Many brands tell us they want to grow into new markets before they’ve thought through their international internet trading strategy. We believed it was important to emphasize what consumer brands should consider when deciding whether or not markets are appropriate for their international eCommerce strategy, as well as how to evaluate your marketplace prospects.

Marketplaces are Becoming More Popular.

Due to the epidemic, online marketplaces will be able to meet a demand that physical channels would be unable to meet in 2020. This tendency is evident in every location where we operate and shows no signs of abating. The rapid growth of marketplaces has had a direct impact on customer behavior, providing convenience, a wide range of products, and quick delivery.

While online marketplaces have been slower to gain traction in Europe than in the United States or China, sites like Amazon and Tmall have generated large traffic and strong user interaction, resulting in sales. Marketplaces, on the other hand, have emerged as a popular route for brands to recruit new customers and generate income.

There are Three Approaches to Evaluating your Market Opportunity.

A detailed landscape study can assist you in determining which markets are the fittest for your business to pursue. You may establish an objective appraisal of the market opportunity by diving deep into your category, brand, and competitors.

Possibility to Build a Brand

On marketplaces or in an international market, a brand that resonates in physical stores may not do so. When evaluating your marketplace possibility, it’s critical to test demand and ensure that customers exist.

We urge that brands sense-check their online channel strategy to understand the role of their marketplace channel to see if the chosen marketplace is the correct environment for them. Similarly, determining which products you need to sell in order to gain a fair part of the market is critical.

Possibility of a Category

You can decide whether selling on marketplaces is viable for your brand by using market research data and tools to acquire insight into category size, best-sellers, and average product prices.

Proprietary software can assist you in determining any sales patterns in your category, analyzing the best-selling products, and determining why buyers choose them. When evaluating your marketplace opportunity, this can assist you in making informed, data-driven decisions.

Analyze your Competitors

Marketplaces give customers the option of buying from a variety of companies, and they also serve as a product discovery center for many online shoppers. Though marketplaces are a key route to market for acquiring new client groups, determining which of your competitors are currently present–and how they are represented on the marketplace–can help you find market gaps where they may be falling short. This exercise will show you where you should focus your efforts.

To aid in the optimization of their marketplace channel, we recommend that brands do a benchmarking exercise to compare their product ranges and pricing to the competitors, as well as their online proposition and customer experience.

Marketplaces aren’t Going Anywhere.

Marketplaces will be looking to expand their client base by acquiring new customers and selling more to those who have already converted to online customers. We believe that the current online shopping trends will persuade consumer brands that being visible on marketplaces is more vital than ever to maintain brand recognition and safeguard market share.

Pattern can assist you with breaking into global markets and platforms like as Tmall, Amazon, Shopee, Zalando, and others. Our brand managers and strategy consultants can assist your company in identifying ecommerce prospects and developing a market entry strategy, as well as conducting an audit of your current presence and developing a growth strategy.