French retailers outpace Amazon in lockdown says Mirakl

The first three week’s of the second lockdown in France saw retailers outpace Amazon according to data from Mirakl. Marketplaces developed by Mirakl enabled French retailers to enjoy sales increases of 75% during the first three weeks of November, while Amazon sales grew 40-50% during the same period.

Mirakl clients saw substantial growth during Black Friday through Cyber Monday:

• In total, $160 million worth of goods were sold on Mirakl marketplaces across the globe during the Black Friday sales period, a 60% increase on last year
• Over 1.6 million orders were made on Mirakl-powered marketplaces – a 60% increase on 2019

Mirakl’s data also revealed that 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 and it’s this that’s helped retailers outpace Amazon.

During lockdown marketplace popularity has surged amongst consumers. In the UK, for example, between March and June 2020 consumers were four times more likely to buy from an online marketplace than a retailers’ own 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.

“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. In today’s difficult climate, it is critical that retailers re-evaluate their ecommerce strategies, and look for new ways to engage consumers outside of bricks and mortar stores.”
– Brendan Walsh, UK General Manager, Mirakl

This shouldn’t be a total surprise – in lockdown those who habitually shop on major marketplaces like Amazon probably continued to do so but consumers who frequent the high street were perhaps more likely to use search engines or social media to discover new places to shop. In some cases this might be with their favourite bricks and mortar shops and in others it has been an opportunity to discover new retailers that perhaps they’d never have found in more normal times fuelling retailers ability to outpace Amazon in lockdown.

For retailers, bolting a marketplace on to their existing website gives the best of both worlds – the exposure of their own inventory with additional commissions on sales from third party merchants along with a greater breadth of inventory to attract new customers.

Mirakl, which counts the likes of Carrefour, Afound by H&M Group, Harvey Nichols, and Urban Outfitters amongst its customers helps clients quickly build marketplaces at scale. It has consistently proved its ability to help companies weather the Covid storm, with its marketplaces generating over £940 million ($1.2 billion) in GMV in the first half of 2020, representing a 111% year-over-year increase.

“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. 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.”
– Brendan Walsh, UK General Manager, Mirakl