Is it possible in e-commerce to live without your online store?
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Now to sell online with your own website, and through various trading platforms.
Many sites promise great convenience and many advantages compared to using your own website. But whether to rely on these promises? Today we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach and explain why it is better not to "keep all your eggs in one basket".
Why bother to renounce your own online store?
For starters, why even consider such an option. After all, with the emergence of online trading, the online stores are trusted and reliable tools to ensure the success of the business. Let's turn to the arguments that offer the trading platform.
No need to spend money to develop
Design your own online store is attachments. Even if the contractor is to develop a student-freelancer, he still needs to pay for the work. Well, if you go thoroughly, the development of the online store also includes a description of the requirements, design, testing, deployment, hosting, etc. as a result, even in the case of a micro business may be coming up considerable amount.
If you use third-party platform (SaaS or marketplace) you pay for solutions, not processes. It's either subscription fee for ready to shop on the platform, or payment for a certain number of items in the marketplace, or the Commission from each sale.
So, the tariff plan "Basic Shopify" includes the monthly fee of $29 per month, plus 2.9% and 30 cents per transaction. Sellers on Amazon, was as individuals, pay for every sale of $0.99 plus a referral Commission on each sale depending on the product category (from 6% to 45%, often around 15%). Playground "Buy here" just takes a fixed Commission from sales - 7% the transaction is already included, and "Etsy" charges sellers a fixed Commission of 20 cents for each fact of placing an item for sale.
Start on site is possible without an understanding of the aspects of the development
Gthe main advantage of SaaS platforms and marketplaces you can start selling, without having any knowledge about the development and promotion of sites. Really to create your shop on the basis of a complete platform, only need to choose suitable templates and modules to pay for the data plan and add the products.
Well, for the marketplace does not need, and it's enough to add products, descriptions and prices. In this case the solution can always be changed if something is selected does not meet the needs of the business.
From idea to start-up businesses can meet one day
This item is a consequence of the previous one. If you do not take into account the bureaucratic nuances, it really is possible to prepare and launch the online trade in one day. Of course, in reality this happens not always and not everywhere, because every entrepreneur passes the verification.
Trading platforms work relatively smoothly and stably
The online store goes to the owner together with the possible problems. That is, the shortcomings of the design and development or to have resolved on its own (even the forces of the contractor), or to accept their existence.
The platform and the marketplace offer the same instruments to multiple users. This allows their owners to test and Refine the software, not looking for resources. Therefore, the trading platform is optimized much better than the vast majority of online stores. Also a big plus is the large cross on these sites.
New functions can be added almost instantly
To add a defined payment system in the store, just need to connect the appropriate module. It to the limit makes it easier to make changes, eliminating the need to program the integration, and then test it.
If the corresponding module is not provided, in most cases, to add the desired functionality will not work. However, some platforms allow customers to create and connect custom modules. In this case, the process is almost indistinguishable from the development of functionality for your Internet shop.
Many sites provide the logistics
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)is a service that allows you to store your own goods in the warehouses of Amazon and to carry out the shipment of sales through Amazon. Multi-channel Fulfillment (MCF) serves other sales channels: own website or third-party site. In both cases, Amazon provides the delivery of goods, the cost of which is included in the price of the product and borne by the buyer.
Such logistical services are provided and at other major venues:Shopify, Ozon etc. Services might include storage, shipment and delivery in the complex and the provision of certain services.
Sites trusted by buyers
Large and well-known marketplace gives buyers confidence that they will not be deceived. In the end the conversion when equal to such sites will probably be higher than for a unknown online store. This contributes to internal rules protecting buyerstaken at these sites.
Sometimes sites even subsidize dealers
Sometimes the trading platform surprises, for example, provide retailers financial aid in business development. Recently, a similar initiative announced by Amazon: the company, together with investment Bank Goldman Sachs has launched a credit line for its customers.
Traders will be able to get a loan of up to $1 million with a fixed interest rate from 6.99% to 20.99% of the annual. Earlier, a similar stock, though less ambitious, and organized and some other shopping sites.
Some concessions to domestic stores promised and "Yandex". So, sellers can count on financial aid, simplifying rules, delay of payments and a decrease in the number of inspections.
