The significant rise of e-commerce and the shift of consumers towards online shopping gave birth to marketplaces—online platforms that connect sellers/ merchants with buyers. They function as virtual marketplaces where sellers can create online stores and offer their products or services to a broad audience of buyers.

While initially, marketplaces were presented as the "deus ex machina," especially for merchants without their own online stores, there has recently been a worrying trend of sellers seeking alternative solutions that offer more control and better chances for sustainable growth. Under this context, marketplaces need to reassess their practices to create additional incentives for sellers.

To achieve this, it is essential to understand sellers' needs, recognize their daily challenges and the obstacles they face, and identify their unique goals. According to a Seller Fulfilled Prime survey, 72% of sellers cite high fees and commissions as their biggest challenge, while another Web Retailer survey shows that 42% of sellers feel they have limited control over their brand presentation on marketplaces.

Frequent and open communication is key to creating a trust-based relationship that will endure over time. Through regular communications, marketplaces can offer valuable information to sellers, helping them recognize the benefits of marketplaces while also cultivating the feeling that someone is there to look after their interests. In such a mutually trusting environment, sellers will view marketplaces as the place to be if they want to remain competitive.

Often, sellers do not understand marketplace algorithms, how they work, or what is required from their side to be more competitive. These are significant issues that should be addressed within this open communication channel between marketplaces and sellers.

At the same time, marketplaces must continuously optimize and evolve their model and platform to meet sellers' needs through these corrective actions. Such moves might include improving security, providing user-friendly inventory management tools, offering data analysis tools, and implementing automation solutions that facilitate sellers' daily operations.

Like buyers, sellers often seek personalized solutions that cater to their specific needs. Whether it involves packaging recommendations for shipping orders or special pricing agreements and storage services, marketplaces need to move away from the one-size-fits-all model and offer more tailored solutions. Sellers will find what they need in marketplaces, supporting their sustainable growth, while marketplaces will retain sellers on their platform.

One of the main reasons sellers turn to marketplaces is to expand into new markets and discover new promotional opportunities for their products. However, many times their products get lost in the vast competition within marketplaces, feeling they cannot or do not know how to serve this goal. Therefore, marketplaces must offer competitive advantages to sellers to be seen as a valuable and essential partner contributing to their business growth.

Sellers face numerous challenges in marketplaces as different interests need to be served through a single platform. However, for the success of the model and to retain sellers, marketplace teams need to take action and create the right conditions for prosperity and growth. As with any professional relationship, transparency and trust can create strong bonds and excellent collaborations. It must be understood by both sides that if they collaborate honestly and without hidden agendas, the results will become increasingly impressive year by year.