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Date of Publication: 1 Dec, 2021
Online Marketplace – How to Sell with Higher Profitability?
Whether you’re looking to grow your business, online marketplaces are often great channels to sell on in order to expand your reach and also assess new markets.
This guide is to provide you with relevant information that will help you with maximize your profits when selling products using online marketplaces.
Anirban Guha
Digital Marketing Expert | Media Strategist | Entrepreneur
Table of Contents
Learn the fundamentals about online marketplaces.
Major Product Categories
Electronics
Health
Beauty & Personal Care
Baby
Jewellery
Clothing & Accessories
Memorabilia
Gaming Consoles
Electrical Appliances
Food & Beverages
Luggage & Bags
Toys & Games
Home & Kitchen
Garden & Outdoor
Furniture
Consumer Accessories & Electronics
Computer & Mobile
Sports
Musical Instruments
B2B & Industrial
Vehicle Parts & accessories
Seconds
Books
Office & Stationeries
Pet Care
How to select Online Marketplace for your product?
According to McKinsey research, global e-commerce accounts for 12 percent of goods trade, with large amounts of it driven by marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
Online marketplaces have a larger “population” than the world’s largest countries, according to the research.
Finding the right online marketplace is crucial to success. Specifically, we will discuss size and reach, specialization, buyer base, and cost. With these factors in mind, you can sell your products on time and for maximum value.
Size & Reach
A marketplace’s size and reach should be the first factor to consider. You will likely not sell your item quickly (if at all) if you choose one with a small buyer pool or without an active marketing strategy. Consequently, you’ll waste time and miss deadlines.
Users are a key indicator of the success of an online marketplace. There should be a large number of active buyers on the website of a good one. Additionally, the site should be able to promote your products to buyers. To attract buyers, they should be able to market for you, have affiliate marketing partnerships, and have a strong online presence. By combining these factors, you’ll be able to list, sell, and recover capital on your items quickly. To get an idea of how well the site is doing, browse the site and see how many people are buying and selling.
Specialization
The majority of online marketplaces are not specialized. Antiques, art, livestock, and collectibles may be listed alongside industrial equipment. With this type of marketplace, getting your products in front of the right buyers is a challenge. There is no way to determine how many users are searching for your products versus other items on these sites.
In the previous point, we discussed the number of buyers, but here we focus on the right type of buyers. When the buyers are not specific to your industry, how many users a site has, or how well it markets, doesn’t matter. A steam iron would not be of interest to an audience looking for art or antiques.
A good online marketplce for your products (say winter wear) will not only have a focus but will specialize in sales of garments and accessories, Viz, Mintra & Nykaa Fashion. These sites have earned their reputation as online marketplaces for garments. So people who are looking for a purchase will first visit these sites.
List of few Online Marketplaces by Specialization in India:
Electronics
Amazon | Flipkart | Snapdeal | Shopclues
Health
1Mg | NetMeds | Pharmeasy | Dhani | Sasta Sundar | Medibuddy | Healthkart | Medlife | Shopclues | Amazon
Beauty & Personal Care
Nykaa | Amazon | Purplle | Smytten | Flipkart | Snapdeal | Shopclues | eBay
Baby
First Cry | Hopscotch | Myntra | Amazon | Flipkart | Shopclues | Snapdeal
Jewellery
1stdibs | Luxify | Meesho | Etsy | Amazon | Flipkart | Shopclues | Snapdeal | LimeRoad | Amazon | Carma Online
Clothing & Accessories
Myntra | Amazon | Flipkart | Shopclues | Etsy | Snapdeal | LimeRoad | eBay | Carma Online | Nykaa Fashion | Decathlon
Memorabilia / Collectibles
Amazon | Etsy | eBay | Snapdeal | Etsy | Flipkart | All India Bazaar
Gaming Console
Flipkart | Amazon | eBay | Snapdeal
Electrical Appliances
Amazon | Flipkart | Moglix |Eleczo | Snapdeal
