marketplaces Archives

The Importance of eCommerce Delivery when selling on Online Marketplaces

Online Marketplaces are fast becoming one of the most popular ways for consumers to buy online, accounting for 52% of global online sales. It’s increasingly important to step into the developing world of online marketplaces in order to grow international sales. Having a presence on different online marketplaces alongside your own website means you can ensure you don’t miss out on any key opportunities.

Innovative eCommerce Delivery and Online Marketplaces

Delivery is a key driver in how marketplaces, such as Amazon, continue to blaze ahead and grow. Innovations in this space continue to push the boundaries of delivery, offering customers faster and more convenient delivery options than ever. Amazon especially makes headlines for its revolutionary shipping options, with one day and same day becoming more popular, and talk of potential half hour drone deliveries in the future. Whilst these are not viable for many businesses, it shows how important delivery is to stay competitive on online marketplaces.

How Important Is eCommerce Delivery when selling on Online Marketplaces?

On online marketplaces, there is opportunity to reach more customers but with more competition from other sellers. This means that delivery could be the difference between a customer buying from you vs a competitor.

Retaining Trust Through Delivery

Marketplaces give customers a sense of trust and confidence even if they have never bought from you before, and this trust is what will make them more likely to seek out your brand in future. When comparing online sellers, delivery can encourage more repeat purchases as consumers look to spend their hard earned money with sellers that offer convenience and reliability. A choice of delivery options, means they can select delivery to suit their lifestyle whilst it’s also important to make sure you can then deliver on your promises and orders arrive when your customer expects them to.

This is why it’s important to make sure you have the capacity and technology in place to support multi-channel order fulfilment, so you can despatch orders promptly and offer customers visibility of the parcel journey.

GFS Channel Connector can help you consolidate orders across various marketplaces to automate labelling and parcel tracking for a seamless customer experience.

Outsourcing your delivery can help you fulfil your orders and ensure you have confidence on your delivery process. Contact us to find out more about working with GFS to handle your deliveries.

5 Key Takeouts From Our Online Marketplace Masterclass

In our recent masterclass, we looked at the growing opportunity with online marketplaces. With 1.86 trillion spent globally on the top 100 marketplaces in 2018 and marketplaces accounting for 52% of global online sales, retailers are increasingly seeing the chance for growth through different avenues. We’ve rounded up some of the key takeouts from the day:

The Top Marketplaces Are Located in North America

The biggest opportunity when it comes to marketplaces is in North America. 61 of the top 100 marketplaces are located there, with Europe trailing at only 14. It’s clear there is a big opportunity for retailers to tap into the USA eCommerce market and grow their online sales.

The Fastest Growing Opportunity Is In The Netherlands

Russia, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil all have fast-growing eCommerce markets, ranging from 8% to 20% growth. The Netherlands, however, is the fastest-growing. Dutch shoppers have spent around 20 billion Euros in the year 2016, showing a growth of around 23%. Add to that that the Internet penetration in the Netherlands is more than 90%, its an attractive eCommerce market with a lot of potential over the coming years.

It’s Important to Choose Your Marketplace Well

Retailers may be tempted to sell on every marketplace going. However, it’s important to identify your priorities in order to decide which market will work best for your business. Consider the demographics, product availability, consumer culture, delivery, duties and compliance. Shortlist the potential marketplaces based on whether it suits your brand, and how much competition there is for your products. It’s also important to look at what kind of support you will get and how easy it will be to integrate with your technology and way of working.

There’s More to Marketplaces than Amazon

As one of the biggest eCommerce websites, Amazon is usually the first thought when it comes to online marketplaces. However, there are many marketplaces out there, and more and more are emerging as rising stars in the industry. These include Catch (based in Australia) with 5 million monthly visitors, The Market (based in New Zealand) with 3.6 billion visits, New Egg, which is operating in 80+ countries with 49 million users per month. These are just a few of the emerging websites that are grabbing attention, with many more to choose from. Make sure you look beyond Amazon and get in at the ground floor with one of the companies that are growing quickly.

Delivery Is Still Key When It Comes to Selling in Marketplaces

Delivery can be a barrier for many retailers when it comes to selling abroad. Logistically it can seem like a headache, with different customs and documentation needed for different countries. Where it might seem like a logistical problem, it’s also a marketing opportunity. Having quick and effective delivery globally means repeat business and better customer experience. Working with GFS can help you with reliable service, expertise on delivering across the world, and easy technology integration. Contact us to talk about how we can help you solve your delivery problems.

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