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Online Marketplaces in South Africa
2023-04-24
If you’re an online retailer, then you don’t have to limit your sales to your website. You can also look towards online marketplaces.
Various online marketplaces exist in South Africa. These are platforms that are open to basically anyone selling products. Using them can make your life as a retailer a lot easier while helping you connect with new customers. In this guide, we’ll cover what you need to know about online marketplaces in South Africa, including some of the best options available.
What Are Online Marketplaces?
An online marketplace is a type of eCommerce site that lets third parties sell their products. Unlike your online store that you own, Marketplaces are managed by other people. They advertise and display your products, and in return, they take some kind of commission.
Why Use an Online Marketplace?
If you are a retailer, it can be worthwhile looking into collaborating with online marketplaces.
The main advantage of working with one is that it opens up a new sales channel. This can help make your products more visible and help you reach a greater customer base. Many online marketplaces will also help to market your products for you.
Customers often go straight to online marketplaces that they know and trust to discover products. So if you’re a small or new business, getting your products listed in these places can be a great way to access more customers.
Online marketplaces also often handle all the logistics - like shipping, returns, and processing orders. This makes it easy for you to generate extra sales without all the effort.
The downside of using an online marketplace is that you don't open the sales channel, so you’re not always in complete control. Online marketplaces have strict rules that you need to follow, which means you might not always be able to set the exact pricing you want on these channels. You will likely also have to reduce your profit margins when selling through a marketplace.
Marketplaces can also be highly competitive, as you have to compete with many other products selling on the same platform. So, when deciding to work with an online marketplace, make sure that you weigh up the pros and cons, and understand exactly what kind of deal you’re getting into.
Types Of Online Marketplaces in South Africa
There are two main types of online marketplaces in South Africa.
The first is free marketplaces. These let you join the marketplace for free, where you can list and sell your products. These marketplaces will generally take a commission or charge a fee for each product sold.
You also get entirely free marketplaces, like Gumtree or Facebook. These marketplaces require you to manage your shipping and orders.
Then you get paid marketplaces. These often have a monthly fee that you need to pay to get your products listed, These marketplaces often also take commissions or fees on top of this.
Best Online Marketplace Options in South Africa
Depending on what you sell and who you’re trying to reach, there are plenty of great online marketplaces that you can use to list and promote your products.
Here are some of the best options:
- Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace: Popular free marketplaces for buying and selling. These are mostly used for selling second-hand items.
- Takealot: South Africa’s largest online marketplace. This is a relatively expensive marketplace to sell on, but it does give you access to a wide audience.
- Sell-SA: A large online marketplace that lets you list items for free.
- Makro: Makro also offers an excellent online marketplace. You can list products for free but they take a commission on all sold items.
- Etsy: Etsy is a popular online marketplace for small businesses. It’s ideal for selling hand-crafted, specialized items.
- Zasttra: A large online marketplace that has room for plenty of interesting products.
- ShopStar: ShopStar offers an excellent dropshipping marketplace for South African sellers.
These are only a few options, but there are plenty of other online marketplaces available. Some are general, and others focus on a specific niche. Try to research what online marketplaces are popular based on your competitors and what you sell. This can help you find the best possible online marketplace to reach more customers.
Conclusion
Online marketplaces in South Africa offer some fantastic opportunities for reaching more customers and increasing your sales channels. Just make sure that you understand the specifics of each marketplace and choose one that makes sense for your brand and target audience. When properly set up, these marketplaces can help you unlock a lot more sales opportunities.