The search for meaning is making its way into e-commerce. While large, generalist platforms struggle to inspire, niche marketplaces—more responsible and better curated—are winning over a new generation of consumers seeking proximity, quality... and clarity. Among younger shoppers, the buying experience on Amazon even triggers discomfort: nearly one in two Gen Z customers admits to feeling guilty after placing an order.
In this context, the marketplace model is evolving. With more selective product offerings and greater attention to product presentation, these platforms are rethinking their merchandising to deliver a seamless, personalized experience that aligns with new expectations. Better to present well than to offer too much.
Marketplaces are becoming increasingly successful, while at the same time, the temples of hyper-consumption are losing their appeal. More than half of Amazon’s Gen-Z customers feel guilty after making an order. An opportunity therefore exists for more ethical, more specialised marketplaces where the merchandising is based on locality.
Local is also one of the trends in e-commerce, with consumers being sensitive to the fate of local suppliers and also of their carbon footprint. It is therefore important to take this into account when you are selecting suppliers for your marketplace.
There are other significant trends to bear in mind if you are to succeed with your marketplace. These include the ever more important influence of social networks on loyalty and conversions, the growth of the use of voice, whether through the use of a digital assistant or on a smartphone, and even the need for customers to have a seamless omnichannel experience.
Moreover, with a marketplace, the main issue remains ease of access to the product offering. With ever-increasing choice, most customers turn to the search engine to find their products. Menu navigation becomes almost impossible when the range of choice is so vast, whereas a search engine is able to put forward a precise selection of the products the customer wants in just a few words.
For this type of search to be successful, however, it is necessary to offer the right products instantly according to the context of each customer, no matter how imprecise their search has been. In the case of a marketplace, you have no alternative but to use artificial intelligence technologies dedicated to e-commerce. These allow you to process the formidable volume of your catalogue and analyse the subtle signals coming from your customers’ behaviour in order to understand better what they want and to offer them the right products.
Launching a successful marketplace requires overcoming many challenges to satisfy both customers and third-party sellers. It’s something we want to focus on, because it brings value to all stakeholders and enables a solid base to be built that will ensure the success of the marketplace. Customer experience will be optimised throughout the entire buying process, and it starts with customised merchandising.
Does a marketplace such as Amazon, Cdiscount or eBay, which standardises the presentation of products, presents a mixture on its homepage of books, toothbrushes, branded clothing, casserole dishes and headphones, and gives you a never-ending list of categories to “help” you find things, really leave a good impression? Or are you happier to find your product swiftly so you can leave this huge bazaar quickly?
This impression of a temple to over-consumption, of a digital hypermarket that has aged badly, is also beginning to damage the marketplace giant. 40% of American consumers stated in May last year that they would like to reduce their purchases on Amazon [1]. There are various reasons given for this dissatisfaction: poor quality of some products, better choice on other platforms, or a desire to support other suppliers. In any case, they indicate that the model has become less appealing, among young people in particular. 43% of Generation Zs say that they feel guilty when they buy on Amazon.
There is a place, therefore, for more ethical and perhaps more specialised marketplaces, that can offer customer experience that highlights products better. It’s one of the reasons for the proliferation of niche marketplaces, like ManoMano for DIY, Epicery for groceries, Maisons du Monde for decorating, or even Reconomia for refurbished home appliances.
This market specialisation also makes it possible to adapt to all the categories presented. For almost half of French people, the main obstacle to buying online is not being able to physically try or see the products. The development of the product offering is therefore one of the success factors.
[1] Sitecore survey 2021
Photo credit: ©istock ©Shutterstock