Trending B2B Marketplace Or Platform: How To Choose The Right SaaS Integration To Sell Online
When you start with e-commerce, you have one thing above all: questions, questions and more questions.
Since you are reading this article, you have probably already made the decision to source your products via drop shipping or print-on-demand. So there is a high probability that you will also sell your products online. One of the first decisions is made about the sales channels: Do you want to set up your own store or operate on public marketplaces?
A marketplace plays a role in the entire sales transaction, from managing payment to delivery. A platform, on the other hand, only connects buyers and sellers. To make the difference clearer, this example of grocery shopping might help: You can either select different products in a grocery store and then pay for all of them at the checkout (marketplace) or stroll through the stalls at a farmers’ market and pay separately for each seller (platform).
Therefore, one of the first questions you should ask yourself about integrations is whether you want to start your own store or sell on public marketplaces. There is no right or wrong — and no standard recipe for success. See what best suits your company and your needs. Therefore: let’s take a closer look at the differences.
Platform
With the platform — also called rental shop system or SaaS solution (Software as a Service) you build your own store. The big advantage is that you can also build your own brand with your own shop.
A characteristic of platforms is that the subscription fees already include hosting. In other words, as the operator of an internet shop, you don’t need your own server for your shop website, but the provider makes it available.
Shopify
Shopify is probably the largest online shop platform worldwide. In the meantime, more than 800,000 dealers worldwide use the shop system from Canada. The company does not publish exact figures for Germany, but there are now said to be more than 100,000 Shopify retailers in Europe and the company is on a strong growth path
A comparison of shop systems shows that Shopify’s global market share is a third below hosted SaaS solutions and 6.2% in Germany. In short: Shopify is ideal for those who want it easy. However, quality has its price.
If you want to invest less, you should look at these alternatives:
Squarespace
Squarespace is a widely used, design-driven platform known for its simple, minimalist, and responsive website themes. Squarespace offers a wide variety of designs to create a visually appealing shop. A variety of marketing tools such as ad tracking, email campaigns, etc., as well as around-the-clock customer support are also available to users.
If you want to create a visually appealing online store and aren’t afraid of a little manual labor, Squarespace could be the platform for you.
Ecwid
If you want to be active on multiple channels , Ecwid could be your case. With Ecwid, you can sell on websites, social media like Facebook, as well as on markets like, Amazon Ads and eBay. You can start your own shop or just add a shopping option to existing websites
Open source platforms
Open source platforms (also open source shop software) are a special type of platform. Such software is open source, i.e. it can be further developed and customized to meet your own needs. Since this requires a lot of technical knowledge, they attract a large developer community and are not necessarily ideal for beginners.
Woo Commerce
Woo Commerce is the world’s leading solution among open source shops with more than 2 million online shops and a global market share of 35.5% . Woo Commerce is a free plugin for WordPress blogs and websites that you can use to customize your store.
Marketplace
Supply and demand meet in marketplaces. Both in real life and online. In the latter case, the term virtual marketplace, electronic marketplace (EMP) or online marketplace is also used. A total of 35% of online trade takes place on marketplaces.
Who doesn’t know eBay or Amazon? The German e-commerce market is heavily influenced by the two US online giants. In contrast to the platforms, you do not have a separate website with your shop on the marketplaces, but you also have a profile where all products are visible and the products are displayed to potential buyers in a relevant search.
The electronic marketplaces offer many potential buyers, but you have to know how to differentiate yourself from the competition. Marketplaces also often have little or no initial costs, but the products can only be entered according to a certain scheme and the appearance is less customizable because you do not operate an independent shop.
If you already have an online store and are looking for another sales channel, it’s definitely worth taking a look. Or if you don’t want to build your own store at all, but just want to concentrate on the marketplaces.
Amazon
Amazon is unrivaled in this country: In 2018, Amazon (including the Marketplace) generated almost half of German online sales.
