In the current scenario of Brazilian e-commerce, the choice between operating your own e-commerce or using marketplaces, platforms that function like a large virtual shopping mall,it is a crucial strategic decision for companies of all sizes. Recent data highlights the relevance of marketplaces: the five largest players — Mercado Livre, Americans, Magazine Luiza, Via and Amazon — together, they earned R$ 203,4 billion in 2022, representing 78% of the national e-commerce. The data is from the Brazilian Society of Retail and Consumption (SBVC).On the other hand, there are some business profiles that tend to profit more from their own e-commerce, building customer loyalty to the brand.
Main differences between own e-commerce and marketplace
The main difference between a proprietary e-commerce and a marketplace lies in the level of control and relationship with the customer. No marketplace, the company operates within an already structured environment, with traffic and a consolidated base of consumers, facilitating market entry and generating immediate sales. However, this implies high commissions, less autonomy over pricing and branding, besides the difficulty in retaining the customer, since he belongs to the platform, and not to the brand.
No own e-commerce, the company builds its audience, controls the entire shopping experience and has complete freedom to develop retention and growth strategies. However, it is necessary to invest in traffic acquisition and in building a structure that supports this growth.
"The big difference between the two models is that", no marketplace, the brand rents a space within an already built structure, while in the own e-commerce, she builds her digital assets, highlights Hygor Roque, Brand and Partner Director of Uappi.
Factors to consider when choosing between the models
The decision between selling on marketplaces or investing in your own e-commerce should not be made with a focus solely on the short term. The first factor to be evaluated is the profit margin, because many companies enter marketplaces without considering that commissions can erode profitability. Furthermore, if the brand depends on customer repurchase to be sustainable, the marketplace can complicate this relationship, since the data and communication with the consumer are restricted to the platform.
The brand positioning is also crucial. Companies that want to build a strong identity and create differentiators find it difficult to achieve this within a marketplace, where competition tends to be more driven by price than by experience. For those who still do not have their own audience, the marketplace can serve as an initial acquisition channel while building a customer base and working on branding through its own e-commerce. The ideal choice is not between one or the other, but rather to understand how each one can be used strategically to strengthen the business, detail Hygor.
The marketplace is an excellent option for companies that sell fast-moving products, high demand and little differentiation, like electronics, cosmetics, accessories and household utensils, where sales volume and presence across multiple channels are essential to scale the business. For new brands that still do not have a loyal audience, it can also be a useful tool to gain visibility quickly.
On the other hand, when the company works with a product that requires a differentiated experience or has a premium positioning, own e-commerce becomes essential. Fashion brands, jewelry and personalized products, for example, benefit much more from a direct channel with the consumer, where they can create differentiation not only in the product, but in the shopping experience. Furthermore, businesses that want to scale without relying on third parties need to build their own e-commerce to ensure greater predictability of growth and autonomy over their decisions.
For many companies, the best solution is to combine the two models. The marketplace can be an excellent acquisition channel, helping to generate sales volume quickly and to give visibility to the brand. However, this strategy needs to be accompanied by a solid plan to direct these customers to the own e-commerce, where the brand has more control and can work on loyalty and recurrence actions.
"Companies that grow only within marketplaces end up becoming hostages to the platform's rules and market changes". The right combination is to use the marketplace to attract customers and the own e-commerce to turn them into loyal customers, creating a sustainable and independent long-term business, concluded Roque.
