Marketplace or Your Own Store? Channel Strategy in E-commerce

Most e-commerce volume flows through marketplaces, but brands that depend only on them live under commission and price pressure.

Marketplace pros and cons

• + Ready traffic, trust, logistics
• − High commission, price competition, no access to customer data

Your own store pros and cons

• + Brand experience, customer data, higher margin
• − Investment in traffic, responsibility for infrastructure and operations

The hybrid model

Use marketplaces as a discovery channel; add inserts that lead customers to your own store. Offer a loyalty programme, exclusive products and better prices there. Goal: at least 40 percent of revenue through your own channel within two years.