Are you looking to expand your e-commerce business in 2022?
Do you know what are the best online marketplaces in the UK?
Online marketplaces allow you to reach a wider audience and allow you to promote your products at less cost. Many stores in the UK have already started selling on the most popular online marketplaces.
However, before choosing any one of these marketplaces, it is important that you first know everything about them so that you do not suffer any loss.
So what are these marketplaces, how can you find them, and how do they work?
This post will give you an overview of the main online marketplaces and tell you which are the best to use when selling online in 2022. So let’s get straight into it!
Table of Content
Chapter 1: Overview of Online Marketplaces in the UK
Chapter 2: What are the Advantages of selling through Online Marketplaces in the UK?
Chapter 3: Top 10 Online Marketplaces in the UK
Chapter 4: Strategies to Follow when Selling through Online Marketplaces in the UK
Chapter 5: FAQs about Online Marketplaces in the UK
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Overview of Online Marketplaces in the UK
If you’re living in the UK, then online marketplaces are the best way to get your product, service, or ideas out there in front of a large audience. They are a great place to start building your brand and growing your business.
Before we tell you about the best online marketplaces in the UK, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what an online marketplace actually is!
1. What is an online marketplace?
An online marketplace is a website where people sell or buy goods, services, and/or information.
In general, these websites are called “online marketplaces” because they allow users to list items for sale or buy them directly from other users, who have listed items on their own pages.
Online marketplaces are also known as e-commerce marketplaces, web-based marketplaces, or e-tailers. The term “online marketplace” can be used interchangeably with the term “e-commerce.”
So, in a nutshell, an online marketplace is a platform that connects sellers and buyers— allowing them to conduct transactions in a safe and secure environment.
2. Overview of online marketplaces in the UK
Online marketplaces in the UK are growing in popularity as more people become comfortable with buying things online.
They’re also becoming more popular because they’re an easy way for people to find products that meet their needs.
Wondering why online marketplaces in the UK gaining popularity?
The best thing about online marketplaces is that the customers don’t have to go out into the real world to look for products. They can purchase anything, anytime, anywhere in the world.
Today, customers can browse through thousands of products and read reviews from other buyers who’ve already bought similar items.
So they don’t need any special skills or knowledge—just an internet connection and a credit card!
There are two types of online marketplaces in the UK:
- E-commerce sites that sell physical goods directly from their websites (like Amazon),
- Aggregators that aggregate products from other sources (like eBay).
Chapter 2: What are the Advantages of selling through Online Marketplaces in the UK?
Now that you know online marketplaces are a great way to sell your products and services. Going forward, let’s have a look at the advantages of selling through an online marketplace in the UK:
1. These marketplaces have a large customer base
The UK is one of the most popular destinations for people from around the globe to move to, and this makes it a great place for businesses looking to expand their sales.
This also means that there are plenty of consumers who are looking for products and services that they can’t find locally— meaning that there is an opportunity for any business looking to sell their products online.
One of the most important advantages of selling through online marketplaces is that these marketplaces have a large customer base.
In general, such marketplaces are very popular and have millions of members. Therefore, they attract more customers than any other source, which can be used to your advantage as you build your brand.
Above all, there is a wide selection of products available on these marketplaces, so you can choose the products that best suit your business.
For example, if you sell products that are appropriate for children, then it would be wise to list them on websites like Amazon.
2. It is easy to set up a store and scale your business
Most online marketplaces provide free tools and templates that make it easy to create an online store.
You can customize the template according to your needs and use it to create a beautiful website with plenty of features that will attract people to your business.
The templates come with additional services such as marketing tools, payment options, etc., which makes it easier for you to run an online store right from your home.
So you don’t need to have any special skills or knowledge in order to sell online.
3. Enjoy free marketing and promotion for your business
It’s always good to get some free advertising if you want to grow your business quickly. And, this is what online marketplaces have to offer you.
So, you do not need to worry about paying for advertising or spending money on marketing materials because these platforms promote themselves to reach a wider market.
