Selling on online marketplaces opens massive business opportunities for online sellers. Read the blog to know all aspects of ecommerce marketplace platforms.

1. Online Marketplaces: Your Ultimate Key to Success
Meta Description: Selling on online marketplaces opens massive business opportunities for
online sellers. Read the blog to know all aspects of ecommerce marketplace platforms.
An ecommerce marketplace connects buyers & sellers on a single platform. The success of
running a business in a marketplace is determined by personalization elements, streamlined
experiences, and conveniences across all channels. It brings revolutionary business opportunities
for small and mid-sized brands who are looking for a good platform to sell their products.
As a seller, online marketplaces allow you to reach more consumers and expand your brand
visibility significantly. However, every platform has its unique requirements, listing fees, and
product categories. So, if you would like to start selling your products on ecommerce
marketplace platforms, upfront research is highly necessary. Continue reading and know all key
aspects of selling on online ecommerce marketplaces.
Index
1. Definition and features of an ecommerce marketplace
2. How do marketplaces make money?
3. Benefits of selling on ecom marketplace
4. Steps to leverage marketplace success
5. Tips to build a successful marketplace

2. 6. Top 5 online marketplaces that will scale your business
7. Final words
8. FAQs
Definition and Features of The Marketplace
An ecom or online marketplace is a multi-channel platform where plenty of service information
and products are mainly offered by several third-party sellers. Every online marketplace
platform is distinct in its product categories, target audience, listing fees, and specifications.
Technically, there are three parties involved in a marketplace - the marketplace operator, online
sellers, or vendors & buyers.
Online marketplaces have different taxonomies, however, professionals usually categorize these
platforms based on the business models such as B2B marketplaces, B2C marketplaces, C2C C2C
& D2C marketplaces.
Nowadays, ecommerce marketplace platforms are deeply influencing our daily lives. Over 2.14
billion people use marketplaces to buy products online every day. As of 2022, more than $3.25
trillion in goods were sold globally by the top marketplaces. The report says that online sales are
predicted to reach $3.5 trillion by 2024.
This is no surprise online marketplaces have limitless demands. No matter where you’re & where
you want to target your market, with a potential online marketplace, you can easily expand your
business online. Core features of an online marketplace include:
1. User-friendly portal for sellers: An ecommerce marketplace with a user-friendly portal always
attracts sellers’ attention efficiently. It helps to enhance the user experience by allowing sellers
to build new catalogs, insert products & organize orders with ease. For instance, the order
management system is a common portal feature of online marketplaces, where sellers easily
track their product status, sales volume & so on.
2. Seamless seller onboarding: Seller onboarding can be a big hassle for online retailers. To make
the process streamlined for the sellers, a marketplace should have a user-friendly page that
contains all the required information for the registration of the sellers.
3. Easy-to-find products: In an online marketplace, it must be straightforward to discover the
appropriate product. The marketplace must have top-notch search features that will allow users
to find the product they are in search of. High-quality product images help to identify any product
more accurately. Moreover, the product information must be appropriate which will help
customers make the right choices.
4. Ratings & review options: Ratings & review features allow customers to seamlessly rate the
products they purchased from the seller. In addition, this also helps sellers improve the quality
of their products as well as the services they are offering to their customers. In this way, the

3. ratings & review feature of a marketplace enhances user experience and product quality
parallelly.
5. Payment systems: The payment system is one of the crucial components of any eCommerce
development marketplace. Without a proper payment system, sellers and buyers nobody can
transact easily. A good payment system always offers a comprehensive refund procedure, high
security protocols, different payment methods, tax invoices, sales receipts, and reports.
6. Notifications and messaging: A marketplace is not just a set of software or an ecom platform.
It’s a community that effectively requires proper communication. To enhance the sellers' &
buyers' communication experience different notification channels such as SMS, e-mails & cross-
platform alerts must be incorporated. A proper communication system minimizes the take taking
for buyers' and sellers’ responses that results in a quick checkout process.
How Do Marketplaces Make Money?
An online marketplace platform bridges a gap between sellers and potential buyers through a
website or a mobile application. It works as a middleman who puts buyers & sellers together for
executing transactions efficiently. With an ecommerce marketplace sellers get a dedicated space
to manage all orders and drive more sales. On the other hand, buyers have access to the
inventory of sellers. Here are 3 common ways by which a marketplace makes money:
1. Subscription model:
It’s one of the prevalent business models for ecommerce marketplaces. This is also called the
monetization model by which marketplaces charge a monthly subscription fee from the users for
the platform. This model allows sellers to find out new clients and gain access to potential clients’
database
2. Commission model:
Commission-based revenue models are mainly used by larger and newer marketplaces.
Marketplaces usually charge a percentage or a flat fee for each transaction as a commission. As
compared to subscription-based revenue models, the commission charges are fully justified. This
means parties only pay once they get value from the website.
3. Product listing fees:
As the name suggests, this is a nominal fee that you need to pay for listing your products on
eCommerce marketplace sites. In this business model, sellers are usually charged a variable
amount. The listing fee mainly depends on the product value & number of days you would like
to keep your item on the site.

