The debate around brands and marketplaces: Can they coexist?

Given the outsized $23.5 billion in online marketplace revenue expected by 2022, it’s no surprise that many brands are looking to sell on marketplaces. However, brands are also raising a key concern: Does giving control to a third party marketplace compromise their brand identity?

Rakuten examines this hotly debated e-commerce question in a new white paper: Can Brands & Marketplaces Coexist? The Truth from Top National Brands.

Featuring expert insights from brand leaders Chase Andries, who oversees partner management and U.S. marketplaces for Dell Technologies, and Jacob Uhland, who leads multichannel digital commerce strategy for VF Corporation, the parent company of high-profile brands such as The North Face, Timberland, Wrangler and more, the paper offers compelling real-life perspective on the question.

Not only can brands and marketplaces coexist, argues the paper, but brands have the opportunity for tremendous growth while maintaining brand integrity. However, not all marketplaces are equal. For brands, it’s imperative to choose a marketplace that values strong communication, an active partnership and approaches its brand partnerships as an integral part of an overall multichannel strategy.

More key insights for marketplace success from Dell and VF Corporation include:

1. Brands must identify customer touch points within the marketplace to ensure a consistent brand experience is delivered.

“Brands must think of marketplaces as an integral channel within their existing customer experience strategy.”
– Chase Andries, Dell

2. Brands have an opportunity to capitalize on the loyalty of marketplace shoppers and use the platform to capture new customers.

“We’re finding out that our target consumers are visiting marketplaces five times more frequently than our brand sites to shop for our products.”
– Jacob Uhland, VF Corporation

3. The partnership between the brand and marketplace are vital.

“Active relationships with account teams enabled our company to optimize and improve rapidly. It’s the spark that ignites the fire within your marketplace and gets that growth.”
– Chase Andries, Dell

For more insights, check out the full white paper, Can Brands and Marketplaces Coexist? here.