It’s a question on the minds of many e-tailers. Today on our blog, we’d like to offer you some advice on how to sell successfully on a marketplace. But before you read on, we’d like you to bear in mind the following analogy when we talk about a marketplace: think of this platform as a roadside hub, connecting e-merchants who have products or services to sell with buyers who more or less know what they want, and who enter it into a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo) or directly into the marketplace’s search bar.
Selling on a marketplace requires attention to a number of factors, which we will review in this article.
Marketplaces or the art of attracting significant traffic
If you’re still wondering about the relevance of marketplaces, take a look at the following statistics. By 2023, marketplaces will account for two-thirds of global online sales (1).
In terms of European e-commerce, marketplaces account for 63% of the €265 billion in sales, i.e. a total of €167 billion (2).
It’s obvious, then, that having a presence on marketplaces can help you boost your business sales. Let’s take a look at some good practices you can put in place to capitalise on your sales through these platforms.
Pay particular attention to customer relations
Pamper your customers! By being present on marketplaces, you undertake to respect their rules to the letter, otherwise you will no longer be able to sell your products on their platform.
And customer satisfaction is one of the key factors in the success of marketplaces. Customer reviews are regularly put forward. They provide an objective assessment of the seriousness of the seller and can be a powerful conversion driver.
We recommend that you dedicate one or more people to customer relations, so that you can offer your customers a 5-star experience at all times.
Offer a good product catalogue
As we mentioned in our article on how to structure a marketplace catalogue, the effectiveness of your business on a marketplace will depend on the depth (or density) of your catalogue, as well as its readability for the end customer.
Here is a list of the minimum elements you should have for each of your products:
- The product title: one of the most important elements for SEO, the title must be concise and include the main keywords
- The product description: the ideal place to make people want to read on, give your buyer key information and position keywords for natural referencing
- One or more photos of the product: it’s essential to use HD photos that make you want to buy your product
- The product category: a precise, detailed category will help your buyer to quickly find the product they are looking for
- The condition of the product: depending on whether your product is new, second-hand or even reconditioned
- The size and colour of the product: particularly if you sell products in different versions
- The quantity of your product available: to enable you to monitor your stocks in real time
- The price: including VAT
- The delivery methods available: relay point, home delivery, recorded delivery, express delivery, etc.)
- The amount of delivery charges: it’s up to you to decide whether you want to offer them to your customers and in what circumstances
- Delivery times: even if they are indicative, delivery times are one of the main concerns of consumers
Look after the referencing of your product sheets
More than ever in 2024, the sinews of war are being played out on natural referencing (SEO, for Search Engine and Optimization). As a professional merchant, we advise you to take care with the content of your product sheets. They need to be unique in order to be positioned on specific keywords that will be typed in by Internet users when they search.
Pay particular attention to the title tag and the meta-description of your product sheets. The description of your product sheets is an excellent way of describing your product in an original way that will make your buyer want to buy and that will appeal to Google thanks to the keywords used.
For each of your product sheets, bear in mind that the first three positions in the search results are the most interesting. According to a study by Sixtrix (3), the average click-through rate for the first result is 28.5%. The second and third results only generate an average click-through rate of 15.7% and 11% respectively.
Offer attractive rates
Price is also a significant factor in the buyer’s final decision to buy from one merchant rather than another. If they have their credit card in their hand and are ready to make a purchase, many buyers compare prices on the various marketplaces.
Commercial operations such as private sales, sales or exceptional discounts are excellent ways of significantly increasing your conversion rate. In fact, it’s no coincidence that Black Friday in the United States and Europe, and Singles Day in China in November, are among the most eagerly awaited shopping holidays for consumers. In 2022, according to a GFK study, the French spent €802 million on home equipment during Black Friday (4).
We therefore advise you to keep a constant eye on the prices charged by your competitors so that you can position yourself without damaging your margins.
A marketplace for every type of business
Not all marketplaces will be suitable for your business. We advise you to study the different marketplaces available to you carefully. For example, there are generalist marketplaces (e.g. the best known are Amazon, eBay, Cdiscount and E.Leclerc) and specialist marketplaces that focus on a particular theme or universe (e.g. Mano Mano dedicated to DIY, Zalando dedicated to ready-to-wear clothing or Alltricks specialising in outdoor sports equipment).
Depending on the products you sell, choose the marketplace that suits you best.
Multiply the channels through which you distribute your products!
As you have just seen, the marketplace can be a formidable business accelerator. However, we recommend that you don’t depend on just one marketplace. Once your presence on an initial marketplace is well set up, don’t hesitate to look at other platforms to increase your visibility and ensure long-term sales.
If you have the technical skills or a small marketing budget, we also advise you to create a showcase website to highlight your brand image, even if it means linking to the marketplace where you are present. CMS such as WordPress can be customised as you wish and will enable you to create a showcase site in just a few hours.
Make your buyers want to stay in your shop
Just like a traditional retailer who wants his customers to stay as long as possible in his physical shop, your objective will be the same with your buyers. You want them to stay on your online shop for as long as possible and browse the different products in your catalogue.
Photos and visuals of your products are one of the best ways of keeping your visitors. Don’t hesitate to show your products in real life. If you can, enlist the help of a professional photographer who will be able to advise you on the best way to showcase your products in relation to your environment.
Delivery, the crucial stage for any e-tailer
That’s it, your customer has made the purchase and there’s only one thing left for them to do: receive their product at home so they can use it. In e-commerce, delivery is a crucial stage. You will have the choice of either bringing the shipping process in-house (product packaging and labelling, shipping, returns management, etc.) or entrusting it directly to the marketplace.
The advantage of this second option is that you can benefit from the marketplace’s logistics expertise, but it will inevitably cost more than doing it yourself.
According to a study carried out by Uber Direct, the on-demand delivery solution of the American giant Uber, delivery is an essential purchasing criterion for 88% of e-consumers and even for 94% of frequent e-consumers (5).
These tips on how to sell on a marketplace will give you a head start!
Sources :
(1) https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/product/online-marketplaces-database/
(2) https://www.alliancy.fr/quatrieme-edition-top-100-cross-border-marketplaces-europe
(3) https://www.sistrix.fr/blog/pourquoi-presque-tout-ce-que-vous-saviez-sur-google-ctr-nest-plus-valable/
(4) https://www.gfk.com/fr/insights/fr-black-friday-2022-infographic
(5) Uber Direct ; https://www.ecommercemag.fr/Thematique/logistique-1222/barometre-etude-2182/Diaporamas/Les-5-chiffres-cles-de-la-logistique-a-garder-en-387648/livraison-criteres-achat-importants–387649.htm