4. Benefits of selling on ecom marketplace
No doubt, online marketplaces bring a wide spectrum of business opportunities for sellers.
Moreover, these platforms also deliver an unmatched shopping experience with ease, especially
during checkout. Here are the top benefits of selling on online marketplaces.
1. Huge customer base: One of the most prominent advantages of selling on marketplaces is that
it helps you access millions of potential customers. As large marketplace platforms already
possess their customer base, you can smoothly run your online business without finding
prospective buyers and high brand promotion.
2. Cost reduction: Undoubtedly, an ecommerce marketplace is an affordable option & it always
requires very less investment in comparison to a physical retail store. With a marketplace, online
sellers don’t have to pay any kind of additional upfront costs such as store design, inventory,
store rent, etc.
In some cases, many offline sellers never get desired ROI & profits due to investing in stock,
workforce & maintenance as well. Fortunately, online marketplaces give opportunities to small
scale and mid scale sellers to expand their business without such expenses.
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3. Fast launching: Many online selling marketplaces have already established straightforward
processes to encourage online sellers & allow them to start selling products on their platforms.
The product launching process is simple. All you need to do is fill up all the paperwork and once
you are approved as a registered seller, you can easily start uploading your product listings and
selling with ease. Apart from that, many marketplace giants provide SaaS solutions that are
simple to configure and execute.
4. Faster buyer responses: When you start selling on online marketplaces, you will experience
faster responses and interaction with buyers. Ecom giants offer streamlined delivery and logistic
systems to their sellers. This means all orders will be delivered efficiently to the buyer’s doorstep.
Moreover, product returns management is another plus point which is also managed properly.
You can either give an order replacement or refund the payments to your buyer’s accounts.
5. Market demand management: Market demand management allows sellers to take action
immediately. For instance, when buyers see a desired product is out of stock, they can easily
select the ‘Notify Me’ option. This will inform them to buy again when the product will be
available. This option also informs online sellers that they have to restock the items that have
huge market demands. This helps to grab more customers and enhance the chances of driving
more sales.

5. 6. Enables international exports: E-commerce marketplace platforms assist their sellers to sell
their products internationally to grab more customers. International exports help them
transcend beyond boundaries & expand their business abroad.
With these platforms, as a seller, you do not have to pay for any kind of physical store setup to
reach new audiences. They can easily build an international customer base with the help of
impressive product listings. For growing ecommerce businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs,
international exports can be a very lucrative model that helps in global expansion & increases
revenue.
7. Maintain your brand value: Establishing your business on an online marketplace doesn’t mean
renouncing your brand. As an online seller, you can use your brand name & logos when you’re
selling your products on the marketplace. This can make many things simpler for your customers.
 Buyers can rate your brand independently
 Buyers can easily find your brand on the marketplace before making a purchase
 You can work on a corporate image by providing top-notch customer service & catalog
Steps to leverage marketplace success
There is a need to update and refine an online marketplace because of its ever-evolving nature -
according to eCommerce development companies. By exploring the ways to enhance your
marketplace strategies, your business can start gaining competitive advantages. Here are 7
crucial steps that will help to leverage long-term online marketplace success.
1. Product content optimization
For customers, the product page is the ultimate destination. This is where they often find
products and make their purchases eventually. The product content, product categories, and
descriptions also push your customers to make purchases.
If you put more effort into content optimization, there will be a great chance to see your listings
start rising to the top of the search results. There are different services available that help you
optimize online marketplaces and increase sales & visibility.
Moreover, for authentic content optimization, experts suggest searching for the appropriate
keywords, making compelling product descriptions, finding out the best product categories &
optimizing images.
2. Preparation for advertising
A wide range of product pages is mainly populated with ads. However, these ads are not just like
banners or pop-ups that customers tend to ignore or block, they get clicked. If you really want to
get long-term online marketplace success, you have to invest in online marketing to promote
your product and accelerate your brand visibility.

