Consumers Take to Online Marketplaces, Survey Says – WWD

According to a survey of 9,000 consumers around the world, consumers are increasingly attracting the attention of online marketplace formats for greater convenience, value and variety.

The survey titled “The State of Online Market Acceptance in 2022” was independently conducted by Mirakl, a SaaS platform for the technical online marketplace, on Thursday, but was conducted independently by the company. Research Schlesinger Group.

Consumers from Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Spain, UK and US – 1,000 in each country – were contacted in October 2021 and asked about their buying habits and preferences their shopping.

Among the main findings:

• Two-thirds of consumers prefer e-commerce sites with online marketplaces; 70% said online marketplaces are the most convenient way to shop.
• On average, consumers made 42% of their online shopping through marketplaces in 2021.
• “Powerful shoppers,” defined as high-value customers who shop online at least once per week, tend to use online marketplaces more.
• On average, US respondents said 43% of their online shopping took place in marketplaces; 40 percent said their activity has increased in the past 12 months; 54% said their operations remained stable, despite the reopening of brick-and-mortar stores.

Adrien Nussenbaum, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Mirakl, said: “The first global study of consumer preferences for the market provides key insights for retailers as they go. develop its e-commerce strategies for the post-pandemic economy”. “The survey results clearly indicate that consumers want more of their favorite retailers to market online with third-party sellers.”

According to the survey, in 2019, 47% of US consumers said they shop exclusively or often on markets; this number has grown to 52 percent in 2020 and will hold steady at 51 percent in 2021. Ninety-two percent of U.S. consumers expect to use marketplaces at the same rate or more.

Online marketplaces allow retailers to showcase more variety and reach more consumers for digital growth. Conventional e-commerce sites typically only offer products from one brand or retailer.

Markets come in many different shapes and sizes, but there are basically three types: c-to-c, such as eBay, which operates an auction market between consumers; b-to-c, such as Amazon, is seen as a business-to-consumer marketplace, and b-to-b, such as a fashion trade show held online where retailers buy Shop fashion brands.

There are vertical retailers, such as Express and Madewell, that have marketplaces that showcase their own branded goods as well as goods from third-party vendors. There are also pure markets, such as Farfetch, which do not own any inventory.

Brands and retailers operate an online marketplace for merchandise through several business arrangements. Typically, brands in the marketplace pay an initial fee and have revenue sharing agreements with the host market. Wholesale can also be conducted, while marketplaces simultaneously list products and take orders without actually making a purchase or processing order fulfillment, and then charge third-party sellers a commission. based on sales.