Earlier this week, my attention was brought to a Huffington Post blog concerning the use of third-party retailers like Amazon and Etsy to drive traffic for online stores.
The author warned against using these sites for anything beyond product discovery and recommended trying to direct traffic to a business’s independent ecommerce retailer as an alternative.
While there are no flaws with the logic exhibited in the article, there are benefits in the sustained use of a retailer like Amazon for your business.
The Conversation Rates of Big Retailers
It’s not a secret that Etsy, Amazon and other ecommerce giants have figured out the formula to turn page views into sales; in fact, Amazon is credited with the highest conversation rate in the industry.
This is likely the reason why the HuffPost blog article praises these sites ability to generate the benefit of product discovery for small businesses marketing through multiple channels.
The blog points out that these sites are also experts in getting customers to click to other pages, diminishing the potential for brand loyalty to an individual seller.
The idea is that once a product or business is established in the market, more energy should be spent directing traffic to an unique site in hopes that they consider only that seller in the future.
According to Forbes, however, expansion in the ecommerce sector may be reducing the existence of true brand loyalty.
When you can’t ensure that page visits will lead to a continued consideration of your products, it follows that sustaining use of Amazon as an additional retail channel is wise choice to capitalize on conversion rates.
Big Retailers Add Value Intrinsically
Most retailers, when considering when and how to use bigger sellers to push their products, are not large enough to have name recognition.
Companies like Amazon have lengthy and established agreements in place between buyer and seller, making the consumers less wary of fraud and online security threats from a site on which they enter payment and identity information.
Amazon, Etsy and the like, bring a familiar brand to an online store, so that new customers can feel more assured about making purchases, adding a value that is most likely unseen in the analysis of marketing strategy.
These concerns must be considered when deciding how to shape the retail channels that are best for your business.
What do you think?
Let me know in the comments section below.
tomysole says:
Definitely a very interesting read. I think that companies that abandon Etsy, Amazon, Ebay, ect… to do just direct sales from their own website are just leaving money on the table. Margins may be a little less by selling your products on established platforms, but heavy sales volume can make all the difference.
Rob Toccs says:
I definitely profited from selling product on Amazon well beyond what my own company could have done.
tomysole says:
Rob do you make significantly less profit margin on Amazon because of sellers fees?
Rob Toccs says:
I no longer sell on Amazon. I decided to become a writer and sold out to a larger competitor.
When I was selling, no I wouldn’t say I made less because of the fees. I didn’t have to pay for (1) a website / physical storefront, (2) SEO / marketing, (3) credit card fees. Amazon’s fees are very reasonable, I think. (Note, I’m not talking about affiliate sellers’ fees, but merchants’ fees.)
I did lose money, however, from the competition on Amazon. People are constantly trying to undercut each other by 1 penny, and it results in low prices for almost all products. To combat this, I focused on extremely rare products that others didn’t have.
Georgia Potts says:
That’s funny- I did the same. I started out writing, then went into online sales through Amazon and a couple of other channels, and then I decided to go back into writing. I missed it too much! With the pro account through Amazon, the commission fees were pretty reasonable, and the volume of sales was astounding.
Georgia Potts says:
I sold quite a bit on Amazon for a few years, and I didn’t even set up my own retail site. The amount of traffic coming through Amazon is unbelievable.
auntieemily says:
I agree, Tomysole. More volume equals more money.
melissann says:
When you utilize the power of Amazon and Etsy, you don’t have to spend your money on marketing. It’s a win/win. Amazon makes a little cash, but they do the marketing for you and they bring in the customers. You don’t have to learn marketing, and you can just be a seller. I’ve made plenty on Amazon and eBay, simply by letting them do the marketing work. Kind of the same writing for a content provider. No need to market yourself, very little, if any contact with customers.
Rob Toccs says:
“Amazon, Etsy and the like, bring a familiar brand to an online store”
So true. A recognized brand name like Amazon or Etsy can lend instant credibility to an ecommerce store.
auntieemily says:
I agree, and everyone benefits from more credibility.
auntieemily says:
Interesting article. I agree that connecting with a company like Amazon can definitely help a brand appear more credible and safe.
Earl Dotson says:
There’s certainly no substitute for your brand being able to say it has those qualities.
Natasha E says:
Great points. I think these are trusted and well-known brands, so people are more likely to use them. I have started to implement Amazon into my own blog. I want to use Etsy, too!
Earl Dotson says:
I feel somewhat out of step after reading this. Etsy is obviously extremely popular, but I had never heard of it prior to visiting this thread.
Tay H says:
small businesses using Amazon is a very good tip and something that I think most do as mentioned in the article they don’t have the benefit of a large name to bring in interest which can be converted to sales.
Bethany A. says:
Yes, I agree that customers can feel more assured when making purchases thanks to Etsy and Amazon and such.