An online marketplace is an e-commerce (commercial transactions conducted on the internet) platform that allows people to buy and sell goods.
One of the first online marketplaces was a site that allowed people to shop for used computers. This was called the Boston Computer Exchange, and it allowed people to toss up old used computers for sale that others could then buy.
This was done on a system called an Alpha 2 and used a dual floppy IBM PC.
Things have advanced considerably since then.
Big Players
Online marketplaces and e-commerce were catapulted into the spot line by big players such as Amazon and E-bay.
Amazon is by far the largest online marketplace. In a true sense of the word “marketplace,” Amazon allows you to shop in a virtual market that gives you thousands of options for purchase.
There is no physical marketplace in the world that compares or could ever compare to Amazon.
With the variety of options they offer and the price reductions for many of these items, it’s often difficult to find another store that beats them.
Being Competitive In The Online Marketplace Arena
The way other organizations have become competitive online is by niching down.
Specifically, finding an area, or niche, that is specific to their expertise and then exploiting this.
A larger and more generalized example of this is Etsy. They have taken artisans and craftsmen and given them a voice online. By offering quality items, they have been able to capture a portion of the market that Amazon or Ebay previously held.
Etsy is now a monster online platform in itself that has started to veer away from only handcrafted items and now has begun offering an even broader category of products.
Another example of an online marketplace that narrowed down to a specific niche is Poshmark. They allow people to post up used clothing items, shoes, etc. This has become a dominant source online and taken a section of the clothing market away from Ebay who previously dominated the online marketplace for used clothing products.
Connections by MindCloud Can Integrate With Online Marketplaces
Connections by MindCloud offers a variety of products and services that can be custom-developed to help you integrate with any platform.
In addition to connecting to CRMs and order management systems and other such products, MindCloud provides seamless connections to online marketplaces and e-commerce platforms.
Let us know what difficulties you face. We will provide personal consultation to address issues unique to your business venture and in return provide solutions for what you currently encounter.
We stand ready to help with all your connection needs.