6. 3. Pricing automation
You may have proper pricing on your e-commerce store, however, it doesn’t mean that these
prices will carry forward to every marketplace automatically. Always keep in mind that shoppers
have a wide variety of options to purchase the same products at several prices within the
marketplace. If you would like to stay competitive, you need to manage each product's price
based on the overall pricing of your competitors. For automating the process, many online sellers
take advantage of algorithmic repricers.
4. Diversify the shipping strategies
In 2023, online shoppers do not just only want free and fast shipping, they expect it. There are
too many ways that help you diversify shipping strategies. Some sellers go for leverage programs
while others choose third-party logistics. Apart from that, some sellers also rely on both methods
to ensure the fastest & affordable shipping options. For your convenience, we have shared 4 right
shipping strategies:
 Make a unique customer experience: By making proper expectations with your online
shipping strategy, you can ensure a positive and consistent experience for your potential
customers. Try to keep transparent about any kind of shipping delay due to natural
disasters, pandemics, carrier delays, etc.
 Maximize your AOV or average order value: Offers and promotions around online
shipping are the best ways to encourage your customers to purchase products from your
marketplace. This increases AOV or average order value effectively. For instance, you may
offer free shipping options on selected products for a limited time limit.
 Expand your e-commerce business: You can easily expand your online business with a
global shipping strategy. With it, you can be able to reach more audiences around the
globe and sell your products effectively. This will help you boost your business growth.
 Enhance your conversions: Having a high rate of conversion is the foundation of excellent
sales volume. When your consumers know what they expect from your website, they
prefer to finish their purchase. So, to improve your conversion, give several options to
your customers so that they can do desired actions on your landing page or website.
Tips to build a successful marketplace
When you’re planning to join a marketplace as an online seller, it’s important to consider who
will be your target audience and what kind of online marketplace will align with your e-commerce
business. For making a successful marketplace, the following tips can be helpful to you.
1. Choose industry wisely
One of the major reasons many ecommerce businesses fail is a lack of market demand. So, for
marketplace success, you need to pick an ideal business model and a viable industry. Choosing

7. the right industry domain not only helps you make more suppliers or buyers but also allows you
to stay competitive in the market. Moreover, you can also assess the overall market availability
& entire size of your target audience.
2. Horizontal vs vertical marketplaces
Secondly, you can consider three important aspects - marketplace structure, specializations, and
trends. It will help you understand the market type clearly. There are two types of marketplaces
- vertical & horizontal. Vertical marketplaces aim to single market domains for serving particular
product categories to the target customers. On the other hand, horizontal marketplaces provide
services and goods in several categories.
3. Proper business model
Next, you need to select a business model that drives more profit. An online marketplace may
fail because its service can end up being irrelevant or unprofitable. There are multiple
marketplace models that you can choose for your brand. They include:
 Subscription: It requires users to pay some amount of registration fees
 Commission: It’s a percentage or fee that is taken from the gross sales
 Listing Fee: The sellers can be charged for product listing on the platforms
 Featured Listings: This helps members pay for ads and featured listings
 Lead Generation: This allows sellers to pay for generated leads
 Freemium: In this model, the important marketplace functionalities are accessible & free.
The sellers are able to pay for the premium features
4. Value proposition
Always remember your platform can resonate with sellers & buyers. So, you need to understand
the value proposition of your ecommerce business & how it can fix the pain points of the buyers.
The key objective of your online marketplace is to give experiences & transactions that are not
quickly available. Marketplace success completely relies on your value proposition.
Furthermore, you should also consider the overall size of the market to achieve marketplace
success. You can assess the market size by choosing the driving factors, and gaining insights into
global or local turnovers, profit margins, etc.
5. Build Trust
One of the best deep secrets of every ecommerce business's success is establishing trust with the
audience. To build trust and make a strong relationship with the customers, you must follow the
below rules:

