There are many avenues available to reach new customers today. The number of avenues available to reach new customers is growing at an alarming rate.

Many people start by creating a user-friendly, branded website that is focused on customer experience. While this is a good way to legitimize and promote your brand, it may not be the best way for you to reach new customers in a highly competitive market. Online shoppers aren’t looking for products on brands’ websites when they search. Consider how many times you visit a brand’s site versus searching first on Amazon, eBay, or a large-box retailer.

 

Multichannel commerce has made commerce more accessible. Businesses must be able reach customers via multiple channels, including the internet, mobile, comparative search engines such as Google Shopping, social eCommerce platforms like Facebook and online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.

Multichannel selling allows merchants to reach customers anywhere and list their products everywhere. This leads to increased sales and sustainable business growth.

What’s multichannel selling?

 

Multichannel selling refers to the practice of selling products through more than one channel. Multichannel selling allows you to leverage the existing customer base of other platforms and businesses. This will allow you to accelerate your growth phase.

Six main sales channels can be used to create a multichannel strategy.

1. Your eCommerce website – Your owned digital real estate.
2. Online marketplaces Amazon is the leading online marketplace. These platforms often consolidate a variety of third-party products and present them in an almost endless array that makes it easy to find products of any type.
3. Mobile marketplaces – These are similar to their big brother marketplaces but are mobile-first. Unlike Amazons and eBays around the world, these marketplaces have always been mobile-first. Wish, Mercari and OfferUp are some examples.
4. Social media platform – These names are sure to ring a bell and include the familiar suspects: TikTok (Facebook), YouTube, YouTube, and many more.
5. Comparison shopping engines Google Shopping and Bing Shopping, are two examples. The main difference between marketplaces and comparison engines is that shoppers are directed to online shopping sites or eCommerce to make purchases.
6. Brick and mortar Your physical footprint.

Each channel opens your brand up for their unique market dynamics and marked disadvantages.

 

This opportunity is available to all merchants regardless of size. It will increase their exposure to customers and, most importantly, increase sales.

5 benefits of multichannel selling

 

Multichannel selling has many benefits. However, the obvious benefit is not the only one. There are many other benefits to multichannel selling:

 

01. We are looking for new customers

Each shopper is unique. While some prefer to buy directly from the source, others might search multiple channels to find the best price. To reach as many potential customers as possible, it makes sense to offer more channels for them to purchase from you.

02. Competitive advantage

You lose sales if you don’t have a competitor on the same channel. Worst of all, your target audience could be completely dominated by your competition. You lose the possibility of making a sale in future as your customers won’t be able to find you in product-search mode.

03. Marketing is ‘Free’

You get the benefit of an online marketplace’s marketing and technology efforts. Amazon Prime Day, for example, brings your brand to the attention of millions of potential buyers. They may even buy from you in the future via your website.

04. Brand recognition increases

Your brand will be recognized in more places than you can imagine. This builds trust and increases the chance of a sale in the future.

05. Lower risk

eCommerce merchants often over-rely on one sales channel, even if they have seen positive results. The eCommerce industry is plagued by many obstacles, which leaves merchants in the mud when a channel changes dramatically due to external or internal forces. A multichannel approach helps mitigate channel risk.

 

3 drawbacks of multichannel marketing

 

Multichannel selling has its benefits, but it also comes with its challenges. These include:

 

01. Multi-channel sales management

Multichannel selling is difficult without an omnichannel eCommerce platform that allows customers to seamlessly interact with each other. It can be difficult to manage multiple sales channels without an omnichannel eCommerce platform like Wix. A central login and dashboard will make it easier to manage orders, listings, returns, and other details.

02. Inventory management

Inadequate inventory management can result in out-of-stock products and overselling. This can not only be bad for sales but also lead to low customer reviews and decreased customer loyalty.

An eCommerce platform that offers inventory management software will also be helpful in this regard. It will automatically ensure your inventory is up to date across all sales channels.

 

03. Customer experience

As you expand your sales channels, managing your brand and customer experience can become more difficult. Unsuccessful brand experiences can cause damage to your reputation and make it more difficult for customers to trust you.

As you expand channels, it can be difficult to process orders quickly from checkout through shipping.

Market leaders in 2022

 

Amazon is the best marketplace for online sellers. This can be stated without needing a blog post. It should be on your list of potential selling channels, with 5.2 billion visits to its site each month. Amazon has a large customer base, and many merchants consider Amazon’s ease-of-use checkout and fulfillment process a major advantage over other online marketplaces.

It is difficult to maintain brand consistency and stand out from ever-growing competition.

