Online shopping has become a habit, if not an instinct, in today’s highly competitive business world.
To start an online business, merchants prefer to use an eCommerce website or an E-marketplace. You can sell on giant marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. However, many people have decided to find their way by starting online stores instead of relying on one-size-fits-all marketplaces like eBay or Amazon.
What is an eCommerce platform?
An e-commerce platform connects consumers, sellers, and third parties through end-to-end software applications. eCommerce websites involve two parties in a sale, the buyer and the seller. No third party is involved. eCommerce website builders are part of this service category, as is accounting and inventory management. Several popular eCommerce platforms are available today, including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento.
What is an Online Marketplace?
Using an online marketplace is also convenient for businesses to sell their products and services. The purpose of an online marketplace is to allow multiple sellers to present their products and services to buyers. Sellers can start listing items using the existing infrastructure by creating an account on the Marketplace. Online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are popular examples.
Selling Products On your e-Commerce Website: What You Need To Know.
E-commerce platforms usually offer business owners templates for kickstarting their e-commerce websites. This saves them time and prevents them from building everything from scratch. To keep it going and performing well requires a large startup fee and ongoing research and effort. It is possible to customize your e-commerce website to complement your brand and meet the needs and wants of your targeted market.
Your E-Commerce website offers many benefits, including:
Control over the site is completely possible
E-Commerce websites are more expensive to build than marketplace listings, but you will manage them yourself. eCommerce platforms offer plugins that developers can use to develop websites. Controlling all aspects of the site’s functionality, design, and navigation will allow you to provide your visitors with the best possible experience.
Businesses can build brand awareness with it.
Creating brand awareness is essential for your business to gain recognition. Creating your website allows you to control how you want your brand to be represented. Selling on marketplaces may have some limitations, and you’ll have to follow their design and layout, which may not reflect your brand well.
Competitors are fewer
The competition will always exist regardless of how you sell your products online, but selling on your website is less competitive. Marketplace allows you to sell your products alongside similar or identical products other businesses offer.
Commission-free
You must pay a transaction fee when selling on marketplaces, even if you have your website. However, you keep all of the money you earn on a self-hosted website. Therefore, for a third-party website to make money, you should expect them to charge commissions on your products.
Customer retargeting
If you have an e-commerce website, you can retarget your customers whether they visited your site with ads or made a purchase. You can also use the data to analyze customer behaviors and improve the customer experience on your website.
Selling Products On Marketplace: What You Need To Know
Marketplaces are a great way to sell products online. When a third party is involved, less effort is required. However, there is an additional cost every time a sale is made. Marketplaces usually charge lower fees when they first launch. In addition, you are usually not responsible for marketing and payment gateway or courier costs if you sell on a marketplace.
Promote brand awareness
Getting your brand recognized is easy when you sell on well-known marketplaces. In addition, users will become more familiar with your products as they appear on the platform more frequently.
The setup is quick and easy.
Selling on marketplaces does not require technical knowledge. Adding your products is as simple as creating an account. There are experts at marketplaces who develop and maintain their platforms, and everything is ready for you as a business owner.
Setup Costs are low or none.
A website for an e-commerce business can be expensive to develop. If you need a team of experts to do the job, consider the platform fees and the costs of hiring web developers. Instead, marketplaces allow you to save on hiring expenses.
Create trust
There is trust among customers in marketplaces. When new customers discover your product on a marketplace platform, they will be more likely to buy it than when they discover it for the first time on your website.
Which one to use: an e-Commerce platform Or a Marketplace
Shoppers will continue to shop online, and online selling platforms will increase yearly. A marketplace allows you to sell with many competitors, but an e-commerce platform merely allows you to create an e-commerce website.
For eCommerce beginners, online marketplaces are an excellent place to start because they reduce the risks, hiring costs, technical knowledge, and time needed to set up a company. Or you can set up your eCommerce website if you are already a well-known brand and don’t want to share your profits with a marketplace. You must choose whether to use eCommerce platforms or marketplaces according to your situation and needs.
