Selling through your own store doesn’t mean you can’t also sell your products through a marketplace as well to reap the benefits of both, nor does selling in one marketplace mean you can’t also sell in another. It’s just wise to take the time to figure each out one at a time.
Many successful merchants do just that “owning” their business and brand online, while also gaining the exposure and sales from the large volume of traffic found on online marketplaces.
1. Increase Sales From a High Traffic Channel
The chief draw of selling on marketplaces such as Amazon is the scale of its online presence. You have millions of active customers each month visiting Amazon looking to shop for products.
By listing the products on Amazon every retailer automatically gains credibility and trust. That is because some users are more likely to buy a product from Amazon rather than from a shop they never heard of. Amazon’s promise of excellence and great service entices many shoppers into buying the products from their website.
2. Acquire New Customers
Nobody visits Amazon searching for your store. But they may be searching for “product-a” and discover “product-a” your products. Products they may not have discovered otherwise, or that they may have purchased from a competitor.
Once you’ve got a customer in the door, even if it is through a marketplace, you’ve got a chance to win repeat business through excellent service and fulfillment. This is especially the case if you’re selling products in a category that encourages frequent, repeat purchases, such as grocery, home and kitchen, electronics, hobby supplies.
3. Many People Prefer Shopping Via Marketplaces
Marketplaces are all about strength in numbers. This is as true for online marketplaces as it is for real world examples like shopping malls, food trailer parks.
The variety and all-in-one aspect of the marketplace can draw in lots of customers who prefer that kind of shopping experience. Online marketplaces also bring additional layer of single-stream checkout and fulfillment support in order to create a seamless experience for buyers.
4. International Expansion
Since Amazon is one of the biggest and most trusted global selling and buying platforms, it’s very easy to start selling in different markets.
With Amazon, any retailer can quickly test if his products appeal to the global audience by creating a listing on a local Amazon. You don’t have the hassle of local payment systems, logistics, and operations.
5. Low marketing costs
Amazon already attracts millions of customers to their website daily, and you get access to them.
Depending on your niche and how crowded the market is you can start selling from day one without any significant marketing efforts whatsoever.
6. No stock
With more than 100 fulfillment centers around the globe, you can ship all your products in bulk to Amazon and they will store your inventory, package it and ship it to shoppers.
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is your inventory warehouse, manager, and shipper for a very small amount, compared to what you’d have to pay otherwise. On top of freeing yourself from the shipping hassle, your products will qualify automatically for Amazon Prime shipping and buy box priority, which will hugely impact on the overall sales.
7. Fulfillment by Amazon
Fulfillment by Amazon involves sending your inventory in bulk to Amazon and letting them handle shipping and fulfillment.
8. Amazon Prime
\Amazon prime membership, which incentivizes shoppers with free 2-day shipping, along with a reputation for fast and reliable order fulfillment.