Share of Amazon and marketplaces in online trading
But even if you find the most potential customers on Amazon (more than 197 million monthly users ), the competition there is extremely high and the listings are not for free. In addition to the monthly basic fee from $ 39.99, you pay sales fees of 7–15%. In addition, the focus at Amazon is on the article: If you do not offer the cheapest price for the product, the customer has no reason to buy your product, of all things, which can lead to strong price pressure. Also technically, setting up an Amazon account is not entirely without, so we would advise beginners to look into other options.
eBay
eBay is the other top dog on the European market with 182 million active users and more than 20 years of experience in e-commerce. Established in 1995 as the “flea market among online marketplaces “, a large part of the product range now consists of new goods from commercial dealers. eBay is an excellent choice for those who already have a shop and are looking for another sales channel.
eWorldTrade.com
eWorldTrade is the fastest growing global business marketplace originated from USA, is your true partner in redefining the business trends with globalization in your business. eWorldTrade, facilitates you to instantly get connected with global buyers and suppliers, wholesaler and distributors. The marketplace offers unlimited opportunities for the premium members and trade partners accessing a list of buyers and importers from all over the globe in expansion of your business and boosting your growth.
Etsy
Etsy has established itself as a marketplace specifically for handmade and vintage items . Most of the products are unique or made on request. Many salespeople are not professional traders, but simply earn a little extra through their hobby. So it’s a great place to discover — or sell — unique products.
Etsy is easy to use and quick to get started with. 40 million people around the world shop on Etsy so you can use it to reach a large audience and acquire new customers. With the product personalization tool that Etsy shoppers can even customize your own designs
There are no monthly fees for using Etsy, but you pay a listing fee of $ 0.20 / item, which must be renewed every 4 months. You should also note that there is a 5% transaction fee on all transactions and shipping. And as with marketplaces in general, Etsy also offers limited customization options for product display.
We think Etsy is best for sellers who are looking for established marketplaces and for whom the limitations on customization are not a problem.
Decision criteria
So, that was a lot of information about marketplaces and platforms. You are now probably wondering how to find the right integration in this jungle. Unfortunately, we cannot offer you a standard answer, but we can give you some tips on what you should consider when making a decision.
Branding / customization
You should decide whether you want to run your own web shop or prefer to sell on marketplaces. Your own shop can be designed more individually and it is easier to build your own brand there than on marketplaces. Open source solutions leave most of their own creative freedom.
Costs
How much do you want and can you spend per month? Would you rather start small and test how it all works or do you want to get started professionally?
For example, Etsy and eBay do not charge monthly fees, but do charge listing fees per product and a commission / transaction fee per sale. With Wish you only pay a commission. At the other end in terms of price are Squarespace and Amazon, where subscriptions start at $ 40, with the latter adding a commission?
Workload
How much time do you want to invest in selling your products? As a rough rule of thumb, one can state: the higher the costs, the less effort you have to do yourself.
Technical knowledge
Among the platforms there are options that do not require any technical knowledge at all, as well as open source solutions that require developers to set up the shop.
The use of marketplaces usually requires little technical know-how, but you should keep in mind that the registration on some marketplaces can be a somewhat laborious process with some administrative effort, submission of documents, etc.
Range vs. target group
In your own shop, customers must first find out about it in order to be able to shop there. The electronic marketplaces, on the other hand, offer many potential buyers, but you have to convince them of the advantages of your product over competing products. Under certain circumstances, a focused offer to a specific target group (e.g. Etsy with handmade items) can lead to less wastage .
Hosting
Would you like to take care of the hosting of your shop yourself or do you prefer a hosted solution?
With open source platforms, the question of hosting is up to you, regular platforms already include hosting. You don’t have to worry about hosting in marketplaces.
Setup time
How fast do you want to get started with your shop? Setup times vary from very fast ( Shopify , Etsy and Inktale, eWorldTrade.com) to long ( Amazon , eBay and Magento ).