8.  Add images & videos: Today’s customers believe in graphics and video content. When
they know what you’re offering, they will prefer to make a purchase.
 Explain your product: Before selling your product, explain its pros and cons thoroughly to
your customers. It will help them complete the purchase process
 Ensure secure payments: Always offer reliable and safe payment methods to your users,
so that all information and data are highly protected while utilizing your platform
Top 5 online marketplaces that will scale your business
Nowadays, a number of eCommerce marketplaces are available globally. Some of them enable
retailers to sell anything, while some marketplaces only focus on particular niches such as books,
fashion, tech, etc.
In some cases, it becomes very difficult to find a perfect ecommerce marketplace for business
growth. For your convenience, we will give you a list of online marketplaces that will effectively
scale your business. Take a look at a list of region-wise marketplaces with maximum visits per
month.
Sl no Marketplace Region Visits per month
1 Amazon Global 5.7 Billion
2 eBay Global 2.9 Billion
3 AliExpress AliExpress 526.4 Million
4 Walmart North America 514.03 Million
5 Etsy Global 397.5 Million
6 Wildberries Russia 279.8 Million
7 Flipkart India 202.4 Million
8 Wayfair North America 143.1 Million
9 Mercari Japan & Bulgaria 139.52 Million

9. 10 Americanas Brazil 86.7 Million
1. Amazon
Region: Global
Estimated traffic per month: 5.7 Billion
Amazon is the most-visited giant marketplace having the highest estimated traffic in the world.
No doubt, this eCommerce platform is an excellent choice for expanding your business across the
globe. The gigantic product listings with effective fulfillment ability make this marketplace the
ultimate shopping destination for worldwide users.
Many popular businesses have taken advantage of the large customer base of Amazon to
empower their brand visibility and generate ROI. Moreover, many small-scale & mid-scale
businesses also rely on this platform to build a strong customer base by delivering their products.
When you sell on this platform, you will get a number of automation tools to run your online
store smoothly. Moreover, if you do not want to pay attention to logistics, depending on
Fulfillment by Amazon can be the best choice. When you start selling:
 Try to invest in Amazon Advertising
 Enroll in the Amazon Brand Registry to protect your business & make an authentic
customer experience
 Focus on identifying top-selling products on Amazon
 Try offering your items on global Amazon markets
2. eBay
Region: Global
Estimated traffic per month: 2.9 Billion
eBay is one of the popular online selling platforms that can effectively expand your brand
globally. This is a Merchant-friendly platform that allows you to access more than 187 million
users from 190 worldwide markets. eBay offers a massive opportunity for new marketplace
sellers.
eBay helps sellers open stores with storefront pricing plans. It makes it easier for solo
entrepreneurs and small-scale businesses to promote their brands globally. These pricing plans
usually come with several features such as driving more sales, minimizing listing fees,
personalizing eBay shop fronts, and many more.

10. On this marketplace, you can easily sell anything, whether it's a brand-new item or a used
product. Once you register on eBay, you will get 250 listings per month with zero insertion fee.
After that, you have to pay non-refundable listing fees for each product. So, it’s important to
analyze the entire market & estimate the margin of your product before selling on eBay. When
you start selling on this platform:
 Understand what sells best here
 Consider Global Shipping Program for optimal shipping strategies
 Optimize product listings to enhance visibility including product titles and descriptions
 Add proper and high-quality product images
 Advertise your offers with Promoted Listings
 Offer your items on the global eBay markets
3. AliExpress
Region: Global
Estimated traffic per month: 526.4 Million
Belonging to a leading eCommerce giant Alibaba Group, AliExpress is a very popular cross-border
B2C marketplace having more than 500 million traffic per month. This marketplace allows small
business owners to expand their brands internationally. Moreover, AliExpress offers a localized
shopping experience & it's also available in eighteen languages.
As the best platform to sell online, AliExpress holds a wide group of customers who are searching
for various products. You can find everything you want in this ecommerce marketplace and it
also helps sellers to explore new business opportunities. In AliExpress, no overhead fees are
required for selling, you have to only pay 5 to 8% commission fees on all transactions based on
your product categories. Other benefits of this platform include:
 Gaining traffic is easier than other independent online stores
 Good audience with massive purchase intent
 Auto translations to multiple languages
 Extensive product catalogs
 Zero overhead fees
4. Walmart
Region: USA

