The role of digital marketplaces
Traditionally, to buy a product, we went to the store, spent time searching and bought what we managed to find, not what we were looking for. It was important for the buyer to see and touch the product. Modern users, born in the era of digitalization, want to buy goods from the comfort of their couches, using interactive interaction. Now on the Internet, quality goods at an affordable price with home delivery are becoming almost the standard. At the same time, the needs increase, and the buyer wants to find everything at once in one place. This applies to both the b2c and b2b markets. Analytical and technological, logistic tasks (convenient reliable delivery, interaction between participants and counterparties) and issues of trust come to the fore for trading platforms.
First, the digitalization of trade is increasingly important for consumers. Secondly, the transition of trade to the digital space makes it possible to reduce logistics costs, and therefore prices, as well as provide access to a wider range of goods and services.
In the marketplace paradigm, small companies or individual entrepreneurs become noticeable players in the market and get the opportunity to scale their products and services more by entering local and regional markets. In the current economic conditions, the development of small and medium-sized businesses as a whole will be much less effective without digital trading platforms.
Unlike a conventional electronic store, marketplace technologies provide opportunities for the development of cooperation of a wide range of participants, including logistics services, financing, insurance, and interaction with government agencies.
Thus, the marketplace is not only a technological platform, but also an information resource that allows companies outside the information infrastructure to get it on demand.
An important point to note is ensuring financial security for both suppliers and consumers. The marketplace must guarantee the fulfillment of obligations undertaken by all parties and act as a kind of quality controller of the goods and services supplied.
The digital sales channel around the world is becoming the mainstream for more and more products. According to Statista, the turnover of global Internet sales in 2017 amounted to $ 2.3 trillion, and by 2021 it is expected to almost double, to $ 4.5 trillion, while the share of e-commerce in total global retail sales will increase from 10. 2 to 17.5%. According to Forrester Research, the addition of an e-commerce channel has increased the annual revenue of 89% of B2B companies.
Digital platforms, including those offering “everything in one window” (such as Alibaba), work effectively in different countries. For example, in the US, stores are gradually turning into showrooms, and most purchases are made online. In countries such as China and India, the creation of marketplaces is an important part of the strategy for the development of local economies.
Technological success factors of the digital marketplace
Proper organization of the digital marketplace is extremely important. This implies the creation of a unique positive customer experience, including an intuitive interface and navigation, convenient contextual search for goods and services, the ability to form the best offer for customers, for example, based on an analysis of purchase history or according to wish lists.
You also need access to services from mobile devices, uninterrupted operation 24/7, quality control of goods and services and fulfillment of financial obligations of participants, a wide range of marketing and sales tools. It is necessary to provide a number of other services that use digital capabilities that are not available in the formats of offline shopping centers.
Separately, the need for predictive analytics tools should be stipulated, which allows one to assess demand and price conditions for various categories of goods and services, taking into account the influence of external factors. When transferring all operations to the marketplace, it is important to ensure, among other things, the integration of the marketplace systems with the back-office systems of counterparties. The site operator must provide a convenient and safe-to-use interface for connecting and operating suppliers of goods and services for both small companies and large businesses.
At the same time, it does not matter for the site itself what exactly to sell – a real product or a digital, say, a cloud service.
Evolution of marketplaces in the coming years
Successful sites will track and take into account the data of their customers as much as possible. Multivariate analysis of the behavior and needs of market participants will be implemented using the mechanism of neural networks. This technology will become mandatory for e-commerce in the medium term.
In turn, blockchain technology within the trading platform allows ensuring the efficiency and safety of financial interaction. Actually, the platform itself will help in the future to work out the use of smart contracts, the use of virtual currencies, as well as build a reliable and fair rating system for suppliers and consumers of goods and services.
The marketplace can also become a kind of supervisory mechanism that monitors the risks and potential opportunities of suppliers, performers, and consumers. A trusted site will prevent abnormal situations by guaranteeing the delivery of services or goods.
