As we have been commenting in the previous articles, the marketplaces have become a new global trend in the e-commerce sector. We could say that most times we offer a Win to Win experience, where brands have the opportunity to grow on the Internet and consumers find what they want at competitive prices and personalized attention.
Being present in a Marketplace is a very good option to expand the market, expand visibility and reach markets that would otherwise be impossible, allowing to achieve qualified and valuable positioning.
In addition to focusing on a single segment, the platform has been able to develop greater knowledge about the segment in question, even being so specialized in a single area, this typology of Marketplace generates more security for the final consumer, increasing conversion possibilities .
We owe to falling into the “trampa” the “damage” that the specialized Marketplaces, also known as niche, have a more limited inventory of products to specialize in a single segment. Of course, a large part of these can become massive, concentrating many product references.
What are the advantages of selling on a niche or specialized Marketplace?
- Segmentation
Customers of a specialized marketplace have an interest in a single product, they are clear which product they are going to buy and why.
With this type of marketplaces, it is possible to reach exactly our target audience in line with the brand. Offer what customers want and also have a wide variety of options where the customer can compare prices, opinions, vendors and brands…
- Qualified loyalty
The possibility of loyalty that has this type of marketplace is very high. Thanks to the fact that the segmentation capacity is very high, the customer values much more the user experience, the attention received and the advice. Therefore, offering a much more personalized service and offering products very focused on a market segment can facilitate the loyalty process, the purchase recurrence and we can convert that customer from the marketplace into a 100% own customer.
- Trust
The good thing about integrating our catalog into vertical eCommerce platforms is that, in an indirect way, we are allowing visitors to this web to find us inside, assuming that we are professionals and our solutions are specific to people with your profile, benefiting from this community
- They offer bad opportunities for small pymes or e-commerces
Small businesses and online stores benefit from being able to get to know their brands, and have more opportunities to gain brand notoriety and reach a much larger audience. Thanks to the recognition of the brand that generates the marketplace, many businesses benefit from its image to be able to sell much more product.
What characteristics do you need to be profitable in specialized marketplaces?
The moment to decide on a market niche or another is very decisive because it will mark the entire business strategy, therefore, it is important to know the different variables that will make this business niche more or less profitable.
- Competency level.
- Volume of searches.
- Recurrence.
- Average ticket.
- Reputation of the marketplace.
The volume of searches determines the interest that currently exists in a sector or a specific product. Ideally, we will look for niches that have enough searches to generate potential customers from any online channel.
The level of competence is also important because if there are enough searches and few competitors, we can decide that it is a good situation. On the contrary, there may be many competitors and there are many searches, being the moment to replant if this market niche is really worthy and if it is viable or no.
While the average ticket and the purchase recurrence are from the values that van de la mano, but for their part, they can determine much of the viability of the niche. Having a high average ticket, although it may be recurring, could be enough to cover your profitability needs. On the other hand, there is another option to have a low medium ticket, but buyers come with a lot of recurrence.
Finally, the reputation of the marketplace is a very important factor before starting to sell your products, as it can be a decisive factor in the sales volume of your products. A marketplace that has better customer valuations can give you a level of credibility and confidence that can help you have a greater sales volume.
What types of specialized/niche Marketplaces can we find?
Food and Drinks:
- Mentta:
Mentta it’s a marketplace for selling artisan and gourmet products, with online food that has a web and App for iOS and Android where you can find thousands of items with authentic flavor and quality.
It works directly with producers, specialized shops and prepared food companies. All of them are responsible for sending the item home within an average of 24/48 hours, properly packaged to avoid any loss of quality.
- Vivino
Vivino it’s the marketplace that specializes in wine marketing, comparison and reviews. A marketplace that counts with more than 53 million users worldwide.
For sellers, it is a great opportunity to sell wine bottles in an easy way, since you do not have to create an online store for them. Vivino works internationally and has a presence in markets with a greater passion for wine (Spain, France, Italy, Germany, United States, Australia…), thanks to its great expansion, sellers can offer their products to a much larger and international market. , having many bad opportunities to generate business.
- Sabority
Sabority it’s an online store of products related to the Mediterranean diet. Its mission is to find the best products within the excellent ones, those that are produced with care and care by small producers who are very close to the large distribution chains, whose objective is to get the purchase and the final consumption of them. products produces a positive shopping experience for all our consumers, being of vital importance for this, good personal treatment and maximum involvement in customer service, as well as a varied and appropriate selection of our products.