They also offer affiliate programs where you can earn money by referring people.
4. No expensive startup costs involved
Unlike traditional retail stores where you need large amounts of capital before opening your doors, when selling through online marketplaces it costs very less to get started.
All you have to do is to purchase any individual plan for your store based on your business’ needs.
Chapter 3: Top 10 Online Marketplaces in the UK
So, what are the biggest online marketplaces?
There are many online marketplaces in the UK that you can use to start selling online. Based on our in-depth research, we’ve found the following best marketplaces for e-commerce businesses.
So let’s dive into the details!
1. Best marketplace in the UK #1: Amazon
Amazon is the largest online marketplace in the world, with massive traffic of customers and online sellers.
In February 2022, almost 354.8 million people in the UK visited the Amazon marketplace.
To your surprise, approximately 473.9 million visits were recorded by Amazon.co.uk in December 2021.
It was because of the events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday that the online shopping rate escalated during these events.
You can also avail Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) service. Amazon has several warehouses all over Europe. You can sell your products at any place in Europe where there is Amazon coverage.
- Competitive Edge
Amazon, a globally known eCommerce platform, is a more secure online marketplace for users than all other marketplaces.
It is convenient to use and advertise your products among a sheer number of visitors.
- Pricing
It offers two selling plans:
- Professional Plan
- Individual Plan
- For the Professional plan, you need to pay £25 per month.
- For the Individual plan, you will pay £0.75 per item sold.
2. Best marketplace in the UK #2: Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace famous for selling and purchasing unique products.
Mostly, it features handmade toys and cosmetics, unique crafts, home decors, vintage art pieces, jewelry, old furniture, and clothing.
You get access to the Etsy shop for your business after making a seller account at the official site of the online marketplace.
Etsy UK welcomes numerous visits by online customers and sellers from all over the UK. Approximately 90 million active buyers visited the official website of Etsy in 2021 to make purchases.
- Competitive Edge
Etsy has a cooperative and distinct community as compared to other online marketplaces.
It is an excellent eCommerce platform for people who want to sell or purchase handcrafted and vintage products. Moreover, it charges fewer fees than Amazon.
- Pricing
Etsy charges £0.16 per item to publish the product listing. It also costs a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price of each item once the goods are sold.
3. Best marketplace in the UK #3: eBay
eBay is another rapidly progressing eCommerce platform with instant product tracking features. It also allows users to sell used products along with new ones.
eBay is the best option for sellers who desire to sell a small number of new and second-hand goods. It is a reliable online product-selling forum with a significant number of users.
eBay is the second highly demanding online marketplace in the UK, with Amazon maintaining the top rank.
In May 2022, about 263.3 million people from all over the UK visited the official website of eBay. Such massive customer traffic on eBay makes it one of the UK’s best and most trustworthy marketplaces.
- Competitive Edge
Lower charges and the availability of pre-loved items on eBay distinguishes it from Amazon. And it has the most considerable customer base after Amazon.
eBay charges fewer fees than Amazon. It also does not feature counterfeit and unauthorized products.
- Pricing
The final value fee costs 12.8% of the total amount of sale. It’s only 3% for an item having more than £2500 total sale amount.
The First 1000 product listings on eBay are free for sellers in the UK. However, you will pay 35p for each new listing after using the number of free listings.
4. Best marketplace in the UK #4: Wayfair
Wayfair is a renowned online marketplace in the UK. It is a top-notch online selling platform for specific products like furniture, home decors, lighting, and cookware.
The Wayfair online marketplace receives orders and delivers goods across Europe and North America.
Being the number one furniture retailer in the UK, it had 16.9million visits in March 2022.
However, the total visits per month decreased by 7.93% in April 2022 (15.6 million visits) compared to the previous month.
Despite the decline in the number of visits per month, Wayfair is a reliable marketplace for the specific product niche.
- Competitive Edge
Wayfair marketplace has less competition than other online marketplaces in the UK. It focuses on selling a particular product category among a significant quantity of customers.