11. Estimated traffic per month: 514.03 Million
According to current statistics, Walmart received the third ranking position as the most-visited
online marketplace in the US after Amazon & eBay. As the leading e-commerce giant, Walmart
opens a wide business opportunity for medium and large-scale sellers.
Though this marketplace is based in the US, you do not have to stay here to sell your products
through Walmart. All you need to do is fulfill an application procedure & once you become a
seller, you can start accessing millions of active users.
Just like Amazon, Walmart also offers a variety of innovative solutions for online sellers such as
Walmart Fulfillment Services, expedited shipping, etc. Moreover, you don’t have to think about
hidden fees, as it only charges 6 to 15 % for each transaction. Benefits of selling on Walmart
include
 Helps to boost brand awareness
 Enables you to reach more customers
 Competitive commission rates & transparent fee structure
 Simple fulfillment process
 Built-in listing management
5. Etsy
Region: Global
Estimated traffic per month: 397.5 Million
Etsy is a top-notch online marketplace for handmade products, craft supplies, vintage items, and
more. As a business owner, if your products are targeted to arts & crafts communities, Etsy will
be the ultimate marketplace for you.
Etsy has around 400 million monthly visits, no doubt, it’s the best place for new sellers who are
seeking a promising online marketplace. Apart from exploring the wide base of customers, you
can also customize your own storefront & also use a number of built-in tools to promote your
products.
As this platform only focuses on a niche market, the annual revenue is lower than other
international marketplaces. However, it enables you to access a laser-focused audience that you
may hardly find elsewhere. In addition, the standard monthly subscription on Etsy is free and for
the Plus subscription, you have to pay $10 per month. Key benefits of selling on Etsy include:
 Easy to start selling
 Commitment to smaller business growth

12.  Lower listing fees
 Free standard monthly subscription
 Built-in tools for product marketing
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Final words
Whether you are planning to start a new business online or reach more customers with your
existing business, ecommerce marketplace platforms should be an integral part of your business
strategy. Although selling on online marketplaces is not difficult, if you need to strongly expand
your business & generate high revenue through it, proper research and analysis are important.
Want to know more about online marketplaces, get in touch with Sphinx Solutions.
FAQs
FAQ1: What is an online marketplace?
An online marketplace refers to the electronic marketplace that makes the online shopping
experience easier. It connects buyers and sellers through a website and every marketplace
platform has its own product categories, target audience, listing fees, and features. In a
marketplace, the product info is provided by third-party sellers and it allows sellers to build a
solid customer base by selling their products.
FAQ2: What is a B2B marketplace?
A B2B marketplace stands for a business-to-business online platform where vendors offer their
products in bulk quantities to their potential customers. The concept of a B2B marketplace
facilitates the selling & buying process, enhances customer experience, and takes financial
transactions transparency to the next level. One of the best examples of a B2B marketplace is
Alibaba.
FAQ3: What are the 3 main types of online marketplaces?
Based on the type of target audience, online marketplaces are categorized into three major
types. They are:
1. Business-to-business or B2B marketplace
2. Business-to-consumer or B2C marketplace
3. Peer-to-peer or P2P marketplace

13. FAQ4: Which is the best online marketplace?
There are plenty of online marketplaces that provide excellent shopping experiences. However,
based on the customers’ choice and monthly traffic visits, 2023’s top ecommerce marketplaces
include:
 Amazon
 Ebay
 Aliexpress
 Walmart
 Etsy
FAQ4: What do I need to consider when choosing an online marketplace?
Before choosing the best online marketplaces to sell products, 8 things should be considered:
1. Marketplace size and reach
2. Base of the target audience
3. Order and payout management for vendors
4. Comprehensive product management
5. Scalability
6. Pricing options
7. Platform security
8. Technical support