Welcome to this post on what are Online Marketplaces, via Afrokonnect. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, online businesses had begun to spring up on various places across the internet but due to lack of trust was under-patronized.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it stiff rules in which restriction of movement was enforced globally, this led to all physical stores shutting down their offices and only those with an online presence were still able to carry out their functions without any hassle.
Hence, it is safe to say that the devastating Covid-19 pandemic was responsible for the massive surge in the eCommerce sector which is growing at an explosive rate. Presently, any business looking to make its stamp on the market has to consider marketing their goods on an online marketplace as it is a great place to jump-start a business.
An eCommerce Marketplace
This is a platform which offers solution to buyers through different products marketed by various sellers. We have multiple eCommerce marketplace on the internet such as Shopify & Amazon; these platforms provides sellers an avenue to present their products to potential buyers.
An eCommerce Marketplace has various categories as Amazon and Alibaba are multi-purpose marketplaces, but marketplaces such as Zalando and ASOS are known as “Niche Marketplaces” as they focus on a particular type of commodity.
The eCommerce sector is growing rapidly due to the satisfaction and convenience it provides to customers, as they have access to various brands in a neat and organized manner, hence enabling them make the best choice once making a purchase.
Benefits and Importance of using an Online Marketplace over the traditional methods
1) Wider Coverage:
The world is a global village due to the invention of the Internet and this isn’t a hyperbole as someone here in Nigeria can like a product manufactured in Germany and order it with no hassle.
Various online marketplaces through the aid of the internet provides you with platform to advertise to both customers in your vicinity and abroad with minimal investment. The traditional method of having a physical store restricts you as your business is only known to those within your vicinity hence lesser income.
2) Ease of shopping:
Let me use the city of Lagos as an example to drive my point – There is a very popular market called the “Alaba Market” where various sellers with similar goods operate their business,
One can be kidnapped upon entering the market (Hyperbole) due to the constant pulling of businessmen to their shed once they notice you have interest in their product and this isn’t convenient to anyone.
An online marketplace is like the “Alaba Market” but you are on your bed, in your house, watching TV and making your order by selecting the most convenient among various sellers.
3) Access to a new marketplace:
This has been explained earlier, the online marketplace breaks you from the barrier of limited audience and exposes you to audiences from different continents and different works of life hence expanding your reach and brand name.
4) Increased sales:
All the points listed above all balls down to this as a wider reach and coverage ensures that you make more sales which results in enhanced productivity and more profits for your business.
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Best eCommerce marketplaces to boost your sales globally
Setting up your marketplace isn’t the most difficult but selecting an eCommerce marketplace will determine if you wish for your business to be regional or global. This section of this article has been dedicated to provide you with various eCommerce marketplaces that are helpful to boost your business coverage:
1) Amazon
- Region/Country of Operation: Global
- Estimated Monthly traffic: 5.69 Billion
Amazon being on top of this list isn’t a fluke as the site receives an average of over 2.4 billion customers per month from the US. If your intent is to have a global coverage with your business then Amazon is the marketplace for you as its diverse product listing and a strong fulfillment ability has made the number one site for billions of potential buyers worldwide.
There are a lot of well-known brand who were nothing when they first arrived on Amazon but utilized the site’s global reach to boost the brand’s name tremendously. There are various small-scale businesses that are reluctant to use the platform due to its high fees. Fee: It depends on a lot of variable but naturally between 8%-20% on every sale.
Types of e marketplaces
2) eBay
- Region/Country of Operation: Global
- Estimated Monthly traffic: 2.98 Billion
This is also a very popular marketplace to use for your business as they average a total of around 134 million customers from over 190 markets worldwide. It is very similar to Amazon as it is merchant friendly and prioritizes small-scale businesses; it has provided various packages for small-scale businesses to aid them and more information can be found here.
Fee: The platform only charges once you sell an item which is 14.35% of the final value fee and $0.30 per order.
3) AliExpress
- Region/Country of Operation: Global
- Estimated Monthly Traffic: 526.4 Million
This is an affiliate of a giant and popular eCommerce company named “Alibaba Group”. The platform really has an international recognition as it is being used in over 230 countries worldwide;
Most peculiar feature of the platform is its flexibility in providing international users with a personalized experience as the platform is available in 18 languages worldwide. Fee: A commission fee of 5%-8% on any product being sold – bear in mind that the product category also influences the commission fee percentage drastically.
4) Etsy
- Region/Country of Operation: Global
- Estimated monthly traffic: 397.5M
You may wondering why the estimated monthly traffic is low when compared to others but one surprising fact about this platform is that it isn’t a multi-purpose but based on a particular niche which is ARTS.
As long as your business threads along the Arts and Crafts community, Etsy is your marketplace as buyers that visits this platform have interest along that line hence boosting your chances of being patronized. Fee: A $0.20 listing and a 5% transaction fee will be deducted per item being sold on the platform.
Online Marketplaces: Best Platforms and Strategies
Conclusion
Various Online Marketplaces are being created so that businesses can reach a wider audience and increase their sales. As long as people still have gadgets and prefers to search and purchase products online, the eCommerce marketplace will continue to thrive.
I hope with everything listed here, your business is on an eCommerce marketplaces as they are the future of shopping. Thanks for reading and we hope to see you another time on Afrokonnect.ng.
