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An online marketplace is like a department store.
But unlike the department stores where shoppers can browse at will, tech companies dictate the algorithms that control how products are showcased.
This, in turn, depends on a variety of factors, including how much merchants pay to get their stuff ranked high in searches, of course.
Online shopping has witnessed incredible growth over the past two years. Southeast Asia has added another 70 million digital consumers since the pandemic began, according to the latest report by Facebook and Bain & Company.
But getting on the online marketplace is not the most viable option for merchants or brands that want to manage the customer experience themselves and have better control over branding, products and data.
In the US, anti-Amazon forces have been picking up.
Some ecommerce players such as shopIN.nyc or Bookshop.org have been positioning themselves as pro-local stores and in opposition to Amazon. Other small businesses have turned to third-party ecommerce enablers like Shopify to build their own online independent stores.
Amazon has become a retail beast, and while its marketplace can empower retailers, there’s a flip side to that. Among the risks include the possibility that the tech juggernaut, which owns retailers’ data, will launch competing labels.
As Southeast Asian marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada continue growing, the region’s third-party sellers will also need to reduce their reliance on these players.
This week’s big story explores how anti-Amazon forces in the US can inspire sellers in this part of the world to strike out on their own.
— Huong
THE BIG STORY
Anti-Amazon alliances inspire sellers who shun Southeast Asia’s marketplaces
TRENDING NEWS
STARTUP WATCH
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