More brands and retailers are turning to marketplaces to sell their products, report

When it comes to where retailers want to sell their products, it turns out they want their eggs in as many baskets as possible.

Last year was a big one for marketplaces; 31% more businesses began selling their products on such platforms, according to Mirakl’s 2023 seller report. It found that marketplace and dropship businesses grew 38% YoY and six times faster than overall commerce in 2022.

• More than half (56%) of the 65,000 businesses surveyed sell on more than two marketplace and dropship platforms, while 62% of sellers intend to get on more platforms over the next year.
• Among the businesses examined, 53% are brands, 32% are marketplace native sellers, and 15% are retailers.

“Brands and retailers recognize the opportunities offered by platform business models, as they can join forces with other retailers and reach new audiences in a matter of weeks in some cases, businesses can begin selling on marketplaces in just four days,” Fareeha Ali, director of strategy and market intelligence at Mirakl, said in the report.

Mirakl said success for operators is defined by “attracting and retaining high-quality sellers.” Most retailers (57%) would rather sell on marketplaces that have a diverse set of products and categories, and 43% prefer curated marketplaces with specific categories.

• But both of those groups make website traffic, product categories, commission, and ease of use a priority.

“Selling on the big digital-native marketplaces like Amazon is getting to be so competitive, it’s a breath of fresh air to have other channels available. While other marketplaces may not have as much traffic, we see sales almost instantaneously,” Jade Hansen, director of operations at ClickHere2Shop, said in the report.