How to improve your presence on fashion marketplaces

Fashion marketplaces - like vertical marketplaces in general - often pose a certain challenge for brands and retailers. Why? Because these platforms can be very demanding when it comes to connectivity and integration. Moreover, not every marketplace suits every fashion assortment, which is why it is important to make the right choice in advance. Importance should be attached to a well-maintained product catalogue; this must contain high-quality and comprehensive product images and as many product variations as possible.

Often marketplaces also offer so-called brand shops, which the brand can adapt to certain standards in order to stand out from the competition. Such a store will uniform your branding and storytelling, increase the traffic, and give the customer a better overview of your product range on the marketplace.

Here are the key questions a brand must answer to find the right marketplace:

• What do I want to achieve on the marketplace?

Increase sales and revenue? Develop my target group? Get end customer data? Correct brand presentation?

• Where do I want to sell my products?

National or international focus?

• Which marketplaces should be considered? Niche fashion or generalist marketplaces or both?

• Do I want to use the seller, the vendor or the hybrid model? As a seller, the merchant sells their goods to end customers, as a vendor first to Amazon/the marketplace.

Select the right marketplace

For example, Zalando operates in 23 European countries and received orders from over 48 million customers in 2021 (Zalando Investor Factbook, May 2022). This represents over 10% of the total European population and is a large potential market for online fashion brands and retailers. Featuring on a marketplace such as this is likely to give a brand more exposure. However, there will be a lot of competition, which is why identifying a unique selling point is so important.

• Which products do I want to sell on marketplaces and which ones do I prefer to keep on my site? New product ranges?

• Do I want to be known for regular discounts on high-end fashion brands or are the masses my target market?

When starting out in fashion marketplaces, you need a marketplace logic and strategy, because the marketplace business is extremely diverse, complex, and dynamic in its own right. One of the key success factors is the speed of implementation (time to market). The size of the catalogue is also important.

Case Study:

The best two-channel strategy between your own online shop and fashion marketplaces

Example of a fashion brand using Lengow for its assortment’s strategy on fashion marketplaces.

When using fashion marketplaces, it is crucial to focus on the right segmentation of the product catalogue. It all depends on the company and the goal it is pursuing. For example, the strategy of a fashion label can be to «reserve» a part of the new fashion collection exclusively for its own online shop, which leads to a certain exclusivity. However, the larger part of it is sold via marketplaces such as Zalando or YOOX. Surplus stock and discontinued models are sold on to Amazon and items on which a generous discount can be given go to sales flash marketplaces such as Veepee, Showroomprivé, BrandAlley or Zalando Lounge. This is what a sales strategy with different marketplaces can look like.

Case Study: Development of a profitable digital strategy on marketplaces for Liberitae

Example of a fashion brand using Lengow to optimise its global strategy and improve its sales and general income.

9 active marketplaces

16 countries in which it is present x10 turnover on marketplaces

When expanding on marketplaces it is essential to be able to connect quickly and efficiently to new platforms, respecting the requirements for each of them. Another key point is to perfectly manage stock synchronisation and orders to avoid customer dissatisfaction and thus the eviction of the brand on the marketplace.

These key points allowed the brand to rapidly access new marketplaces, new countries, increase its visibility and thus its online profitability.

Discover the complete success story here

Create a personal customer experience

To stand out, an e-commerce fashion site needs to be innovative and connect with the customer. Being a brand that offers extras means being a brand that people will search for and return to. Marketplaces offer brands and retailers the opportunity to deliver extras, rather than just a product listing, this can help with brand exposure, for example:

• Shop the look

• Event-specific (festivals, holidays, prom dresses…)

• Blog features

• Trending now

• Outlet

• Editor’s choice

• Category marketing (summer jewellery, back to uni, workwear, sports clothing…)

All these are tactics used by various marketplaces and are designed for fashion retailers to gain exposure.

Correct sizing is also important. If a customer knows that a certain brand fits them well they’ll buy from it again. If they need to return goods they’ll probably shop elsewhere.

This links with product information. To be a go-to marketplace it’s essential to offer accurate information such as color availability and garment details. If an item is sustainable it should be mentioned, as well as any other USPs.

The right price on marketplaces matters

The fashion shopping experience often starts with an online search. One of the main influencing factors in the purchase is price. According to a survey carried out by Think, with Google 87% of shoppers want to know they’re getting a good deal when they decide to buy. Compare this with the figure of 49% of shoppers wanting a promotion linked to a past purchase and we can see that the first purchase and price are key to driving sales.

Therefore, you should connect your product catalogue with your competitors to analyse their prices on your different fashion marketplaces.

• Identify price patterns and anticipate price drops by competitors.

• Define pricing rules ensuring your profit margin on marketplaces, especially during sales peak moments.

• Monitor your competitors’ products.

• During high sales phases (Black Friday, Prime Days etc.) set an alert system to control the availability of your products on the different marketplaces.

You can do this on all your marketplaces with Lengow’s price intelligence tool Netrivals. This tool tracks pricing so you’re always in control and you can decide to be never more expensive than your competitors.

Any online sales strategy will only be successful with a wellfunctioning e-commerce platform. This is where Lengow can help, with a unique platform tailored to the needs of online brands and retailers. With marketplaces developing so rapidly, especially fashion marketplaces, the creation of the ultimate experience is a vital sales tool.

4.

What’s new in fashion marketplace marketing?

Fashion marketplaces will become more competitive as the trend toward online sales grows. Therefore, it makes sense to capitalise on the latest sales and marketing methods.

Driving traffic to marketplaces is the key to engaging and encouraging customers to make a purchase. This cost-effective marketing strategy is the way forward both for organisations who want to run a successful fashion marketplace and retailers who want to sell on it.