Marketplace: how does it work?
The generalization of electronic commerce has resulted in different types of Internet sales. We are going to delve into the concept of a marketplace and analyze its operation; In addition, we will give some usage tips to get the most out of these platforms and boost the sale of the advertised products.
What is a marketplace
The term marketplace refers to an online platform where various sellers can advertise and put their products on sale . It resembles a large online store, which functions as an intermediary between buyers and sellers.
This idea is better understood when contrasted with the concept of traditional eCommerce , in which the owner of the online store promotes his own products and services; In a marketplace, a user can purchase items from different brands, stores or companies .
One of the great advantages of marketplaces is that they simplify the user’s purchasing experience. By bringing together products from different sellers on the same site, the buyer saves browsing time , because they visit only one page and do not have to search for the products one by one on the Internet.
In addition, the seller avoids the development and maintenance of his own online store, and takes advantage of the infrastructure of an existing website , which also surely already has a community of visitors large enough to guarantee visits to the page.
How does it work
Currently, many sellers use an online marketplace to publicize their products. To do this, the interested company must register on the platform and add the products it wishes to market through the platform.
For its part, the managing entity usually charges a commission to sellers for the transfer of platform space. Its amount is usually a percentage of each completed sale, which varies depending on the level of promotion that the seller has requested from the platform administrator for their products.
Likewise, the seller usually has a maximum period to transfer the funds collected from the sale of their products to the managing entity: if they do not comply, they risk being expelled from the platform.
Tips for selling in a marketplace
Take care of the presentation of the catalog
The user who buys online needs to know everything possible about a product, since they cannot see or try it physically. Therefore, product sheets and descriptions must be as complete and illustrative as possible.
Optimize texts for search engines
It is important to apply certain SEO knowledge to the catalog texts: by optimizing these to be reached through keyword searches on Internet engines, the seller will increase the chances of Internet users visiting their product pages in the marketplace.
Promote positive reviews
Product reviews are a very powerful weapon to gain reliability. It is more likely that a user will purchase a product with many positive reviews than one that has hardly any ratings, so it will be very important to encourage customers to leave their reviews, and that these ratings help other new customers take the step of purchasing the product. article.
Selling through a marketplace means benefiting from an extensive community of visitors to an already created website; However, before embarking on this adventure, it is crucial to calculate the impact of the platform administrator’s commissions on the margin of the products to be offered.