Digital marketplaces are online platforms open to both buyers and sellers. Here buyers seeking a product or service get a matching seller or provider for themselves.  Digital marketplaces help businesses to sell their products or services, to grow and be profitable via the internet. Traditional brick and mortar businesses have also taken to make a digital presence, not to be left behind in the digital transformation race happening all over the world and also in response to the COVID pandemic.

Digital marketplaces are gaining popularity

Over the next decade we all expect massive growth in e-commerce driven by the global digital transformation. Digital marketplace operators have gained prominence, especially during the pandemic, and have streamlined their process of selling and servicing for all types of consumers and businesses, with seemingly too good benefits such as marketplaces like we see in Amazon. All marketplace operators have made it easy for sellers to get on board their marketplace (platform) followed by quick product uploads, promotions and pricing strategies.

How the pandemic boosted eCommerce and mobile apps

One major factor that contributed to the rapid growth of eCommerce sites and supporting mobile apps is the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption it caused world-wide. Global response resulted in regulations to mandate social distancing and even lock-downs. Consumers turned to online shopping and services via web and mobile apps, creating an unprecedented demand for such online services. Although the spread and threat of the virus and its strains have been mitigated, the trend of getting things done online and buying online continues, which is favorable to digital marketplaces and mobile shopping apps. It has stimulated the launch of thousands of native apps, hybrid apps and web apps catering to a spectrum of businesses and industries across the world.

Digital Marketplace Strategies

Logistics & payment – This strategy is advantageous for sellers because they save a lot of money, as the marketplace operator manages the complexity in operations. Sellers are relieved of their problems in warehousing, transportation and collecting payments, as these tasks are efficiently done by the marketplace operators and their affiliates.

Special Promotions – Operators of marketplace create selling opportunities by special promotions on special days or occasions, like on Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. This marketing strategy can generate sales with bargains and discounts to engage buyers throughout the year, to bring up millions of dollars in turnover for participating sellers.

Opportunities to personalize and analyse – Digital Marketplaces offer many personalisation and marketing analysis opportunities, using the customer data via applications and technologies like GPS and Wi-Fi. These platforms offer one-to-one relationships to sellers with buyers. Opportunities are created by analytics by measuring competition, adjusting pricing for promotions and offers to garner more business quickly. Data driven reports can support manufacturing, supply chains and optimize operations.

Strategic Market Reach – Online marketplaces can have local as well as international reach which is good for growth, expansion and scalability of business for sellers and even good for buyers who are offered greater choice. However, B2B market places have their own unique challenges that have to be catered to differently.

Launching you own eCommerce Portal and Mobile App

Another strategy adopted by some very large and successful businesses is not to join a marketplace but to create their own digital marketplace, i.e setting up their own online eCommerce store or becoming a marketplace operator with the supporting mobile app. An example is Nike, which has their own eCommerce portal which has favored their business operations. This is also good for B2B business operators.

Digital marketplace may take years to build up online reputation. However, businesses with vision, strategy and capability they can become an operator to sell their and other third-party products which opens up more opportunities. A good partnership with an eCommerce SaaS platform provider can offer the needed marketplace management capabilities and more business opportunities.

The mobile app development team at Mobile App Outsourcing has the right experience and expertise to deliver solutions and build eCommerce SaaS applications for a digital marketplace. We are the right mobile app developer to help you build your business or service or any other app idea. Know more about our work in our site. Otherwise leave an enquiry and we will contact you as soon as possible.