Food & Beverages
ShopClues | BigBasket | Amazon | Groffers | Flipkart | All India Bazaar
Luggage & Bags
Luxify | Amazon | Flipkart | eBay | Nykaa Fashion
Toys & Games
First Cry | Hopscotch | Flipkart |Snapdeal | Amazon | All India Bazaar
Home, Kitchen etc
Amazon | Etsy | Flipkart | Snapdeal | eBay | Meesho | All India Bazaar
Garden & Outdoor
Amazon | eBay | Flipkart | Moglix | All India Bazaar
Furniture
Urban Ladder | Pepperfry| Wooden Street | Home Centre | Amazon | Flipkart | Furniturewalla | Moglix
Consumer Accessories & Electronics
Flipkart | Snapdeal | Amazon
Computer & Mobiles
Amazon | Flipkart | Snapdeal | eBay
Sports
Flipkart | Amazon | Cosco | Decathlon | Snapdeal | eBay
Musical Instruments
Flipkart | Snapdeal | Amazon | Zic Place | eBay | Reverb | All India Bazaar
B2B & Industrial
Udaan | Indiamart | Flipkart | eBay | Amazon | Moglix | Tradologie | All India Bazaar
Vehicle & Parts
Flipkart | Snapdeal |eBay | Amazon | All India Bazaar
Seconds
Olx | Quikr | SecondHandBazaar | eBay | Second Hand Mall | All India Bazaar
Books
Amazon | Snapdeal | Flipkart | Sapna Online | Buy Books India
Office & Stationeries
Amazon | Flipkart | Snapdeal | Moglix
Pet Care
Amazon | Flipkart | Snapdeal
Buyer Base
While it may not seem like a big deal at first, consider the geographic reach of the website or app you are considering when selling your product. To minimize shipping costs, you should target buyers as close as possible to your location. This becomes a key factor when selling heavy products like furniture, industrial equipment, etc. Further, the product you are trying to sell may not be compatible in certain locations. For example, selling coolers in humid climates, like Kolkata, may not work.
In the case of large items, this process can be very complex and costly. Try to list with a site that operates in the same geographical region as you do. Therefore, buyers will be encouraged to buy since the logistics of shipping will be easier to manage.
Cost
You must consider the cost of an online marketplace when choosing one. You should not just consider the fee structure of the site, but also how long it will take you to learn the system and post your listing. You will have to consider listing fees, commissions on sold items, payment processing fees, as well as marketing and promotion fees. These costs will affect the bottom line, and can sometimes exceed 40% of the final sold value.
You should also consider how long it will take to post your listings on a marketplace. Time is money, so you want the site to be easy to use and navigate. A good marketplace should provide a dedicated seller support line, or account manager who can assist with the selling process.
Things to consider while selecting a marketplace to selling your product
1. Listing Fee
2. Selling Commission
2. Refund & Return Policy
3. Payment Terms & Payment Processing
4. In-site Advertising Policy & Charges
5. Speciality listings, viz, Prime, Amazon Choice, Flipkart Assured, Combo Offers with other products etc
6. Terms and conditions for listing a particular product
7. Dispute Resolution Process
8. Competition Product Positioning & Pricing
4 key factors for successfully selling products through online marketplaces?
1. Understanding the key strengths of an Online Marketplace and how it could be best utilized
Getting to know the strengths of the marketplace of choice is vital before taking the business online. There is no marketplace that can sell all types of products to target audiences equally well, regardless of what claims they might make.
Some marketplaces are better at selling low-value items. While others may be more suitable for selling bulk items. Additionally, it is important to understand the reach of the market. Moreover, in order to avoid losing good business opportunities, consider the stability and working policies as well.
It is imperative to understand which products in the portfolio are best suited for the online marketplace and list them accordingly.
2. Level of competition and strength and weakness of the competitors
Pay close attention to the level and strength of the competition when choosing an online marketplace. To provide clients with a better and more diverse choice, most e-commerce websites use multiple suppliers within a single category.
