Top eCommerce Marketplaces: Which should your business be targeting?

The online marketplace is highly competitive, with new competition entering the market regularly due to the low entry barriers. Though compared to physical stores, you can reach audiences from all over the world at the click of a button thanks, to the internet and international shipping services, allowing you to increase your sales and expand your brand reach.

Some of our favourite 2022 online shopping statistics demonstrate just how important it is to get your products out in front of a global audience:

As of 2022, at least 75% of consumers shop online at least once a month. [2]
Forecasts predict that global eCommerce sales will reach $7.4 trillion by 2025 [1]

Of course, having your own website is great, but there are so many eCommerce marketplaces you can sell on to reach more potential customers. After all, the more places you can display your products, the more exposure they will get, and the more sales!

According to research by Stitch Lab, retailers who sell on more than two marketplaces generate around 190% more revenue than those who sell on just one. [3]

Types of online marketplaces:

Vertical marketplaces – focuses on only one kind of product category, e.g. kids’ toys.
Horizontal marketplaces – many different types of products within the same category, e.g. clothing, beauty, and skincare for women.
Global marketplaces – they sell almost anything and everything!

Let’s focus on the 3 top global marketplaces your business should be targeting to get on:

1. Selling on Amazon

Whether you’re a big business or small, selling on Amazon can be a great way to increase your profitability by boosting sales and brand reach.

Did you know that on average, Amazon ships 1.6 million parcels every single day? [4] And around 374.2 million visits were recorded in May 2022 alone — an increase of over 6 million from the previous month [5].

2. Selling on Etsy

If your products are fun and creative, Etsy is a great online marketplace! Their main purpose is to give users who sell handcrafted items, vintage items, or arts & crafts a platform to sell their products. However, you can find a wide range of different products on their platform. Unlike Amazon, Etsy users share similar interests so you will have to assess whether your products fit the target market.

3. Selling on eBay

One of eBay’s main purposes was to allow consumer-to-consumer sales, but many businesses also sell their products on this marketplace. Much like a website, eBay allows businesses to create a storefront for all of their items, allowing users to browse through your entire collection of products. Furthermore, you can send email campaigns to those interested in your products and eBay’s logistics partners will store, pack, and ship all items for you.