In the wake of the new lockdown restrictions announced by Boris Johnson, the landscape for British retailers looks bleaker than ever and for many businesses a good fourth quarter determines whether they’ll survive another year. OnBuy supported small businesses throughout the first lockdown by refusing to place restrictions on the products retailers could sell – while other marketplaces crippled cash flow for thousands of businesses by restricting sales of ‘non-essential’ product ranges – and OnBuy have today pledged to do the same again and offer a British business lifeline through the second lockdown.
Along with providing businesses of all sizes with an outlet for success in the biggest quarter of the year and beyond, OnBuy has invested £5 million into a robust marketing strategy for November and December to expand its market share and further increase sales for its sellers.
OnBuy’s sales leapt substantially from April to October seeing a 700% increase in GMV and resulting in the third consecutive year of over 600% growth. As the site was founded with a policy of never competing against its own sellers by holding its own retail stock, this success translates directly to huge boosts in sales and profits for independent sellers.
OnBuy makes it easy for retailers to sign up and start selling, and the marketplace has shaken hands with strategic partners to make it even easier for online sellers to go from strength to strength. These include ecommerce solutions provider Volo, which helped one seller make £50,000 in sales from a standing start, establishing a strong foundation from which to benefit from incremental revenue gains as OnBuy continues to rapidly grow.
“At the core of our business is the belief in supporting businesses. We’re a true marketplace, not a retailer, so our business model is designed to champion our sellers and not to compete against them.
We’re incredibly proud to be able to continue providing a lifeline for online retailers, and I’m delighted that the retailers we work with have felt – and will continue to feel – the benefit of OnBuy’s support and growth through one of the hardest moments in recent history.”
– OnBuy’s founder and CEO, Cas Paton
OnBuy British business lifeline during lockdown 1
Paperback Shop
Online book wholesaler Paperback Shop witnessed an enormous 507% increase in sales on OnBuy between June and September compared to the same period in 2019.
“OnBuy has proven to be a vital additional sales channel for us during the height of the pandemic. It has helped us to ensure that our products appeared in search engine results, which was ideal when so many buyers moved online to seek out products.
We have been astounded by the increase in sales experienced during what has been such a difficult period for so many retailers. Using OnBuy as a sales channel is perfect for us due to its nature of not competing with sellers by retailing its own products, alongside the one-to-one account management provided, as well as the great visibility gained in internet searches. All of this has supported us with our goals.”
– Georgina Pursch, business development manager, Paperback Shop
Pertemba
Pertemba, a firm bringing UK brands and distributors to the biggest international marketplaces, also experienced a 292% surge in online sales.
“Our OnBuy annual 2019 sales compared to 2020 year-to-date indicates a 292% sales uplift on last year. OnBuy has proved excellent in supporting us with sales during the pandemic. This online marketplace is our partner, not our competitor, providing us with another route to market. Selling on OnBuy has been, and is proving to be, a great success.”
– Ravi Karia, managing director, Pertemba
VidaXL
VidaXL, an international online retailer, experienced more than an 80% leap in sales during just one month alone, from April to May, and sales continue to outpace previous years.
“The promotional tools on OnBuy really helped us to increase sales. The company always keep in close contact with us and if we ever need any assistance the team are always very timely in their responses.”
– Coral Han, VidaXL