So, it is easy for the new sellers to start their eCommerce business and build their customer base without any cutthroat competition. It also costs less than Amazon, Etsy, and eBay.
- Pricing
- It has a standard delivery fee of£4.99 in the UK.
- Wayfair marketplace offers free delivery on orders over £40 to most areas in the UK.
5. Best marketplace in the UK #5: Folksy
Folksy is a renowned online marketplace in the UK, especially for selling handmade gifts and craft supplies. It is the alternate competitive to Etsy for selling handmade crafts and gifts.
It had a customer engagement of about 195.6k in April 2022, which increased by 13.10% compared to March 2022. The total visits in March 2022 were merely 172.9k.
Folksy sellers find it easier to create shop pages and advertise their products by running various promotion strategies.
- Competitive Edge
Folksy provides more space for new sellers to attract customers and grow their business because it has low competition than Etsy. Moreover, Folksy offers an affordable pricing plan that is less than Etsy.
- Pricing
- Folksy cost £0.15 + VAT(Value added tax) per item.
- The transaction fee on each sold item is 4% + 20p on the sale price of each item in the UK.
- Its first three listings are cost-free.
6. Best marketplace in the UK #6: OnBuy
OnBuy is one of the most reputed and rapidly growing online marketplaces in the UK, launched in 2016. It was formed as an alternative to the Amazon.
It deals with selling generic products. It has achieved a massive milestone by gaining 4.6 million visits in May 2022.
- Competitive Edge
Its affiliation with Paypal benefits the sellers through immediate payments and risk-free product selling.
- Pricing
- OnBuy costs a 5-9 % commission feeand a 9-3.4% PayPal payment fee.
- It also charges a 30p transaction feefor each order delivery.
7. Best marketplace in the UK #7: Zalando
Zalando is one of the prominent online marketplaces in the UK, famous for selling fashion-related products. Its inventory contains branded clothes, footwear, jackets, handbags, backpacks, and other fashion items for ladies and gents.
It offers free-of-cost product deliveries and returns in the UK. In May 2022, about 5.4 million customers in the UK visited the online marketplace.
- Competitive Edge
Zalando is all set to gain a reputation across Europe by selling the fashion items of all major brands. It maintains the quality of the goods and does not allow the sellers to sell fake or replica products.
- Pricing
Orders worth £19.90or more do not incur any shipping charges. However, the goods costing below £19.90 are charged with the standard delivery cost of £3, including value-added tax.
8. Best marketplace in the UK #8: ManoMano
ManoMano is a France-based online selling marketplace. It was inaugurated in the UK in 2016. The marketplace performs its services in various European countries, including the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.
Primarily, ManoMano is a DIY eCommerce platform that deals with gardening supplies and houseware items.
- Competitive Edge
Unlike Amazon, ManoMano acquires solid and potential customers due to its personalized product niche. It gains long-term customers with clear intentions to purchase from the specific product categories.
- Pricing
- The membership fee is£25 per month.
- The commission charges range from 12-20 %.
9. Best marketplace in the UK #9: Newegg
Newegg is an engaging online marketplace in the UK. It is a reputed eCommerce platform for selling and purchasing new or pre-loved electronics and computer goods. It deals with the products like cell phones, laptops, gaming PCs, video cards, monitors, etc.
Creating a seller account on Newegg is a bit difficult. The sellers undergo a quality analysis with each submission. The online marketplace has a vast customer base of about 40+ million.
- Competitive Edge
Like Amazon FBA, Newegg also provides fulfillment services to its sellers. Fulfillment service is the best facility for the users as it saves their precious time for packaging and shipments of the products.
- Pricing
- Its Standard plan is free of cost. However, you need to purchase a Professional plan after passing5000 free listings.
- The Commission fee is 12% per transaction.
