Marketplace Websites: The Future of Ecommerce?

Ecommerce, it appears that everyone is doing it these days. And why shouldn’t they?  After all it’s dead easy to register a domain name and put together a simple on line store.  Ta-da! Your online, OK now what?

Well that’s when the hard graft starts. You will need to get your name out there, building brand awareness and crucially, trust. Stock management and overheads all have a role to play as well.  And after you have done all this you will be ‘thrown to the proverbial wolves’. Today’s internet savvy shoppers want every product at the lowest possible price, with fast, free delivery to an address of their choice. Be it work, home or Auntie Edna’s house just in time for her birthday (and woe betide you if it arrives late, because it will be on Facebook before you can say ‘refund’).

So all is not as simple as it seems for a new business that is trying to get a leg-up in the world of online trading.  Of course the word ‘Ecommerce’ has been around for a long time, longer in fact than the Amazon or Play.com websites. However, when we look at these businesses, we get an insight in to how traditional ‘pure play’ ecommerce traders have evolved their platforms in to marketplace’s, that allow smaller traders to piggyback off the brand name, by setting up trader accounts within the website. Now marketplace owners like Play.com and Amazon benefit from an increased product offering, with no additional stock overheads, increased cross selling opportunities and regular commission payments made by traders for every sale. 

So why join a ‘marketplace’ when it’s so easy to set up your own site?

Exposure – By trading on a marketplace website you will not only be benefiting from your own traffic sources, you will also be benefiting from traffic driven to the site by other marketplace traders. So even if your marketing budget is small you can still have substantially more traffic driven to your products than if your where to build a standalone ecommerce shop.

Simplicity – Understanding today’s tech terms is not everyone’s cup of tea.  With a marketplace this pain is taken away as somebody else has considered the importance of how ‘usable’ the site has to be. After all it’s in the marketplace owner’s interest to make the site easy to use, to attract more traders to the site.

Trust – Having a new build ecommerce site liked and respected by customers will take time. Will they commit to spending £££’s on a website that they have not heard of or has no reviews? Probably not.  By trading on a marketplace, you will benefit from the trust and loyalty which are fundamental to its brand.

Cost efficiency – With marketplace websites there is not usually an upfront set up cost, so you can start building your online presence straight away.  However long term you will need to consider if the commission you pay to the marketplace owners outweighs the costs of building your own ecommerce store.

Speed to market – Design considerations, site development, testing and SEO all takes time, and can give you a lead time of 6+ months before you own site can realistically be in a position to trade online. With a marketplace you can start listing products as soon as your account is created. Market places allow sellers to be online and trading…fast.

Market awareness - By joining a marketplace, you can easily view the prices your competitors are charging for their products, and see the marketing messages they are using. Any small business relies on targeted, intelligent pricing and marketing, and a Marketplace site can give you a real leg up in this crucial area.

Here at Rocktime we love Ecommerce, and our very own Source ecommerce platform provides the perfect launch pad if you're considering setting up a marketplace website. Like all the best platforms, it is built to open standards so you can explore the developer marketplace after the initial development phase if you wish.

Developing Ecommerce solutions for our client’s sites is something our tech guys have been doing since 1999 and they will happily talk to you about it until the cows come home. So if you fancy a cuppa (or two) and a chat then give me a call.  I would love to hear from you. Visit our contact us page here.

Author: Martin Bradbury

Well done Domino's, £130k mobile orders in 1 day

We love this case study which was mentioned over at Mobile Marketing News earlier in the week. It mentions that Domino's Pizza's had a record month of mobile orders with 13% of their total orders coming in via mobile device, bringing in a sum of £130,000 in one day alone! What a fantastic statistic!

Domino's chief executive, Chris Moore, puts the company's sales into perspective:

"When we launched online ordering just over a decade ago, it was a huge ivestment, but one that has continued to pay off, year on year. To put this achievement in context, 12 years ago we took £100,000 in online sales a year, by 2000 we were taking £1m in a year and now we are taking £1m in a day."

Read more about the mobile application over at the Mobile Marketing website, which shares news, views and analysis of all things mobile.

This is a great testament to the value of mobile commerce and E-commerce, and shows the important of enabling customers to order and pay for their food no matter where the are.

Rocktime believes that companies who invested in mobile early will reap the rewards, but appreciate that tapping in to an unknown market has its risks. However the mobile market is growing at such a pace that today's business really needs to embrace the mobile culture or be swept aside by their competitoes, so developing a clear strategy is essesntial when considering mobile investment.

Dominos are a great example of a company who saw the market when it was in its infancy and decided to invest for the future.

If you want to discuss how mobile websites and/or mobile applications can integrate with your business, please contact the Rocktime Sales team.


Author: Martin Bradbury

Martin shares his thoughts on mCommerce

This year one of our New Year Resolutions is to share with you more content about our personal experiences with online technologies. Martin Bradbury, Business Development at Rocktime is kick starting us off, as he talks about his experience and thoughts on mCommerce, enjoy.


My thoughts on mCommerce

I recently purchased an Android Powered smart phone, and I find myself very amenable to buying apps through the Android Market. The process of actually spending real money through my mobile feels uncannily natural and very easy, leaving me safe that I can trust Google Checkout with my hard earned cash.

So now I can browse through Android Market, find an app or a game worth buying (ok, that's sometimes a struggle!), click click and I've bought it and a minute or so afterwards, it's installed on my phone and ready for me to enjoy. So there you go, Google Checkout has my credit card details and I'm happy for them to have it. So where is this all going?

I'm mentioning this because it's got me thinking about how much mobile app's have done for mCommerce. It's not just Google Checkout or the Apples App store that has got us spending money on our mobiles. Many of the high street retailers such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have mobile versions of their websites that not only allow you to browse, but also order online from your mobile phone. So now you really can choose your next pair of golf socks while relaxing in the bath or if like me you have a penchant for neck ties, why not order a couple of Patrick McMurrays while waiting for the bus to turn up.

You may be thinking that these sites are just marketing fluff and should not be taken too seriously. Well you would be very wrong, they now form an integral part of many retailers revenues streams.

In fact one of the Directors at online fashion retailer ASOS recently tweeted that the company had taken in £73,000 in one day from its mobile site alone... no small apples then.

So is it feasible for SME's to develop mobile enabled sites or apps to create this additional revenue stream? Yes of course! Because of the their size, mobile sites are far cheaper and simpler to develop than traditional site and are not only good for extra income, they can add an element of coolness to your business and also allow you to break into new markets and engage with new audiences.

Here at Rocktime we love mobile tech, and we are really excited about the pace in which mCommerce is becoming part of everyday life.

Developing stand alone mobile sites is something our tech guys have been doing for some time now and they will happily talk to you about it until the cows come home. So if you fancy a cuppa (or two) and a chat about mobile commerce or mobile apps then give me a call. Alternatively, browse to the Rocktime mobile site on your own mobile device (it's really easy and quick), just open your mobile browser and tap in m.rocktime.co.uk.


Author: Martin Bradbury