Online Fashion Marketplaces: A colorful variety for everyone  

You're looking for the perfect pair of jeans or the perfect sweater and you can't find exactly what you're looking for on the site of your favorite brand. To get an even wider selection of products and maybe make a bargain or two you should know that there are online fashion marketplaces. On these online marketplaces like Zalando or About You you have the possibility to get a wide range of brands as well as retailers and their products. Mostly, online marketplaces offer a wide range of clothes, shoes, accessories and jewelry with different categories so that you can find the product you are looking for as quickly as possible. During your search on online fashion marketplaces, you can filter by certain categories or criteria such as brand, size, color, and price, among others, to get exactly the search result you need. When buying on online marketplaces, you as a customer have the advantage that, unlike buying in normal stores, you can compare several brands at a glance and choose the most suitable product of the best brand. For this reason, shopping on online marketplaces has become very attractive and will be indispensable for the future.

For such an online marketplace to work, it needs partnerships with various brands. The brands make their products available on the platform and in return receive a commission for each sale.

Why should you be present with your brand on them?  

When considering how your brand can increase your reach and improve your sales, you should think about omni-channel strategies. If you play several channels with your products, the probability is very high that new potential customers will become aware of your brand. By combining your own website with your presence on online marketplaces like Zalando, you can present your products to an even wider audience and benefit from the platform's reach. So it's always good to expand your channels and be present on fashion online marketplaces as well. However, there are not only pure fashion online marketplaces where clothes are sold. Many brands also use other online marketplaces to offer and sell their products.

Amazon as a fashion marketplace

One online marketplace that really everyone who deals with the internet knows is Amazon. Amazon is primarily known for delivering products as quickly as possible and the next day through Prime. Most often, customers use Amazon to order electronic goods or small items that they may not be able to purchase in the nearest store. However, clothing is also offered on Amazon and is the second most sold product on the online marketplace. Clothing is one of the fastest growing categories on Amazon, as sales of clothes have increased significantly in recent years. Amazon has stepped up its efforts to attract more fashion and apparel sellers and improve the shopping experience for customers. However, in order to sell clothes on Amazon, sellers need to meet specific requirements, such as product descriptions, images and sizing, to ensure that customers buy the right products. As more and more brands want to tie up their clothing on Amazon, there are special programs for fashion sellers, such as Amazon Wardrobe and Amazon Fashion, to promote the sale of clothing on the platform. Despite all these points, it should be weighed whether it makes sense to connect your brand to the online marketplace.

Link your brand to Amazon: Advantages or disadvantages?

In addition to the general advantages of the Amazon marketplace, there are also concrete advantages for you and your brand if you link your clothing to Amazon:

- Since Amazon is the largest online marketplace in the world with hundreds of millions of customers, you have the opportunity to reach more potential customers by linking to the platform. In addition, your brand will also be offered in other countries, which can simplify the internationalization of your brand.

- Since Amazon has a good reputation among online marketplaces, you can gain the trust of potential customers if you offer your brand on the platform.  

- Amazon offers its sellers many useful tools to market and sell their products. These include tools like pay-per-click advertising, promotions, and lightning deals that can help you promote your clothing brand and generate more sales.

- The online marketplace makes it easy for brands to list and sell their products. As a result, you no longer have the problem of worrying about the logistics of your products and can focus on other important areas of your brand.

‍

However, with many positive points, the negatives also go hand in hand. So if you want to offer your products on Amazon, you should consider the following:  

- Because Amazon is such a large online marketplace, with many different brands and products, the competition is correspondingly greater. This means that you will have to compete with many other clothing brands to attract and retain customers.  

- Amazon is also known for quickly finding bargains and low prices. To keep up with that as a brand, you may be forced to lower your prices to stay competitive. This can result in you making less profit and may not be able to maintain the quality of your clothing.  

- While a good reputation has already been listed above as a positive point, this can also be viewed quite differently. For many people, Amazon is a less reputable platform, as it also sells many products from countries where you can't be sure about the working conditions, for example. When linking your brand on Amazon, there is accordingly a risk that your brand will be associated with inferior products or poor customer service, which can have a negative impact on your brand image.

‍

Zalando: Germany's most popular fashion online marketplace

1. Zalando is a German online marketplace which was founded in 2008 to sell fashion and clothing.  In a short period of time, Zalando has managed to grow and become one of the largest online marketplaces in Europe, operating in several countries. The online marketplace offers a wide range of products from well-known brands and designer labels to inexpensive private labels. Since Zalando is a very well-known online marketplace, it also comes with some advantages if you decide to connect on the platform:  

2. Zalando has a broad customer base and is active in several European countries, which means you have a wider reach to promote your brand and reach potential customers. Among other things, this also promotes the internationalization of your brand.  

3. Since Zalando puts a lot of work and time into their marketing and advertising, you also get access to a larger audience with your brand and can benefit from it. The online marketplace Zalando is much associated with trust as the platform offers customers a safe and reliable shopping experience. Due to the already existing trust function of Zalando, you can benefit as a brand if your products are linked to the online marketplace, as potential customers also build up a trust in you.

Zalando, Amazon or both online marketplaces?

With all the advantages and disadvantages listed above, brands are faced with the question of whether it makes sense to be represented on both platforms or just one. And if only on one, then on which one?

With this question, you should first consider who your audience is and who exactly you want to reach. Since Amazon as well as Zalando serve different audiences, there are also different advantages and limitations when it comes to connecting to the platforms. So it depends on what kind of clothing you sell, who your target audience is, and what kind of sales strategy you want to pursue.

Amazon has the advantage that the online marketplace has a wide customer base, making it easier to get your products to more potential customers. Amazon also offers programs like Amazon Prime and Amazon Wardrobe, which are specifically designed to meet the needs of customers who want to buy clothing.

Zalando specializes in fashion and apparel and has a loyal customer base that specifically searches for clothing. This makes it easier for you and your brand to reach potential customers who want to purchase real clothing. Also, Zalando has a stricter admissions policy and makes sure that only high-quality clothing and reputable brands are sold on the platform. This can help boost your brand's reputation when you sell on Zalando.

Ultimately, the decision depends on which platform is a better fit for your brand and which platform offers you the best sales opportunities. Basically, it's good to offer your brand on an online marketplace as this will allow you to reach even more potential customers. If you want to reach a wider audience, you can also offer your products on both online marketplace platforms and thus increase your target audience.  If you would like to take this step and have your brand listed on an online marketplace like Zalando, we at P4Markets will be happy to assist you. Our team of experts will help you with your concerns and support you in the implementation.

‍

‍