2019 has been a great year for e-commerce. Across several indicators, online sales for Thanksgiving and Black Friday increased 17% year over year, and Cyber Monday’s total sales hit $9.4 billion—up nearly 19% from a $7.9 billion haul last year. That’s bigger than both Black Friday ($7.4 billion) and Amazon Prime Day ($4.2 billion last year).
What marketplaces should you focus on in 2020?
Walmart and Google are currently the largest and fast-growing marketplaces. Every seller should focus on these two in 2020. This isn’t just our opinion; according to the latest Marketplace Pulse report, Walmart and Google Shopping are the marketplaces with the most promising future potential.
Quality
Counterfeits, low-quality substitutes, and fake products are big issues for buyers, and the problem became very visible in 2019. It is more important than ever to focus on the quality of your products and work only with the best suppliers.
Shipping
Amazon and Walmart put tremendous effort into pushing for 2-day shipping, which became the standard in 2019. This trend will continue in 2020, and you should plan to implement 2, or even 1-day shipping into your strategy. GeekSeller works with 3-PL companies like Deliverr to help sellers achieve fast delivery.
Quality of Listings
As e-commerce becomes more and more unavoidable, new sellers join every day. Quality listings, especially images, are a crucial part of the online selling process. The impression your listings make on buyers is your one chance to convert them. Low-quality images and descriptions lacking necessary details hold you back. It is not always easy to update your listing data, as many marketplaces lock listings, but GeekSeller works with sellers to navigate the process and control listing data. We have also introduced new tools like our Rich Media editor (available for Walmart DSV sellers).
Advertising
Increased competition means it is harder to get your products noticed, which may mean you need to invest in some advertising. Advertising programs are emerging and improving across marketplaces to help sellers pay for promoting their listings. This is a trend that started in 2019 and will continue throughout 2020.
E-commerce is thriving. We are working on multiple exciting projects and partnerships and we are charged to continue growing with our sellers in 2020.