 

eBay is another online marketplace giant that draws millions of visitors per month. With its online auctions, the eCommerce giant is able to differentiate itself from Amazon. eBay is known for its international eCommerce and focus on selling used and new products to third-party buyers and sellers.

 

Mercado Libre is a Latin American brand that operates online marketplaces for eCommerce and auctions. They often work together to expand eBay sellers in Latin America.

 

There are also other marketplaces for online sellers:

 

• Rakuten is an online marketplace that sells electronics and computers. Rakuten offers an exclusive service that allows people to earn cash back for purchases made through a Rakuten link.
• AliExpress This well-known marketplace facilitates small businesses selling to customers around the world AliExpress has been compared to eBay because sellers are independent and can offer products to buyers.
• Shopee – This top platform serves both sellers and consumers throughout Southeast Asia and East Asia. Shopee is also available to merchants from several Latin American countries who wish to sell and purchase their products online.
• Walmart Marketplace – The retail giant allows third-party sellers to list items alongside Walmart-exclusive merchandise just like they would on Amazon and eBay. It’s easy to sell on Walmart Marketplace.
• Etsy is a unique marketplace that focuses on vintage or handmade items as well as craft supplies. Etsy is a household name and continues to be the preferred channel for DIY merchants.
• Taobao – A platform for individual and small business owners. The Taobao online shops primarily cater to Chinese-speaking consumers.
• Pinduoduo – China’s largest technology platform for agriculture. The Pinduoduo platform connects farmers with distributors through an interactive shopping experience.
• Trendyol – The largest eCommerce platform for Turkey. Trendyol was initially created to be a shopping website that made fashion more accessible for all. It has seen significant growth in the past few years as it offers more products and services.
• Allegro – A Polish marketplace, and one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in Eastern Europe. Allegro , Europe’s fourth largest online marketplace and one of the most technologically-driven trading companies in Europe, is Allegro .
• Target Plus – Target launched its online marketplace in February 2019, to expand its product range. Target Plus currently operates an invitation-only marketplace which pairs third-party products with Target’s own.
• Wayfair – An American eCommerce company that has established a strong reputation for selling furniture and other home goods. Many consider Wayfair the Amazon of home goods.
• JD.com – This Chinese eCommerce company is a leader in the sale of electronics, mobile phones and computers. JD.com has the best drone delivery system, infrastructure and capability anywhere in the world.

 

Optimizing a multichannel sales strategy

 

Multichannel selling has been proven to increase online sales. However, it requires the right strategy to make sure your profit is not lost.

It is important to coordinate and organize your channels so that they work to your advantage, and your customers are satisfied.

Integrating inventory and operations is another important aspect of multichannel sales. The logistics of adding more channels can present additional challenges. Increasing sales opportunities can lead to increased inventory levels and the elimination of the risk of being over-sold or short-stocked. This can be avoided by constant inventory monitoring.

Multichannel selling software is a great way to help companies manage inventory and solve problems by centralizing all operations. Multichannel selling software allows companies to manage their inventory, accounting, shipping and fulfillment.

 

Centralized data management is key to coordinating inventory and logistics. Instead of collecting this information from each channel, you should consider investing in tools that centralize data management. Wix Analytics provides a consolidated view for merchants of all Wix eCommerce stores, allowing them to make informed business decisions.

Your multichannel strategy should optimize sales channels. It is not enough to just list products on the marketplace and expect sales immediately. Your strategy should include testing the marketplace and making any necessary changes, then optimizing further for better results.

This can be done in two great ways: quantitative data and customer feedback. Sometimes data is not right. It is better to hear directly from the source. Customer feedback can be received in a variety of ways, including surveys, follow-up emails and satisfaction ratings.

 

To spread the word about your products through multiple channels such as email, Facebook and Instagram, use tools such Wix’s Multichannel Campaigns. Increase traffic to your listings to see which areas people prefer to transact and why.

 

Increasing brand awareness and protecting brand reputation

 

Multichannel selling has many advantages. One is the increased brand recognition.

You can expand your sales channels beyond the primary channel, whether that’s brick-and-mortar or online. This opens up a new market for your brand to potential customers. This increases brand awareness and leads to more traffic to your channels.

Your brand’s identity could be lost if your product is listed on multiple channels. Multichannel selling is not for everyone. It is important to prioritize channels.

Consider the following questions when choosing the right channels to promote your business: “Can your brand still be relevant and reach your target customers?”

Your online store should be extended by the right marketplaces. You shouldn’t try to push your products into every marketplace. Instead, focus on the products that are most competitive in price and have a unique status.

https://www.wix.com/blog/ecommerce/2022/01/multichannel-selling