How Emerging Marketplaces Simplify (and Gamify) Online Shopping

A new report of the Connected Commerce Council (3C) illustrates the economic benefits of online marketplaces for retail brands: not only do they add value for retailers by facilitating customer feedback and reducing expansion and start-up costs , but they are also major drivers for revenue generation. .

Report data shows that over the past few years, online marketplaces have delivered $145.1 billion in economic value to small businesses, including $59 billion in earnings by helping businesses reach more customers , $37 billion in increased brand exposure and nearly $30 billion in cost savings.

“Online marketplaces give individual sellers and local stores access to millions of customers around the world,” said Jake Ward, president of 3C.

“They provide access to more customers, build legitimacy for sellers, and give consumers more confidence than they would with independent websites.”

We know the major players and well-established names when it comes to online marketplaces: these are the likes of Amazon

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eBay, Etsy, etc

However, as shopping has moved online during the pandemic, more and more of these curated marketplaces are springing up in 2020 to facilitate brand and product discovery, and they are targeting more niche market segments.

These emerging online marketplaces are tackling a major problem with online shopping: the difficulty that comes with choice.

“Psychology teaches us that when faced with the overwhelming number of options, we often choose to do nothing. It’s best for retailers to categorize their offerings to help consumers structure their options, and that’s where curated platforms come in,” says Ana Andjelicstrategy director and author of The business of aspiration.

But that’s not all these platforms do for buyers. Andjelic went on to say that the curation that new platforms offer buyers also adds perceived value.

“We’re not buying a bag, we’re buying a bag that’s styled by X or curated by Y or part of the Z collection,” she said. “Products are more valuable if they are part of a curated selection. Curation gives them history, point of view, cultural associations.

This is certainly the approach we see at work with The lobby.

Founded by former Google Shopping Product Manager Abigail Holtz and Y-Combinator alum Chad Remesch, The Lobby strives to bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping.

The platform provides a shopping experience that mimics in-person shopping via shoppable video. Videos created by influencers allow shoppers to see details, learn more about fit, and get style advice from familiar faces they know and trust (without leaving home. )

Plus: Shoppers can try on items before they buy with a 14-day free trial, aimed at eliminating shoppers’ worries about returns.

The Lobby’s partner brands are selected based on a variety of factors, including product uniqueness and quality, innovation, sustainability practices, diversity of founders, brand history, and more.

While they weren’t able to share specific metrics regarding sales generated for partner retailers, they did share that for emerging brands like Donni, The Lobby has already become a premier sales channel.

In the case of another online marketplace, italistshoppers can search, discover and buy from a selection of professionally curated luxury and designer apparel imported directly from Italy.

Founded by Italian entrepreneur Diego Abba, italist partners with over 1,000 international brands and boutiques who are able to sell their products at the Italian retail price, which is up to 40% lower than prices offered in the rest of the world, including express shipping and duties import.

Italist includes offerings for women, men and children from brands like Gucci, CELINE, Paco Rabanne and Opening Ceremony, as well as up-and-coming designers like Khaite, Berluti and Staud.

So far, growth and adoption has been strong: their customer base has grown 25% year over year, they have onboarded 50 new partner brands so far in 2020 and 60% of their customers are regular buyers.

This is good news for independent boutiques across Italy who have benefited from the platform’s expanded reach, especially during the COVID-19 shutdowns.

Leveraging an AI-powered shopping experience, The yes is another iteration of the online marketplace (as an app) that allows shoppers to discover relevant, personalized fashion product suggestions by voting “yes” or “no” on items from over 150 brands, including Prada, Erdem, Everlane, Saint Laurent, and more.

Co-founded by Julie Bornstein (StichFix, Nordstrom

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Sephora) and Amit Aggarwal (Google, Bing, Groupon) and curated by Creative and Fashion Director Taylor Tomasi Hill, 77% of The Yes users have created a “yes list” to date, with 3.9 million “yes” and “no” interactions generated to date.

The plus: customer loyalty on the platform is strong. 35% of all customers returned and purchased again within a month.

So will we see more of these organized online marketplaces in the future?

If you ask Andjelic, she thinks that even if not through an organized marketplace enabler, it will be imperative for brands to focus on storytelling with a unique, forward-looking perspective. ‘to come up.

“Google and Amazon make everything a commodity, and one of the surest ways to create and preserve a market for a brand is to protect it with a story and a point of view,” she said. .

“Brands need to flip the script of their brand strategy, from delivering product benefits to telling the story, and thinking like conservatives.”