3 minutes

More than a third of European sellers trade on just one online marketplace, whereas less than a fifth sell on three or more marketplaces, a new Packhelp study shows.

European B2B and B2C sellers are active in marketplaces, but only to a certain degree, according to new research from Packhelp, a custom packaging provider.

Its survey of 500 European sellers finds that 38.4% currently trade only on one marketplace. That compares with less than 16% of merchants who sell on three or more marketplaces, and approximately 10% of surveyed businesses that do not sell on a marketplace yet but plan to in the future.

The added value and the advantages of the marketplaces are mostly correlated with reaching new customer segments (40%), generating more revenue (37.6%), and reaching new markets (35.8%).

“As each marketplace has its unique user base, demographics, and geographic reach, it allows the sellers to expand their network and grow their business,” Packhelp says.

advertisement

European online marketplace participation

There are also several reasons sellers encounter challenges selling on multiple marketplaces. They include:

  • High commissions (43.8%)
  • Late payments (42.6%)
  • Shipping and logistics problems (31.2%)
  • Too much competition (31%)

“Research shows that specific additions could convince the merchants to join or stay in a marketplace,” Packhelp says. “The findings indicate that the features that are often missing and could influence a positive experience include dedicated packaging solutions (64.6%) and inventory management tools (51.6%). Such functions mean that sellers can rely on a specific marketplace to support all elements of the sales process.”

More Charts & Data Stories

Check back soon for more Charts & Data Stories, like our weekly B2B infographics. Here’s last week’s. We add new content regularly. 

Submit a nomination

Nominate a game-changer for the Global B2B eCommerce Industry Awards from Digital Commerce 360 and the B2B Ecommerce Association.

advertisement

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. 

Favorite