According to a new study, 89% of global consumers say that marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Rakutan and Alibaba offer convenience – with 90% saying that they would shop with the same marketplace again when purchasing a similar products.
The figures come from a new study, titled “Retailers Must Seize The Marketplace Opportunity,” conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by a Mirakl, a leading provider of global Marketplace solutions, and ChannelAdvisor, a leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions. The survey evaluated the success of marketplace retailers and what they must do to better serve today’s empowered customer. It concluded that marketplaces encourage customer loyalty, increase average order values and build trust.
“As evidenced by the Forrester survey, launching an online Marketplace offers retailers a new opportunity to interact and engage with customers,” says Adrien Nussenbaum, US CEO and co-founder, Mirakl. “We’ve found that, in the UK alone, 70% of consumers purchase products from online marketplaces one to two times per month.”
Among the findings uncovered by the survey, three stand out:
Online marketplaces enhance the customers’ shopping experience
Online Marketplaces allow customers to shop more conveniently, compare a wide assortment of products and discover new retailers. According to the Forrester report, 90% of UK respondents agreed that Marketplaces offer the convenience they appreciate.
Building trust is a central part of marketplaces
Consumer generated content is a crucial component to building trust with retail shoppers, with 79% of UK consumers citing ratings and reviews as important attributes to purchasing via an online marketplace. To earn the trust of consumers, marketplace sellers must deliver a high-quality experience, avoiding long delivery times, damaged items and low-quality products. Therefore, marketplace operators need a robust technology platform that can automate and enforce seller quality control.
Marketplaces create deep customer relationships
On a global scale, the majority of consumers indicated that they were satisfied with marketplace purchases, more than 90% translating into increased customer loyalty. In the UK alone, 92% of consumers said they would shop with same marketplace again if getting a similar product.
To take advantage of the growing popularity of marketplaces, Forrester recommends retailers develop a strategy to build their own marketplaces, with a focus on boosting customer experiences, building trust and getting noticed.
Forrester also suggests that retailers building their own marketplaces should proactively recruit and continuously assess sellers, and enhance their technology capabilities to support their marketplace strategy.
Click here to download the Forrester thought leadership paper commissioned by Mirakl and ChannelAdvisor.
