Ecommerce: What is the difference selling on Marketplace vs Ecommerce Online Store?
Before we head into the difference discussion, let’s define what is Marketplace and what Ecommerce Online Store is.
Marketplace is a place or a platform where various product sellers and buyers to find their best deal. Put it simple, Marketplace just like a shopping mall consists of many different seller shops and buyers walk in for shopping.
Ecommerce Online Store is a platform owned by specific sellers and only sells specific items. Nike store is a very good example, inside the store, you only find Nike products.
Now, we have concept of how Marketplace and Ecommerce Online Store work, let’s find what the differences between them is.
Traffic
Usually Marketplace is run by big company, every year they will allocate marketing budget to pull new users to their platform. As a seller, all you need to do is open a shop on the platform and ready to sell. Without spending any marketing budget, sellers can get sales from the traffic brought by the Marketplace platform, hence it is much easier to get traffic and convert to sales.
Whereas Ecommerce Online Store is owned by one seller, then seller needs to figure out how to market the Online Store, since nobody knows your store, probably won’t get any sales without doing any marketing.
Advertising Cost
Advertising cost is a cost needed to consider when you trying to sell on different platform.
Since Marketplace brings traffic to the platform, Marketplace sellers might just spend little budget on advertising to convert sales if the marketing is strategically well planned.
While as an owner of Ecommerce Online Store, you need plan a fraction of budget into marketing. The advertising cost is varying, it depends on how you plan and run your advertising campaign.
As a seller, we usually will factor in the advertising cost into product price, it ends up Ecommerce Online Store sells more high-priced items.
Competition
The competition selling in Marketplace is obvious, imagine there are two similar shoes brand shops in the same shopping mall. Buyers likely to compare the price before making any purchase decision. Unlike brick and mortar shop, buyers cannot touch, cannot feel, cannot try the products online, thus it makes buyers tend to favor pricing factor first.
Ecommerce Online Store is a complete individual shop, so it lessens the chance of buyers to compare the price at the first place. Other than that, Online Store spends more time and effort on marketing to pull more traffic, so when buyers decide to purchase, they most likely purchase on pulse, or we could say that buyers actually buying your advertising!
So we can see that two different platforms have totally different characteristic. Ecommerce Online Store has less competition, but most importantly is how to position your products and promote it to suitable target audience.
Customer Data
Marketplace usually holds most of the customer data, even though they provide sellers some tools for advertising research, but most and detailed data still in their hands. So it is very limited to further market your business.
Since Ecommerce Online Store is your own store, then you have total access to your customer data. Those data will do a big help for advertising research, help you get more potential customers accurately.
Rules and Regulation
Selling in a shopping mall, as a seller you have to follow their house rules, same thing goes to Marketplace sellers. Regarding the rules and regulations, you have no control of them, if Marketplace changes any rules, you either follow or quit selling on Marketplace. I know, it is harsh right?
Ecommerce Online Store, your store, your rules. You have complete control of rules and regulation, as long as it abides the laws.
Conclusion
So what is your thought? Marketplace or Ecommerce Online Store?
If you have no idea which to focus on, maybe you should take time reposition your products.