The bottom line
As you can see, many of the benefits described above are not available for separate online stores. But not all: for example, logistics services many of the sites cater to and sales through third-party channels.
The obvious disadvantages of trading platforms
The experience of "Dodo pizza" showed that regular customers, going into orders via an aggregator, blurred: they're impossible to track and there's no way to communicate. The aggregator can advertise a separate proposal, it can only advertise themselves, their services or discounts.
At the same time, the company, working directly with their customers, can tell in the mobile app or on the website about a new product, to offer a new service. For example, "strange" resource impossible to implement the constructor of pizza, which now the company operates.
Our revenue today is much healthier. We have our own client base. We have the scale and coating. This gives us the opportunity to conduct national advertising campaigns. This gives you the opportunity to promote the brand and promote grocery promo. We can advertise the product, namely the product attracts people to our business.
Now let's identify the risks the rejection of its own online store in favor of shopping sites. And these risks, there are many. We have collected the cons of using trading platforms as their only sales channel and providing real-world examples that took place recently.
Often save themselves to the detriment of the sellers
In the usual conditions of trading platform work with vendors according to established rules. But when external conditions deteriorate, many of them start to behave unexpectedly.
Thus, the Russian marketplace Ozon may 1, 2020 introduced a minimum fee, which can be higher than the cost of the goods. The sellers found out about it just a few days before the launch of innovations, not all have time to prepare properly.
The result is to sell inexpensive goods in some categories became unprofitable and they disappeared from the site. According to representatives of the marketplace, the sale of such goods with the old commissions were unprofitable for Ozon. Earlier, there were reports about the arbitrariness of support Ozon in relation to commissions just on cheap goods.
Punish sellers for any detail
Often courts are too harsh to sellers. In particular, Yandex.Market under penalty of the sanctions ordered all the shops to process the backlog over the Christmas holidays, the orders within the first working hours after the holidays.
During the recent quarantine almost all Internet shops due to objective reasons had delay. Employees Of "Yandex.Market" did not consider the situation that resulted in mass testing and sanctions.
A similar situation exists at the Russian sellers on the Etsy marketplace. Due to the suspension of air links sending products through "Mail of Russia" abroad virtually stopped. Despite the obvious influence of force majeure, the position of the sellers who failed to deliver the goods in a timely manner, dipped significantly in the results.
Block reason and without
Trading venues are designed in such a way that in any situation the owners have the last word. However, sometimes you don't need and situation. For example, Shopify can block any seller without explanation.
Collect data and use it against sellers
Hardly anyone is surprised that the marketplace collect statistics activity posted the sellers. But Amazon decided to go ahead. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company analyzed the sales statistics of their clients, after which offer for sale most successful items under its own brand and the most competitive price.
Can have a negative impact on the reputation
If on the shelf next to quality product is a counterfeit, suffers the reputation of the original. This should be remembered by placing their products in major marketplaces. Indeed, among the thousand items can easily be fakes, very similar in quality product, honest seller. But in this step, a popular site with Secure transaction where the customer after receiving confirms on the side of the resource is satisfactory with respect to the order. Only then the buyer's money is transferred to the seller.
Not long ago, the European organisation of consumers analyzed the proposal on the popular sites like Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress and Wisch. In the result, two-thirds studied on all four floors of goods were of poor quality, and some even dangerous for health.
Do not provide adequate coverage of the target audience
Not all trading platforms work around the world. Even among those who at first glance seem to be global, there may be significant geographical restrictions. In particular, Instagram Shopping currently covers barely half of the countries in the world.
There are examples of discriminatory attitudes. So, buyers from the United States Etsy , the priority shows the products with free shipping. Such conditions can provide only sellers from USA that puts others at a disadvantage.
Can indirectly or directly contribute to unfair competition
As we have said, the site places own rules. And these rules can create conditions for unfair competition. So, one of the sellers on Ozon.ru complains that a competitor has found a loophole and blocks their goods, reserving and not buying. Surely you can find other similar cases for other marketplaces. Here it all depends on the support of the resource, whether to calculate this say fraud and to impose sanctions for the offender.
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