In the last year, e-commerce took its biggest leap in history. Many factors led to this growth and among the main reasons are the migration of physical stores to the digital environment and the greater adherence of consumers to online shopping.

But that’s not all! Marketplaces played the greatest role, accounting for 78% of total e-commerce revenues. The data doesn't lie: in Brazil, 148 million online orders were requested and a U$ 14.4 billion amount was handled in those orders.

Faced with so many positive indicators, it may happen that you, entrepreneurs, ask yourself if investing in a marketplace is the best option to increase your company's sales. Don't worry about it, in this post we'll answer all your doubts about what a marketplace is and its main advantages and help you make your choice. Keep reading!

What is a marketplace? 

A marketplace is an online platform that brings together a network of sellers from the same website. Basically, it works like a mall, where several companies, from different segments, can use the digital space to advertise their products.

In this model, the retail chain is responsible for attracting new clients and consolidating payments, while the seller registers products, arranges the shipments and makes the post-sales, paying only a commission to the platform for each order completed.

In the end, everyone wins: retailers increase revenue, sellers gain more visibility and increase their sales, and consumers have the convenience of finding everything they need in one place. 

In Brazil, the most popular marketplaces are Mercado Livre, Amazon, Magalu and B2W Marketplace, which is a joint venture formed by Americanas, Submarino and Shoptime. 

5 advantages of investing in a marketplace 

Before deciding if the marketplace is the best option for your business, it's important to know more about this model, right? Therefore, we list the main advantages of the marketplace, check out:

Low investment

Low initial investment is one of the main advantages of the marketplace, especially for small businesses that want to sell online. That's because the costs to be part of a marketplace are much lower compared to creating your own e-commerce.

To be on the marketplace, all you have to do is to negotiate the commission fees with the retailer and start selling. You don’t have to spend money on website creation, hosting or advertising.

Ready-made structure

The largest marketplaces in the market already have marketing structures, payment methods and a system integrated with post offices. So, the seller starts with the advantage of being offered with the features by the retailer that are also known by the customers, without paying anything extra for it. 

That advantage is connected with the cost too, as the company that sells via marketplace doesn’t have to invest in new tools, or get worried if these tools are reliable, to make everything work. 

Greater visibility

A marketplace receives thousand of visits everyday. By choosing this mode, the seller will be exhibiting its products in the “windows” of the main virtual malls, infinitely expanding the company's visibility and reducing costs while prospecting new customers. 

Based on this logic, the greater the number of people viewing the products, the greater the chances of sale.

Sales increase

As it has a large number of visitors and a diverse audience, it is certain that sales through the marketplace will be boosted — as will the invoicing of the virtual store. To give you an idea, the renowned platforms bring to their partners, on average, 40 million potential buyers.

Another interesting factor is that marketplaces are considered relevant sites to the main search engines, which makes it easier to reach new clients. 

Strategic View

The marketplaces tend to offer to their partners a high volume of data about sales and performance. 

Planning campaigns, launching promotions and pricing products are some of the actions that can be elaborated more easily and assertively thanks to statistics. 

Before choosing a marketplace to become a partner, it is recommended to assess whether the platform is the one that best meets the needs of your business, whether it has a good audience, a strong presence on social networks, in addition to, of course, conveying a positive image to the clients. 

Regardless of your choice, the marketplace can offer different opportunities for each type of business, but one thing is certain: it's a great chance to expand your sales portfolio and have a high reach media. 

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