WBR INSIGHTS AND MARKETPLACER RELEASE RETAIL MARKETPLACE SURVEY

Survey of 100 Retail Execs Shows Interest in Marketplaces Continues to Surge

DENVER – March 16, 2023 – Marketplacer, a global technology platform that enables brands, retailers, suppliers, communities and innovators to easily build and grow successful online marketplaces at scale, today announced that brands and retailers are increasingly embracing and expanding through marketplaces and third-party resellers. This was a key finding of a survey conducted in partnership with WBR Insights, highlighting companies’ plans to use marketplaces to grow revenue and expand their customer bases. 

The report, “Opportunities in Today’s eCommerce Marketplace Ecosystem,” details the results of a survey of 100 US-based retail executives about the current retail business landscape, their plans for the future and how marketplaces will impact those plans. Among those surveyed, nearly half (46%) have already launched their own marketplace, and nearly all of the remaining companies had already initiated plans to launch a marketplace or are considering it. 

Among the report’s key findings: 

• The majority of respondents already use a marketplace: 55% of survey respondents sell products through one or more third-party marketplaces; among these companies, the majority (51%) acquire 25-49% of their total sales from third-party marketplaces;
• Interest in leveraging an online marketplace is high: Among only those respondents whose companies do not own or operate an online marketplace, most claim they are somewhat interested (44%), very interested (34%), or already in the process of launching (11%) an online marketplace;
• Key concerns: Top concerns about operating an online marketplace for all respondents included maintaining brand loyalty amidst other sellers (64%), product presentation and accuracy (60%), and product pricing or discounting issues (57%), among others; and,
• Key benefits: Perceived benefits of a marketplace included improving customer loyalty (71%), reaching a wider range of customers (57%), generating new partnerships (e.g., with sellers) (52%), and delivering a better omnichannel experience (51%).

“It’s never been a better time for retailers and brands to add a third party marketplace as part of their omnichannel strategy and these results show the market understands the benefits and are acting on them,” said Richard Hankin, Marketplacer. “Now, there are exciting opportunities for retailers available that were previously only an option for industry behemoths.” 

To learn more about the report and the opportunities with third-party marketplaces click here. 

Survey Methodology

For this survey, WBR Insights interviewed senior leaders in marketing, ecommerce, CX, customer analytics, and marketplace strategy representing retailers in a variety of verticals, the majority of which either had $500 million to $1 billion (18%) or $1 billion to $10 billion (41%) in annual revenue. Respondents cited multiple reasons for launching, or planning to launch, a marketplace with the majority referencing the market demand from customers and brands. The report also investigated retailers' opinions of different types of marketplaces and their benefits to retailers and offered recommendations for retailers looking to expand their online presence with marketplaces.