Thinking about selling online? Why you should be selling across multiple channels.
February 2, 2023
If you sell online, or are about to, the question is not whether to sell on more than one channel but which channels to add and how to run them without the workload getting out of hand. Shoppers do not all buy in the same place: some go straight to Amazon, some search eBay, some find you through TikTok Shop or Google and buy from your own website. Selling on several channels puts your products in front of more of them, spreads your risk and gives you room to grow.
Reach a wider audience
Each marketplace has its own customer base. Listing on Amazon and eBay as well as your own website means you reach buyers who would never have found your store on their own. Specialist marketplaces such as B&Q, Tesco, Superdrug and Decathlon open up audiences in specific categories that general marketplaces do not reach as well.
Diversify your sales
If all of your revenue comes from one platform, a change you do not control (a fee increase, a policy change, a suspended account or a drop in search visibility) hits your whole business at once. Spreading sales across several channels means a problem on one is less likely to stop you trading. It works as a safety net as well as a growth plan.
Capitalise on niche opportunities
Different channels suit different products. Etsy is built for handmade and vintage items, OnBuy and eBay cover a broad range of consumer goods, and category marketplaces suit specialist ranges. Matching products to the channels where their buyers already shop usually works better than listing everything everywhere.
Streamline your operations
More channels mean more orders, more listings and more stock figures to keep right. Doing that by hand across separate seller portals is where errors and overselling creep in. A multichannel system or warehouse management system brings orders, stock and despatch into one place, so a sale on one channel updates stock on all of them and your team picks and ships from one screen.
Maximise your profits
Selling more of the same stock across more channels spreads your fixed costs (warehouse, staff, systems) over more orders. Track margin by channel once fees and postage are included, because the busiest channel is not always the most profitable one.
Where to start
Start with one or two channels where your customers already shop, get stock sync and despatch working reliably, then add more. If you want to see how StoreFeeder runs orders and stock across 40+ marketplaces and webstores, book a demo.