Entrepreneurs need to carry out a comprehensive analysis to understand
- Their competitors’ popularity among clients
- their product quality, pricing, and market reputation.
It is true both for new businesses seeking to find a niche in their chosen field as well as established brands seeking an entry into the virtual world.
3. Creating an attractive and detailed catalog
A product or service must be presented in an informative and appealing manner to ensure success on the market. In contrast to physical stores, online shoppers are strongly influenced by the way a product or service is presented to them.
This makes it critical to create a catalog that offers a multidimensional view of every product alongside all the basic details such as the size, price, and availability. Additionally, it is a good idea to create an information sheet for each product that includes all the above details as well as a brief description of the product, available colors, and shipping details.
4. Product Visibility
Remember all online marketplaces are here to make money. They will make those products more visible that are bought more frequently or are sponsored for, as they can earn more from commission and promotional charges.
If you search for a product, say in Amazon, you will find products that are sponsored or listed in Prime are more visible than others. Every marketplace has an in-channel advertising option and priority listings, like Prime in Amazon and Assured in Flipkart, which if used wisely under expert advice could give you profitability that may not be possible with the normal trade channels.
An important part of product visibility is understanding the source and terms of the product searches and then take a careful consideration whether to be present or not, depending on the cost of conversion for that particular brand and product. Some channels can be very competitive and expensive, some low and reasonable. A wise digital marketer will plan the right mix and allocate a budget to maximize the ROI.
As per research conducted by Statista, 40% of the product searches on the internet happens through search engines like Google and Bing. In India, as of October 2021, market share of Google remains at 98.76% of all searches, followed by Bing and Yahoo! at 0.91% & 0.25% respectively.
So how to make your product visible in Google searches, especially with product searches? How to make them count?
When you search for a product in Google products appears in shopping and in search results. To appear in shopping you need to connect your website with Google Merchant Centre and for searches, you need to have an excellent product SEO.
However, in a competitive environment and regularly changing algorithms Google Shopping Ads and Search Ads helps to make your products visible with product-specific keywords that the buyers are most likely to search for.
On Clicking the ad the buyer may be redirected to a landing page where you can feature your product. With growing internet fraud and malicious practices, customers may not trust the website with their UPI or Credit Cards. In such cases, if the product page has links to buy from trusted marketplaces it could result in higher conversions.
Another advantage of this is getting the buyer within a captive environment exposing them to relevant content, USPs of the products, comparative studies, reviews etc. It leaves a positive impact before the buyer lands on the product page on his preferred marketplace. Remember, every marketplace has limitations on what content you may or may not place. But you can have as much content you like, the way you like, on your landing page.
It also creates a brand recall that generally gets lost when only present in marketplaces. This is very important of smaller and mid segment brands which are still to be at the top of mind recall.
Statista shows Social Media Sites account for 25% of product searches? How to leverage the situation?
As you have gone through the Statista data you must be thinking of the opportunities it may provide. When it comes to India, Facebook and Youtube take away a huge share in social media. Unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t have a shopping platform yet in India, but shopping ads through Facebook can be made to feature on the site. Whatsapp Business has recently launched direct selling tools but has yet to reach the top priorities.
Now, the question remains, who do you reach out to and how to bring them in? Video Ads in YouTube & Facebook can play a vital role in creating awareness about your product and bringing them to your website at the initial stage, or later in the campaign, directly to the product page on the online marketplace, giving them a multi-level exposure. With Facebook Re-marketing Ads, using Carousel Shopping, you can reach out to already exposed audiences and bring them to landing pages on their preferred marketplace. The obvious question is, how does one find out what is their preferred online marketplace? Well, that is expertise honed by a digital marketer. It involves a relatively complex process of audience targeting at multiple levels of advertising, creating an exposure funnel for the audience, and giving them options they are most likely to avail for a particular product (a topic for another article).
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