Selling online on marketplaces like Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop has become extremely popular. As a seller, you may be tempted to just pick one marketplace and focus all your efforts on that platform. However, having an omni-channel strategy and selling your products across multiple marketplaces can be much more beneficial for your ecommerce business.
Here are 9 reasons why you should sell your products on multiple online marketplaces:
1. Access a Wider Audience and Increase Sales
The most obvious benefit of multi-channel selling is that you expose your products to a much larger pool of potential buyers. Each marketplace has its own user base.
For example, Shopee is very popular with young shoppers and those looking for affordable deals. Lazada attracts more urban and premium shoppers. TikTok Shop is great for reaching Gen Z.
By listing your products across different channels, you can tap into each platform's unique audience and demographic. This means more eyes on your products and more sales opportunities. You also increase the chances of going viral on one channel.
Selling on just one marketplace limits your reach. You miss out on sales from users of other platforms. Multi-channel selling casts a wider net so you can catch more customers.
2. Diversify and Reduce Risks
Relying on just one sales channel is very risky. If that platform underperforms due to technical issues, changes in policies, increased competition or other external factors, your business will suffer.
Having a presence across multiple marketplaces diversifies your risk. If one channel experiences problems, you have other platforms to fall back on to sustain revenue.
It's the old saying of not putting all your eggs in one basket. Spread your eggs across different baskets so if one basket falls, you don't lose everything. Likewise, diversify across multiple online marketplaces to minimize platform-specific risks.
3. Compare Marketing Efforts and Double Down on What Works
Each marketplace has its own promotional features and marketing capabilities. Running campaigns across different channels allows you to directly compare results and see what works best.
For example, you can run a Facebook ad campaign directing users to your Shopee and Lazada stores. Look at the click-through rate, conversion rate, orders, and sales from each platform's traffic.
If the Facebook ad converts better on Lazada, you can allocate more ad budget there. If Shopee converts better, spend more on driving traffic to your Shopee store.
Multi-channel selling provides the data for marketing optimization. You can double down on the platforms and campaigns that give you the best returns. With a single channel, this comparison isn't possible.
4. Take Advantage of Unique Platform Features and Events
Online marketplaces regularly roll out special features and hold promotional events to engage users. For sellers, these can provide nice spikes in traffic and sales. However, they are platform-exclusive.
For example, Shopee has Shopee Live for livestreaming and Shopee Quiz for gamification. Lazada has LazLive and LazGames. Each platform also runs massive sales like 9.9, 11.11, and 12.12 with special vouchers and prizes.
If you sell on only one marketplace, you miss out on the other platforms' features and events. A multi-channel strategy lets you take advantage of each channel's unique offerings to boost sales. As a seller, you want exposure to as many promotions and tools as possible.
5. Gain Customer Insights from Multi-Channel Analytics
Selling across different marketplaces provides data from different user groups. For example, Lazada shoppers may be more likely to buy higher priced premium products versus Shopee shoppers who prefer cheaper mass market goods.
TikTok Shop may reveal interest from Gen Z in your products. The platform's short video ads can showcase your brand differently too.
You gain valuable customer and product insights by observing purchase patterns and behavior across diverse demographics on different channels. These insights allow you to fine tune your pricing, branding, marketing and product development for each platform.
With a single channel, you miss out on these cross-platform analytics. So maximize your learning by selling on multiple diverse marketplaces.
6. Improve Brand Awareness and Trust
Having a unified brand presence across different marketplaces strengthens awareness about your company and products. Shoppers who see your brand on multiple platforms are more likely to view you as an established legitimate business.
Imagine you're a customer. If you search for and find a brand on only Lazada, you may question if they are real or just a small unknown seller.
But if you also see the same brand actively selling on Shopee, TikTok Shop, Facebook, Instagram etc., you will have more confidence to buy from them.
The more exposure your brand gets across channels, the greater the trust. So don't just stick to one marketplace - distribute your brand far and wide to build credibility.
7. Have a Backup Plan if a Platform Shuts Down
In the fast moving ecommerce industry, some marketplaces may struggle and eventually shut down. We saw this happen with platforms like Wish and KiotViet in Vietnam. Merchants who relied solely on those closing channels took a big hit.
But sellers with a diverse multi-channel strategy were unaffected. When one platform shuts down, they simply shift more resources to their other active channels. It's a non-issue for their business.
There is always a risk of marketplace failure, so smart sellers distribute across multiple platforms. This insulates your business if any one channel fails. Protect yourself with a safety net - don't commit 100% to a single marketplace.
8. Optimize Pricing Across Platforms
Product prices on marketplaces are very transparent - competitors can see each other's listings. This allows you to benchmark your pricing against others selling the same items.
By having your products listed across multiple marketplaces, you get pricing data from different platforms. You may be able to sell a product for more on Lazada compared to Shopee due to the platform's customer demographics.
Some products may also have lower competition on TikTok Shop, allowing you to price higher. You can optimize pricing on each channel based on demand, competition levels, and customer willingness to pay.
Pricing intelligence from multi-channel selling results in higher margins and profits. With a single sales channel, pricing is mostly guesswork.
9. Hedge Against Future Platform Policy Changes
Marketplace policies, fees, and algorithms change all the time. As a seller, you must constantly adapt. Recent examples include Shopee's free shipping requirements, Lazada's new commission fees, and TikTok Shop's video requirements.
However, sellers locked into only one platform have little options when that marketplace changes policies in a negative way. Either suck it up and take the damage, or stop selling entirely. Both are terrible choices.
But as a multi-channel seller, you have less dependence on any one platform. If a marketplace makes unfriendly changes, you can shift more resources to your other channels with better policies and less impact on your business.
Don't get caught in a platform's whims. Go multi-channel to minimize policy risks.
Going Multi-Channel is Easy with Lameco's Help
Expanding across multiple online marketplaces may seem daunting if you need to manage everything yourself. Displaying consistent branding, coordinating promotions, troubleshooting issues, and analyzing data across different channels can be challenging.
However, ecommerce agencies like Lameco make multi-channel selling simple through our comprehensive solutions and support.
Lameco helps you:
Optimize and manage stores on Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop to maximize sales
Run high ROI paid advertising campaigns on Facebook, Google, Tiktok
Build an integrated brand presence across channels
Streamline operational management with our tools and automation
Access insightful cross-channel data analytics on our dashboard
If you currently only sell on one marketplace, contact Lameco to discuss expanding your omni-channel strategy. We enable ecommerce success.
Now Go Capture More Customers Online!