eBay opened its doors back in 1995. 25 years later, it’s still one of the most popular online marketplaces in the world.
Since it came on the scene, we’ve seen plenty of other marketplaces open their digital doors, including bespoke offerings like Etsy and the biggest marketplace in the world, Amazon.
Marketplaces continue to be an integral part of online shopping thanks to their convenience and the sheer amount of choice they provide their users with.
Convenient Commerce Is On The Rise
Shopping has evolved almost beyond recognition in the past couple of decades. Back in the day, people had to venture outside their homes to buy goods, often traipsing through two or more stores just to get everything on their shopping list.
Today, things look very different. Shoppers can head online and buy products from their sofa, choosing next-day or even same-day deliveries.
The act of shops coming to consumers through their screens and social channels (like Instagram shoppable posts, for example) has turned shoppers from active participants in the buying cycle to passive receptacles.
This trend has become even more prevalent with the rise of online shopping marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Walmart. They provide an incredibly convenient way for consumers to shop for multiple products in the same place and have items batch-delivered.
As a result, sellers that fail to set up stores on these major marketplaces will suffer. They’ll lose potential customers and hand away their market share to competitors that have created a presence on the most popular online marketplaces.
Online Marketplaces And Convenient Commerce Go Hand In Hand
Millions of shoppers trawl through product listings on major marketplaces every year and spend millions of dollars through them.
They no longer need to actively leave their homes to hunt for items they need; instead, those products are served to them in one central place and can be bought with a single click.
Marketplaces are the epitome of convenient commerce, so it’s no wonder they have become such an important part of the ecommerce world. In fact, almost every single person who shops online has used a marketplace at least once – that’s no small feat.
There are plenty of other benefits, too:
Attract More Customers
Promoting an independent site is hard and involves a lot of effort and money. Marketplaces, on the other hand, have an inbuilt customer base who are eager to hand over their cash.
Sellers that tap into this customer base will be able to attract and convert customers far easier than those that go it alone.
Increased Sales And Revenue
The more visibility your store has, the better. By creating accounts on multiple different marketplaces, you’re adding new channels to market and sell your products on.
Build Trust Trust is a crucial part of the online shopping experience. Customers want to be safe in the knowledge that their money is going to the right place and they are increasingly wary of online fraud.
Marketplaces come with an inbuilt sense of trust, particularly if customers use them regularly. When an online store starts using a marketplace, that trust is automatically transferred to them.
More Product Transparency
It’s easier for consumers to get information about shipping and stock levels through marketplaces and they can compare prices much easier than navigating backwards and forwards between multiple independent sites.
Compete With Similar Brands
There’s a high chance your biggest competitors already have accounts on major marketplaces. Joining them on these platforms will increase your visibility and ensure you get at least some of the market share.
4 Ways To Leverage Online Marketplaces
While setting up an account on Amazon, Walmart, and eBay can be complex, it’s actually the easy part. After that, you’re flung into the arena against fierce competition. Sellers that want to stand out have to optimize their marketplace stores and tap into the knowledge of Walmart marketplace management experts.
Here are some key ways sellers can leverage online marketplaces to attract more customers and sell more products.
1. Be Visible In Multiple Marketplaces
Setting up accounts on several marketplaces will increase your visibility across the board. Customers that solely shop on Amazon are unlikely to see your Walmart store and vice versa, so it’s important to have a presence everywhere your customers are already shopping.
Urtasker.com can help clients set up and grow accounts on several different marketplaces, including eBay, Amazon, and Walmart.
2. Optimize Product Listings
Your product listings are what will drive sales.
Poorly executed ones will lose you customers just as quick as powerful and engaging ones will capture them.
Remember, you’re up against stiff competition.
To stand out, you have to optimize your product listings in every way possible if you want to boost your search rankings and increase conversions.
Here’s how you can do that:
Incorporate Keywords
Run keyword research and determine the phrases your customers use the most to search for products like yours. Sprinkle them throughout your product pages, including in product titles and descriptions.
Use High-Quality Images
Photos are a crucial part of the buying cycle – especially in online shopping when customers don’t get to see and touch a product before they buy. Use multiple high-quality images for each product and show it from all angles if possible.
This brand displays multiple annotated images of their product
Write Engaging Product Descriptions
Product descriptions tell shoppers everything they need to know about your products. Make sure they’re engaging and give shoppers the information they need to make a decision.
Include Social Proof
Social proof in the form of reviews instills buyer confidence and generates more conversions. Encourage shoppers to leave reviews on purchased products through review request emails.
3. Run Ads To Reach More Buyers
Ads help you rise to the top of search results and reach customers who might otherwise not have come across your products. Each marketplace has its own range of ads you can tap into, giving you the boost you need to stand out and sell more.
On Amazon, you can run Sponsored Product Ads, Sponsored Banner Ads, and Product Display Ads. The first two ad types are keyword-targeted ads, while Product Display Ads are served to consumers that have previously viewed the product or similar products.
An example of a Sponsored Product Ad on Amazon
eBay offers sellers Promoted Listings, which boost products to fourth or fifth position in search results, and Classified Ads, which bump products up to the top of search results.
On Walmart, sellers can leverage four different ad types: Sponsored Product Ads, Native Banner Ads, Catapult Ads, and Site Search Feature Ads.
4. Leverage Global Marketplaces
Marketplaces help sellers reach audiences all around the world.
Take Amazon, for example, which has a range of localized marketplaces that optimize prices, product listings, and payment methods based on cultural preferences.
With programs like FBA, sellers are able to utilize warehouses across the globe. This makes it easy to ship to different markets and reach new buyers wherever they are in the world.
Amazon Spain shows product listings in Spanish with euro pricing.
Marketplaces Continue To Provide Convenient Commerce
It’s safe to say that marketplaces will continue to form a major part of the online shopping world for years to come. Their convenience and ability to provide millions of products from all over the world makes them an integral part of any ecommerce strategy.
But, to make the most of them and the convenient commerce trend, it’s important for sellers to leverage the tools available and optimize their stores as much as possible. This involves writing compelling product descriptions, running ads across best-selling product ranges, and ensuring products are available to customers in different parts of the world.
At Urtasker, we’re ecommerce growth experts and we’re committed to helping online sellers reach new audiences through localized shopping experiences and product listing optimization.