Fashion:
- Zalando:
Zalando it’s a virtual fashion store, positioned as one of the biggest in Europe. In there you can find both shoes and clothes, for hombres, mujeres and niños. Since its beginnings there has been a rapid growth thanks to the support of Rocket Internet. Today, invoice 3,600 million euros, employs more than 13,000 people, operates in 15 markets (since 2012 in Spain) and has more than 21 million customers.
The virtual fashion items stores, in addition to offering a good product and variability, to cover the largest population population, focus on offering the user a good shopping experience and on differentiating within the market.
- Asos:
It is one of the most popular fashion verticals around the world. Casi 800 boutiques form part of its catalog, both external and private, which receives a total of 64 million visits per month. Asos has consolidated its strength in the most powerful markets, such as France, United Kingdom or Germany.
DIY, Gardening:
- Mano a Mano
ManoMano is a French eCommerce dedicated to bricolaje, la jardinería and el hogar. Since its creation in 2013, the company has risen to position itself as one of the European leaders in this sector.
The marketplace is one of the great strengths of ManoMano. With this service, sellers can gain greater visibility, thanks to the flow of visits to the ManoMano website. In addition, they can internationalize their reach due to the presence of the company in different European countries. The ManoMano marketplace has more than 3000 sellers and more than 4 million products in 6 countries: France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Technology:
- Media Markt
MediaMarkt it’s the leading company in Spain and Europe in the consumer electronics distribution sector and related services. Since a few years ago, it has created a marketplace within its website, where it has incorporated more than 3,000 references from 16 different providers with the aim of growing and incorporating many more.
In this marketplace, the firm incorporates vendors specialized in PC Gaming products, small household appliances and mobile accessories.
- PcComponentes:
PcComponentes it’s the computer, electronics and telephony store leader by quality, price and service. Since 2005, we have been committed to online sales with the objective of offering our customers specific products at affordable prices without giving up quality in the service.
Like Media Markt, PCcomponents has integrated a part of the marketplace on its website. Where sellers will be able to sell their products without the limitation of having their own online platform, at the same time they will benefit from the traffic with the one who currently accounts the website, whose figures rise to more than 350 thousand daily visits to the website.
Beauty:
- Sephora
Sephora it’s one of the biggest distribution chains for beauty products in Europe. The Sephora Portfolio Brands offer a wide range of beauty products, skin care, fragrances, hair care and also account with its private label. Today, Sephora on the ground is the leading perfumery and cosmetics chain in France, as well as a powerful beauty chain in countries around the world. Sephora aims to unify your in-store and online shopping experiences for customers, strengthen omnichannel offers and increase personalization across all your digital experiences.
- Anorkstore
Ankorstore it’s the first marketplace that connects brands and designers with boutiques across Europe. A platform that presents itself as a digital space for electronic commerce aimed at professionals, pymes and large companies from all over the world, specialized in the commercialization of ecological products. An initiative aimed at all types of businesses (both physical and digital), and offering a wide range of sustainable products. Sekai is based on a sustainable ethics and mentality.
Sport:
- Sprinter
Sprinter, it is a chain of sports shops and also has an eCommerce where they sell all kinds of products to carry out sports activities: shoes of different disciplines, clothing, complements, nutrition… In addition, it incorporates a marketplace that is open to third parties for sale. of sports products. Known as a meeting place for people who live sports, it has a wide range of products from leading sports brands such as Adidas, Nike, Puma, Fila, Asics, etc.
- Bulevip
Bulevip, known as a digital native brand that seeks to respond to the demand of a very concrete market niche: la nutrición deportiva. Bulevip, marketplace and online store of sports, nutrition and sports health mainly.
Currently, the marketplace comprises more than 100,000 product references. And the visits to its web page superan el milón mensual, generating así a millar of orders a day.
As we have been commenting and to close the theme of this month of July, the specialized or niche Marketplaces can be a great opportunity for pymes that seek to increase their sales on the ground, as well as generating greater visibility and recognition of the sector in the that operate
Marketplaces are a business model that offers a multitude of benefits and advantages, (as we have been explaining throughout this month), is available for both sellers and online buyers. It offers the possibility of solving specific problems of specialized niches and satisfying any user needs. Not to mention that, for sellers, it represents an opportunity, as we have mentioned, to give visibility to the brand and by means of the products and/or services sold.
We have to stay with the image that the Marketplaces today are, only one of the tools that more and better are growing and next we see will continue to do so for many more years. They offer diversity, allowing you to compare and contact in different ways with customers and sellers, converting them into a powerful information tool on products and services of any kind.
At Lifting Group as a strategic consultant and digital marketing agency, we offer a consulting service for marketplaces. A service where we identify business opportunities and advise our clients so that they can select and implement each of the strategies proposed by our experts.
