Retailer marketplaces outperform Amazon

Retailer marketplaces in the United Kingdom and France outperformed Amazon. This happened during the first three weeks of the countries' second lockdown, says Internet Retailing. Marketplaces enabled French retailers to experience sales increases of 75% during the first weeks of November. In addition, marketplaces in the UK experienced 63% sales increase. On the other hand, Amazon saw its sales grow with 40-50% during the same period.

Growth compared to 2019

French retailers also experienced substantial growth during Black Friday through Cyber Monday, with $160 million worth of goods sold on marketplaces across the globe, a 60% increase on last year. More than 1.6 million orders were made on Mirakl-powered marketplaces.

Retailers in France and the UK were able to unlock significant gains from marketplace sales during the Black Friday period, with sales increasing 70% and 63% respectively compared to the previous year.

Consumers were more likely to buy from marketplaces

During lockdown marketplace popularity has surged amongst consumers. In the UK between March and June consumers were four times more likely to buy from an online marketplace than a retailers’ website. While the outlook has appeared bleak following the bankruptcy of major high street brands, including the Arcadia Group and Debenhams. Mirakl’s findings clearly demonstrate that by tapping into the popularity of marketplaces, retailers can recapture vital lost revenue.

Brands can achieve greater success

“Amazon may have paved the way with its marketplace model, but as our results show, brands can achieve even greater success through building their own platforms,” says Brendan Walsh, UK General Manager, Mirakl. “In today’s difficult climate, it is critical that retailers re-evaluate their e-commerce strategies, and look for new ways to engage consumers outside of bricks and mortar stores.”

“With retailers throughout the world having been forced to close their doors at their busiest time of the year, marketplaces provide a clear path to business success,” Walsh concludes. “They enable brands to quickly extend ranges or pivot their offering in the face of changing consumer demands - critical in today’s turbulent environment. And they remove the need for warehouses, helping retailers to streamline operations and reduce costs. With such evident advantages, we expect a significant number of businesses to shift to a marketplace model in the coming months.”