If there is one thing the last couple of years in Digital Marketing has taught us, it is that relying solely on one or two marketing channels, is a bad (and potentially disastrous) business strategy.
Therefore, one must not sit and wait until CPC and CPM prices on marketing channels reach the sky, but rather consistently and vigorously test and explore alternatives to the already established marketing channels. Otherwise, what will eventually happen is that your margins will become their margins, due to the very nature of the auction-based systems.
The purpose of this post is to introduce you to a variety of marketplaces that can be incorporated into your marketing mix to both fuel growth and make your business less dependent on the big advertisement players in e-commerce (Facebook, Google, Amazon).
The Case for Online Marketplaces – in General
First and foremost, let’s take a look at why being present on online marketplaces (Amazon included) can be highly beneficial for your brand in the first place.
- 47% of digital purchases worldwide happened via online marketplace platforms. (Statista)
- 14% of consumers would prefer to shop at an online marketplace for a first-time purchase. (Statista)
- 37% would prefer to make repeat purchase at an online marketplace. (Statista
Now that shall be enough to convince any e-commerce owner or marketeer that taking a closer look at online marketplaces may not be a bad idea.
4 Online Marketplaces to Look Into Today (Amazon excluded)
ASOS
With distribution in over 235 countries and over 1650 brands listed on the platform, ASOS is very interesting marketplace to look into for fast-fashion brands. The median price of all brands on ASOS is USD $26, making it lucrative for brands those audience is looking for fast-fashion. The top categories on ASOS is jumpsuits, accesories, and shorts
Zalando
Another lucrative marketplace in the fashion space is the most visited marketplace in Europe with an average of 380 million visitors per month, namely Zalando. Although they are “only” distributing to 17 countries, the median price is relatively higher than on ASOS, at USD $48. The top categories on Zalando are shoes, dresses, and jumpsuits
Zalora
If you are looking for a stronger presence in the East, Zalora might just the marketplace you are looking for. It is the biggest marketplace in Southeast Asia and serve an average of 2 million customers month. They offer a wide range of categories from sportswear, fast fashion, to ethnicwear. The median price is at the same level of ASOS, at USD $26
Ebay
Moving a bit out of the fashion category, there is the second largest marketplace in the world, namely Ebay. The platform was initially focused on auctions and peer-to-peer selling, before transitioning to a model of online shopping similar to Amazon. The best-selling categories on Ebay is mobile phones & accesories, video games, health & beauty, and home & garden – so there is definately an opportunity to grab for brands in categories other than fashion here.
On a final note, there are many more marketplaces out here, and there is surely one or multiple marketplaces which your brand can benefit from – even though your product might serve a very niche category. As with everything else, remember to do your own research on the marketplaces and make sure that you are choosing the ones which are right for your business.
