Marketplace

What is a marketplace?

A marketplace is a digital trading platform that brings together many sellers and buyers in one place. Unlike your own webshop, where you alone control the supply, in a marketplace you compete with other sellers for the same customers. The platform owns the customer relationship and typically takes a commission on each sale.

Popular marketplaces for Danish webshops

• Amazon: The world's largest marketplace. Relevant for Danish sellers via Amazon.de, Amazon.se or Amazon.com.
• CDON: Nordic marketplace with focus on Scandinavia.
• Miinto: Fashion marketplace with a focus on Danish and Nordic fashion.
• Zalando: European fashion marketplace with Zalando Partner Program.
• eBay: Global marketplace for both new and used goods.
• Wish/Temu: Low-cost marketplaces with global reach.

Advantages of marketplaces

• Large customer base: Millions of active buyers you would otherwise never reach.
• Lower marketing costs: The platform drives traffic - you pay commission instead of ad dollars.
• Quick start-up: You can start selling without building and marketing your own online store.
• Credibility: Customers already trust the platform and its buyer protection.
• International exposure: Sell to markets you don't advertise in yourself.

Disadvantages of marketplaces

• Commission: Typically 10-20% of sales, which eats into your margin.
• No customer ownership: The customer is the marketplace's, not yours. You can't freely market to them afterward.
• Price competition: You compete directly with other sellers - often on price.
• Limited branding: You can rarely differentiate your shop visually. Customers remember the platform, not you.
• Platform dependency: Rules can change, fees can increase and your account can be closed.

Marketplace vs. own webshop

The two approaches are not mutually exclusive. Many successful e-commerce businesses use a combination strategy:

• Marketplace: To reach new customers, test new markets and generate volume.
• Own webshop: To build brand, own the customer relationship and achieve better margins.

The key is to use the marketplace for customer acquisition and your own webshop to build loyal customers over time.

Product feed for marketplaces

To sell on marketplaces, you typically need to provide a product feed - a structured file with product data (title, description, price, images, stock status). The feed is kept up to date so that the marketplace always has correct information. In Shoporama, you can generate product feeds for Google Shopping and other channels, which can also be used as a basis for marketplace integration.