The future of retail is multichannel commerce, even for B2B organizations.
A decade ago, this might have been impossible. But considering that 73% of today’s B2B customers are millennials and grew up in the era of technology, it makes sense why the B2B ecommerce market was valued at $6.64 trillion in 2020. The expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 to 2028 is 18.7%.
But, truth be told, multichannel ecommerce can mean a number of things, and it shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. For instance, you may be a B2B brick-and-mortar store that isn’t quite ready to have a full-blown ecommerce store. And that’s okay. You can still reap the benefits of online selling through marketplaces.
When it comes to multichannel commerce, you need to know where your business fits best; otherwise, you’re wasting time, resources, and money.
So, when you look for an online marketplace, consider the following:
Here are the top marketplaces we’ve found to be ideal for B2B businesses.
Alibaba has been around for 18-years and continues to be a trusted and leading platform for the wholesale of goods. It has 41 million active buyers and is known for being one of the most seamless platforms for B2B, B2C, and C2C businesses.
This platform is ideal for dry food, construction materials, manufacturing of machinery, garden products, electronic components, as well as beauty.
A few of their benefits include;
Amazon is the leading e-retailer in the United States, but it’s not just for B2C businesses only. Amazon Business accounts for 1.4% of B2B product sales in the U.S and is expected to see 2.4% market share growth by 2025. But what is Amazon Business? It’s a platform for B2B businesses to sell their products, whether it’s once-off or in bulk. This is a sales opportunity for B2B businesses of all sizes, as they can sell through one of the most popular platforms in the world.
The benefits of Amazon Business include:
eWorldTrade is a widely known business-to-business ecommerce platform that brings sellers and buyers across the globe together. B2B customers can find manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers, and companies all on one platform.
With eWorldTrade being around for 10-years, it has become a reputable platform where B2B shoppers come to shop online. They have a wide range of categories for businesses such as beauty, cosmetics, personal care, household appliances, security and protection, clothes, machinery, dry food, beverages, and chemicals such as paint coatings, fertilizer, and pharmaceuticals. Their key features include:
Global Source was founded in 1995, and today, it has over 10 million registered international buyers. This marketplace platform works by connecting companies with suppliers from all around the world. Sellers on Global Source have to be a part of a global marketplace with unique media possibilities, and online trade events that allow vendors to showcase their products. Global Source is ideal for businesses selling auto parts and accessories, electronics, electronic components, furniture, hardware, industrial suppliers, and machinery and equipment.
Their key benefits include:
It’s one thing to be on marketplaces, but it’s another thing to excel and generate sales. B2B marketplaces are hot right now, and they aren’t losing momentum.
In fact, B2B marketplace sales are projected to grow 130% year over year in 2021 to $56 billion, which is significant growth from the $24.34 billion projection in 2020. But, to truly reap the benefits of this growing market, you need to:
Right, so by now, you know what to look out for when choosing the right marketplace, where to sell your products, and how to ensure your products appear on these various marketplaces. But where do you store this information?
Not in your Dropbox or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, that’s for sure!
You’ll need product information software. A PIM tool allows you to store your product data, as well as manage, edit and share it directly with the marketplace.
Plytix is the best PIM for small businesses; you get everything you need for multichannel commerce in one tool. You can store digital assets, optimize product information for various channels, check the ecommerce product analytics tool to see which products are selling well and where, and lastly, syndicate products to your chosen marketplace with ease. Our PIM solution doesn’t only work as a repository but also as a multichannel listing tool with its marketplace connector.
Pretty nifty? We think so too!
Cut back the costs of having an extensive ecommerce tech stack with Plytix!