning to start a business or running one for years, online marketplaces are essential for eCommerce success.
Joining marketplaces is effortless. It caters to all the business sizes and helps them to sell to a wide customer base.
By selling on a marketplace, you can:
- Reach millions of audience
- Enjoy built-in promotion programs
- Earn good revenue
- Sell your products internationally
Use the above list to decide which marketplace will be the best fit for you. I know it may sound scary to onboard a platform that has millions of sellers.
But, trust us: once you start earning a good profit by selling on marketplaces, there’s no going back!
Multiply your sales by selling on your online store and marketplaces.
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Trisha Ballesteros