Marketplaces play a significant role in online sales strategies.
Indeed, Amazon, Fnac, Cdiscount and their consorts offer a number of advantages to small and big vendors alike:
diverse sales channels;
wider offer thanks to a huge virtual stock;
more qualified traffic;
acute consumer knowledge with a view to meeting their requirements as best as possible.
Last but not least, there is another advantage: marketplaces are conducive to the development of a multichannel e-commerce strategy. This is true, namely with the "store-to-web" system - a marketing notion that takes a stance against traditional consumer habits: rather than drawing a visitor to your physical store, the "store-to-web" aims to turn a physical buyer into a virtual buyer by sending them directly to the e-shop.
Let's imagine that a customer is looking for a product that you no longer have in stock, or that they are drawn in by an exclusive online promotional campaign which you have advertised in your shop. Said customer will be encouraged to order the item online (and enjoy the advantages promised by your promotional offer) via the stated marketplace, that boasts a much larger stock. The customer can then have the product delivered or come and pick it up in your shop.
As such, marketplaces are great additions to your physical sales channel, and thus take part in your multichannel e-commerce strategy.
