Traditional retail is trying to keep up in a Now Economy era of “I see it, I want it, I’ve got it.” Additionally, shoppers not only expect to find the perfect pair of sneakers, but also for those sneakers to come from a brand that supports their personal values — and to appear at their doorstep within 48 hours – preferably with a low carbon footprint.
In response, many retailers are looking to implement a marketplace to accelerate time to market of new products and meet rapidly evolving demand. They do this by providing third-party sellers access to self-service tools in order to list and manage products in their online store while taking a commission of those sales in exchange. However, the biggest challenges to starting a marketplace are the unknowns of what’s needed to maintain trust with your customers and overcome the cold start problem – because it takes time to get enough of the right sellers for a marketplace to generate meaningful revenue.
Despite what many technology providers might say, the platform is not the most important factor for marketplace success. More important for accelerating growth is a proven network of trusted selling partners curated to drive sales. This enables you to grow your business while reducing risk of marketplace not producing the expected ROI.
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