10. Best marketplace in the UK #10: Wish
Wish is one of the top downloaded eCommerce mobile apps in the world. It is specifically designed as an online application to run on mobile phones. Moreover, the marketplace best fits the people who want to sell and purchase low-cost products.
Nowadays, almost every second person has a phone with him. So, it is a reliable marketplace for mobile shoppers.
Operating the app and placing an order using your phone is pretty simple. Just sign up and start the action.
It also features different marketing tools to promote your products to a wide range of audiences and boost sales.
- Competitive Edge
One of the significant benefits of selling on the Wish marketplace is that it does not charge any subscription or listing fee. It merely charges the commission fee for each order.
- Pricing
Wish marketplace charges a 15% commission to the sellers on the total sale.
Chapter 4: Strategies to Follow when Selling through Online Marketplaces in the UK
Now that you know what is an online marketplace, what are the biggest online marketplaces in the UK, and how to get started selling on such platforms. Let’s learn some effective strategies for better growth and avoid facing losses.
Let’s get started!
1. Properly optimize product listings
As a seller on any online marketplace, your product listings can make or break your business.
Wondering why? Your product content can help you rank higher in search engine results.
Therefore, it is essential to put time and effort into your product descriptions, title, and categories.
Put relevant keywords in every section of your store so that your products can appear while people search for such keywords.
This will increase the chances of people finding you in the marketplace and buying from you.
2. Invest in advertisement
The great majority of product pages contain advertisements. These are not, however, the banners or popups that most people ignore or block.
These advertisements are clicked, and they convert better than other types of marketing.
To be successful in any online marketplace, you will need to invest a little that will help bring your products to the forefront. So be sure to set aside some budget for advertising.
3. Calculate profit margins before selling on any online marketplace
Online marketplaces in the UK have their own set of commissions, fees, and requirements for sellers.
These fees can be complicated and difficult to translate. So you should invest some time to understand such differences before you decide to sell on any of such marketplaces.
4. Automate your pricing
You may have set prices for your online store, however, that does not mean those prices can be applied to each marketplace.
Keep in mind that shoppers frequently have a variety of choices for buying the same item at varying costs within marketplaces.
To stay competitive in any market, you must modify the price for each item down or up depending on the pricing of your competitors.
Sometimes just a few cents can be enough to seal the deal. To automate this process, many sellers employ algorithmic re-pricers.
5. Be ready to scale your business
If you want to sell more products, you might want to start selling on multiple marketplaces. To streamline your growth, you should consider using an e-commerce platform that integrates with multiple marketplaces.
Those businesses that rely on only one platform might not grow well as compared to those that run their businesses on multiple online marketplaces.
So be sure to scale and expand your business eventually to reach new heights.
Chapter 5: FAQs about Online Marketplaces in the UK
1. How do online marketplaces function?
Simply put, online marketplaces provide a central location for sellers and buyers to interact and exchange products.
To be more precise, an online marketplace such as Amazon, eBay, or Etsy acts as a third party among suppliers, distributors, and customers.
2. What is the best marketplace to sell products online?
The answer, like everything else, is dependent on a variety of factors, such as product distribution, location, and pricing.
We’ve listed all the best online marketplaces in the UK that you can explore and choose the right one based on your business.
3. Is it possible to sell on marketplaces with your own website?
As we’ve told earlier in our article, selling through multiple platforms is a great way to generate higher profits and gain a wider customer base.
So even if you have your own website, still leveraging the power of online marketplaces will give you an edge over your competitors.
4. What is the minimum cost required to start selling online?
The minimum cost required to start selling online varies depending on the type of marketplace you choose.
Different marketplaces charge different commissions and fees for using their platform. Furthermore, if you want to sell a physical product, you’ll also need to pay for packaging and shipping costs.
Conclusion
Online marketplaces are a great way to sell your products, especially if you’re a new seller.
There are many advantages to selling through online marketplaces in the UK, but the main one is convenience.
When you sell on an open marketplace like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy, you’ll be able to reach thousands of potential customers each day. We hope our detailed guide has helped you understand the topic.
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