Online marketplaces have enjoyed an upward trajectory since they first showed up on the commerce scene. eBay dates back to 1995 and continues to be an incredibly popular way for consumers to buy goods online, and bespoke marketplaces like Etsy have enjoyed a moment in the spotlight too.
This trend will continue to rise, with an increasing number of online sellers turning to marketplaces for their ease and suite of features.
What is Convenient Commerce?
Shopping has changed a lot in the past twenty years.
Back then, consumers had to leave their house to buy products; they might even have had to venture to two or more shops to find what they were looking for.
Today, they can buy goods from the comfort of their own home and have them delivered the very next day (in some places, the very same day).
Whereas consumers used to take an active role in shopping, the shops now come to them, whether it’s while they’re scrolling through Instagram or by shopping at multiple brands on the same marketplace.
Convenience is key in commerce.
People want shopping to be easy, and they don’t want to have to go out of their way to buy what they want.
Instead, they want sellers to come to them. This is evident in the rise of shoppable posts on social media, where consumers don’t even have to leave their feed to buy a product.
Because of this, brands today have to make it as easy as possible for customers to buy from them. Fail to do so, and shoppers will simply go to one of the many, many competitors out there.
This is why marketplaces are a crucial part of any ecommerce strategy.
They’re about as convenient as it gets when it comes to online shopping, and brands that take advantage of them as part of a comprehensive online strategy will reap the biggest rewards.
Why Online Marketplaces Are Crucial for Convenient Commerce
Online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart attract millions of shoppers every year. They are platforms that allow consumers to buy multiple products from multiple brands all from the same site.
Gone are the days of venturing out to two or more stores to find what you’re looking for. Even the days of visiting several independent websites to buy multiple goods is gone. The convenience of marketplaces has skyrocketed this form of ecommerce to the top of the charts, with almost every single online shopper using them in one way or another.
The benefits are a no-brainer:
- Reach a Wider Audience – marketplaces have an inbuilt customer base which becomes available to sellers that use the platform almost immediately
- More Sales – marketplaces add an additional channel to market and sell products on
- Added Trust – buyers tend to trust marketplaces more than independent sellers they haven’t bought from before. When selling on marketplaces, that trust is transferred to you
- Increased Transparency – key details like stock levels, shipping, and prices tend to be more transparent on marketplaces
- Be Visible Alongside Competition – there’s a high chance your competition is already using marketplaces. By joining them there, you’ll stand more chance of getting the market share
How to Make the Most of Online Marketplaces
It’s not enough to sign up with an online marketplace and hope for the best. With fierce competition prowling each and every marketplace, it’s important for sellers (especially those new to the game) to optimize their store and utilize all the tools available through each platform.
Those that do this will attract more customers and sell more products. Most sellers utilize Walmart marketplace management experts to optimize their seller power and success. As a peer behind the curtain, here’s how you can leverage online marketplaces to increase your sales and gain a larger portion of the market share.
Create Accounts on Multiple Marketplaces
Visibility is key when it comes to winning on marketplaces. To do this, you need to be where the shoppers are, and this often means creating a presence on multiple marketplaces.
The more stores you have available, the more likely you are to capture shoppers who prefer different stores. If you only have a store on Amazon, you’ll be missing out on shoppers who solely use eBay or Walmart to make their purchases.
Urtasker.com isaccount management specialistsfor multiple platforms, including Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. We help sellers set up successful stores on each marketplace and ensure their listings are optimized and stand out.
Optimize Listings and Product Descriptions
Once you’ve set up accounts on several marketplaces, it’s time to get to work. With so much competition on every platform, it’s crucial that you optimize your store and product listings if you want to gain traction.
This will improve your search rankings and drive conversions.
Optimization includes:
- Incorporating keywords into your product titles and descriptions
- Using several high-quality images for each product
- Writing engaging product descriptions that connect with your target buyers
- Including social proof like customer reviews on your product pages
Multiple annotated images of this product make it more engaging
Leverage Marketplace Ads
It’s hard to stand out on marketplaces, so tap into the tools available to give you that extra boost of visibility.
Ads are a great way to do this.
They let you choose the type of shoppers you want to target, the products you want to promote, and set a budget in order to keep your ads under control.
Here’s a run down of the different types of ads you can run on the major marketplaces.
Amazon Ads
- Sponsored Product Ads – keyword-targeted ads that promote individual listings in search results
- Product Display Ads – shows products to customers that have previously viewed the product or similar products
- Sponsored Brand Ads – keyword-targeted ads that appear above search results
This is what an Amazon Sponsored Product Ad looks like in action
eBay Ads
- Promoted Listings – boosts products to fourth or fifth position in search results
- Classified Ads – shows products at the top of search results
Walmart Ads
- Sponsored Product Ads – pushes promoted products up search results
- Native Banner Ads – promotes stores at the top of category pages
- Catapult Ads – displayed at the top of product pages
- Site Search Feature Ads – displays promoted products on related product pages
Sell Products Globally
The beauty of marketplaces is that they make it easy to sell products across the globe.
Programs like Amazon’s FBA allow brands to store their products in warehouses around the world, making it easy to ship to far-flung destinations and new markets.
Amazon Spain lists products in Spanish and with prices in euros.
In order to succeed at globally selling, it’s crucial that you tap into the features available. For example, Amazon has a host of marketplaces that are targeted towards different countries. Each one is geared solely towards that market, showing prices, products, and payment methods that are culturally relevant.
Not only does selling globally mean you can reach a wider audience, it also means you can find niche markets where your products are popular.
The Future of Marketplaces is Bright
Marketplaces are going nowhere fast.
If anything, they’re picking up speed and will continue to dominate the online shopping landscape for years to come. As long as they remain convenient for consumers, they will be a valuable part of an overall ecommerce strategy for any online store.
To make the most of them, leverage the tools available and make sure you optimize your listings, run ads, and continue to expand to reach markets across the globe.
At Urtasker, we’re ecommerce growth experts who are committed to helping our clients expand their marketplace stores through high-converting ads and globally-optimized listings.
