Nowadays, a lot of businesses have been selling their products online. Businesses can benefit economically by engaging with stakeholders, customers, and employees through online marketing (Purkayastha & Sharma, 2016). There are ways of selling online- this can be through e-commerce marketplaces and independent online stores. These are online shopping websites or applications, but transactions are different. In e-commerce marketplaces, transactions are managed by the website owner, while independent online stores manage their own. There are recognizable e-commerce marketplaces in our country today, such as TikTok Shop, Shopee, and Lazada, and independent online stores like Shein and Zara. But which option presents a better ratio of advantages to disadvantages? The most likely known, widely used, and low-financing shopping application has more potential, regardless of the design and appearance of the websites.
E-commerce marketplaces benefit businesses as they provide instantaneous exposure to the market (Yazbeck, 2022) and trust and safety to consumers (Chan, 2021). Businesses often want to sell their products in e-commerce marketplaces as these platforms are already known and established. Sellers won't look for consumers and buyers as these online shops provide it for them. It would be much easier for them to expose and sell their products to a broad market. They won't have to exert too much effort in acquiring customers, like paying websites and endorsers for promotions. Furthermore, the e-commerce marketplace ensures businesses a safe community for transactions with minimal to no effort and provides consumers with safety that can efficiently gain their trust. This factor is a relevant thing a consumer would consider when shopping online.
When talking about cost control, businesses always prefer where they can minimize expenses and increase profit, as defined by Kenton (2022). Starting a business in an e-commerce marketplace requires low start-up costs. Sellers won't have to spend building a website or application for selling their products online. Start-up payments in e-commerce marketplaces are way lower than creating your own, thus leading to low setup expenses. In addition, e-commerce marketplaces also have their own logistics and payment forms that can benefit your business. Sellers won't have to worry about paying for delivery fees as the marketplace provides it for them. Also, this can attract consumers as these sometimes offer vouchers they can avail of and reduce the delivery cost of their orders, and some online shops, like Shopee, even offer monthly payments for selected items.
E-commerce marketplaces will always have drawbacks or disadvantages for businesses. These include high competition, less control, and reliance on the marketplace (Gupta, 2023). But if you analyze these factors from a broader and positive perspective, these things are expected when doing business. There is high competition in marketplaces because of the occurrence of other similar products, but as Golubovic (2023) said, "competition drives innovation," and product innovation will help sellers improve their current product and compete in the market. The business also has less control and is dependent on e-commerce marketplaces, but do these factors match the convenience and security it provides? Sellers may have less control over the website because it has its own rules and regulations, but they can still sell and interact with their customers. The same goes with reliance, where sellers rely on these marketplaces, and if troubled or malfunctioned, transactions will be affected too, but these are undeniable troubles in online shopping.
Overall, e-commerce marketplaces exhibit a more favorable balance of benefits than drawbacks. Selling products in e-commerce marketplaces is effortless and cost-effective with expected and fewer drawbacks. Sellers should analyze the online market and target market and pose strategic implementations in every weakness and threat the business has, as this is inevitable. Selling in e-commerce is hassle-free and less costly than selling or building an independent online shop. "Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship" - Benjamin Franklin
References
Chan, A.
(2021, October 22). Why trust and safety is essential for e-commerce
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Golubovic,
V. (2023, March 22). Why is it so important for companies to have
competitors? - legislate. RSS. https://www.legislate.tech/post/why-is-it-so-important-for-companies-to-have-competitors
Gupta,
N. (2023, September 8). E-commerce marketplaces vs. independent online
stores. Youth Ki Awaaz. https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2023/09/e-commerce-marketplaces-vs-independent-online-stores/?success=1
Kenton,
W. (2022, May 30). Cost control: How businesses use it to increase profits.
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Purkayastha,
A., & Sharma, S. (2016). Gaining competitive advantage through the right
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Yazbeck
, D. A. (2022, November 16). 4 benefits of selling on an e-marketplace for
your business: Maze solutions. Digital Marketing & Advertising Agency
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