How to use marketplaces to cross borders?

Marketplaces are a valuable aid to selling internationally. For UK e-tailers, marketplaces are an excellent way to access other European markets.

Marketplaces: a first step towards exporting

Through marketplaces, you can gauge foreign markets and test the interest of international clients in your products, all without having to invest time and money in developing a multilingual site. Because such sites require more than a simple translation: e-retailers must adapt to local consumer behaviours, currency, and online payment preferences (bank transfer is the most popular method in Germany, for example), etc.

The specific cultures of each country are difficult to master, since they encompass so many different parameters. But marketplaces already have in-depth knowledge of these notions, allowing e-tailers to benefit from this expertise at no additional cost.

Using a marketplace to target international business

In several steps, marketplaces help you to cross borders:

• test the markets that are best adapted to your products;
• choose a local marketplace or go through an international one (Amazon, eBay);
• connect with a local logistics company specialising in e-commerce to ensure efficient and profitable logistics (shipping costs, delivery timelines, management of returns…);
• work on a localised approach towards your products, with adapted content, translations into the language of the site and competitive prices;
• ensure you are in accordance with the laws and norms in the target countries;
• Select the countries where your products will perform the best;

You can then translate your website and disseminate your catalogue through local price comparison engines, according to the selected countries.