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If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them: Online Marketplaces

September 8, 2017 / 3 minute read / By Ian Goldman

By Ian Goldman | CEO, Celerant Technology

Retailers tend to view online marketplaces such as Amazon or Walmart as threats, however the savvier retailers are shifting their mindset and starting to look at these conglomerates more as opportunities. This is where the age old saying comes into play, ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’ By partnering with these marketplaces, merchants can sell more products, expand their brand and develop a larger customer base all by leveraging the massive recognition and marketing these platforms bring.

Change your mindset

Retailers naturally see Amazon, the largest marketplace in the world, as competition to the SMB’s who have established themselves in local communities. What many small businesses don’t recognize is that these sites can, and should be, turned into partners; by using marketplace integrations retailers can increase their reach exponentially. Marketplaces increase brand awareness, capturing shoppers that otherwise would have never found you. And while, yes, a percentage of your sale goes to the marketplace, the potential increase in overall sales (with minimal overhead) should out pay itself and then some. E-Commerce is rapidly becoming the medium of choice for consumers, with comparative marketplaces becoming the norm, so leveraging these sites is an easy way for retailers to be more successful.

Expand your brand

In 2016, it was reported that there were more than 310 million active customer accounts on Amazon. That means if you are able to sell a 1 dollar product to 1/100 of Amazon’s customer base within the year, you could have 3 million in additional sales. One of our clients sold over 8 million dollars last year through Amazon alone, on top of their more traditional brick and mortar and online sales.

Take the load off

Some marketplaces, such as Amazon, use their massive infrastructure to take on the burden of fulfillment and service. Retailers participating in FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) send their merchandise to the Amazon warehouse to fulfill, taking advantage of Amazon ‘Prime’ member orders with free 2-day shipping. In today’s world of instant gratification, leveraging this subset of Amazon shoppers can bring a significant increase in your Amazon orders…

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