As third-party marketplaces like Amazon, Alibaba and eBay capture more consumer spend than ever before, brands need to understand what it takes to succeed on these important and competitive channels.

This report looks at why brands must consider third-party marketplaces, explores the opportunities and challenges that they will face and offers pragmatic advice on what is required to succeed across a range of marketplaces. It covers:

  • The boom in marketplaces and the opportunities they offer brands, from widening their customer base to making it easier to enter new international markets.
  • Practical advice on how to create a winning ‘digital shelf’ including how to create compelling product pages and brand storefronts.
  • Optimising content and calls to action to maximise discoverability on product search.
  • From sponsored products to video ads, how to use advertising to drive awareness, visibility and sales across different marketplaces.
  • The skills, structures and leadership required to thrive on marketplaces, from managing high expectations of customer service to successful operations and fulfilment.
  • Understanding consumers and ecommerce in China and the opportunities for brands entering this market.

This report discusses Amazon, eBay and Alibaba (Tmall) in detail. However, many of the topics addressed in this report apply to other third-party marketplaces, such as Etsy, Walmart, Allegro, Noon, Shopee, Flipkart and Instacart.