How E-Commerce Marketplace is Redefining the Industry?

Introduction

• What is E-commerce Marketplace?
• What are its advantages and disadvantages?
• Are you planning to take your business on the E-commerce platform?

India is the 3rd largest E-commerce market in the world after China and the United States of America, and in the next few years, e-commerce marketplace in India is set to surpass that of the USA.

What is E-commerce and How it Grows

It is the most innovative way of doing business without establishing any physical store around the world. It has seamless potential to “expand your business as swiftly as never before”.

E-commerce marketplace is an online platform to sell products to customers all over the world without any physical barrier around the clock.

It not only increases your sales but reduces cost drastically.

It helps you in:

• Fast selling of goods and services.
• Reach out to a huge customer base.
• Less investment in marketing and sales promotion.
• Fast supply chain and electronic funds transfer mechanism.

Advantages of E-commerce Marketplace Services

1: Engage with your Customers

With more and more people coming on an online platform, your presence on the internet “builds a healthy relationship with customers”, which imbibes trust among them towards your products and services.

2: Windfall Gain of New Customers

In the traditional business model, only selected people, who know you personally or who reside in the vicinity, purchase from your shop, while on the online market platform “the whole world is your market”.

Today, anybody can purchase your product from any corner of the world on figure tips.

3: Saving on Operational Cost

Here, the whole business is built on “web management system” with automatic inventory calculators, which “saves your cost on manpower”.

Now, you don’t need teller, accountant, and office building to accommodate your business.

4: Data-Driven Selling

In the traditional business model, you are unable to understand the needs of your customers.

However, in the online market place, you can understand the buying habits of your customers through data-driven traffic.

5: Digital Branding is Fast and Cost Effective

As compared to TV, Radio, Print adds, digital branding is fast and cost-effective.

You just need to “develop your digital marketing team” to beat big brands.

6: Digital Sales Pitching vs. Physical Sales Pitching

There is a greater chance of human error in the sales mechanism of the traditional business model; while in digital sales pitching you can give perfect information without any error.

The online platform provides an opportunity to “showcase products with unlimited details and visual presentation”.

7: Re-Marketing and Re-Targeting in a Boundary Less Market

It’s a barrier-free market where a person can visit anytime, anywhere even if he/she doesn’t intend to purchase a product.

The online market place is so efficient that even if a customer doesn’t purchase your product, you can “re-market” and “re-target” your products to that particular customer through various Google tools and increase your visibility.

But it is not possible at physical stores.

8: 24/7 Potential Real Income

A physical shop cannot remain open for 24 hours, while the digital platform is available 24 x 7, where customers can buy products any time from any place.

9: International Profitable Scalability

You can expand your business seamlessly at lightning speed across the globe through an E-commerce marketplace.

You can increase your profit as you can decide your margin and scale-up it without opening a physical store.

10: Affordable Employees and Affordable IT Infrastructure

The online market place doesn’t need an actual office as it can be operated from a virtual office.

You can engage people from any corner of the country through a virtual office, without investing heavily on salary, office and administrative cost.

11: Fast Order Processing Despite Huge Market Place

A physical store has limited capacity to accommodate customers at a single point of time, but in E-commerce, you can attend any number of customers simultaneously.

Moreover, people have the tendency to purchase from big market place instead of a small physical store with limited choices.

Challenges in E-Commerce Marketplace

1: Site Crash

Due to technical problems and external attacks, your website can break down anytime during a transaction, which may affect your business and customer base.

2: Customers can’t try before they buy

Before buying a product, a customer wants to try it physically which is impossible on an online platform.

This problem can be resolved by showcasing your product through graphical and visual presentation.

3: Customer can be Impatient if there is Limited Information

At a physical store, customer can ask as many questions as he wants to know about a product before buying, which has been a shortcoming of the online marketplace.

4: Shipping Delays can be Irritating

Many times online market place suffers a delay in shipping due to the logistic process or unavailability of products which leads to a decrease in customer satisfaction.

5: Constantly Upkeep Technology and Inventory

An E-commerce marketplace should have constant up-gradation of software to make the shopping experience more smooth and convenient.

6: High Competition, Low Margin, and Marketplace Fee

Many times you need to decrease your margin profit due to high competition. You also have to pay a fee to marketplace on the sale of products.

7: Limited Control in Other's House

Here, you have little control over e-commerce marketplace services as your products are sold by someone else’s platform.