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Marketplacer recognized in Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for digital commerce, 2022 in enterprise marketplaces category

Gartner Hype

Marketplacer has once again been recognized as a Sample Vendor in the enterprise marketplaces category in the  Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Digital Commerce,

We believe this year’s report, the Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Digital Commerce, 2022, clearly demonstrates enterprise marketplaces are at a tipping point in industry interest segueing into adoption to become the next big thing in commerce. 

We feel the Hype Cycle reports are the second most widely referenced Gartner research behind Magic Quadrants and are used as a critical decision making tool by retail leaders as they assess a wide range of commerce technologies that will support their commerce-related investments. 

Enterprise Marketplaces are highlighted as “adolescent” in maturity and demonstrate a high growth future with mainstream adoption expected in the next 2 to 5 years. 

According to the report, enterprise marketplaces are defined as “digital channels operated by B2B or B2C sellers that invite third-party sellers to sell directly to end customers. Marketplace operation applications provide the technology to enable enterprise marketplaces by allowing operators to manage seller onboarding, product catalogs, order routing and management, and seller compliance with marketplace policies.”  

The report states:

Enterprise marketplaces offer such benefits as increased assortment, improved customer experience (CX) and stickier shopping destinations. They also enable companies to shift their business models from linear digital commerce (where they sell directly to end customers) to a platform business (where they facilitate transactions between sellers and buyers). As marketplaces grow, marketplace operators can transition to digital business by owning the digital ecosystem and creating digital revenue.”

 

Common characteristics of early adopters of enterprise marketplaces include companies with a high volume of retailers and distributors looking to expand product selections, help safeguard against risks (e.g. supply chain issues), and automate and digitize seller programs and onboarding.

Of note, the report emphasizes that to execute an enterprise marketplace it requires a company with “mature capabilities in digital commerce operation, and additional resources in seller recruiting, performance management, and possibly also fulfillment and logistics.”

In 2020, enterprise marketplaces were cited as “increasing interest during COVID-19 as many organizations hastened to launch or expand digital commerce presence as sales from physical channels dried out.” 

The 2022 report mentions “additional factors and potential benefits that have emerged, driving companies to invest in a marketplace model strategy for first and third-party products. This includes:

  • Enterprise marketplaces have seen increased interest in recent years, as many organizations hastened to launch or expand digital commerce presences, when sales from physical channels were disrupted or closed. 
  • Marketplace operators benefit from enriched product offerings, expanded assortments and the ability to test new products via third-party sellers before offering products as a first-party seller. Organizations using dropshippers can move nonstrategic items to the marketplace to improve the performance of the core business.
  • Collecting commissions or fees from the sale of third-party products helps operators transition to a digital business model, which helps them mitigate risk from future disruptions or from reduced demand for their first-party products.
  • Business buyers benefit from reduced procurement costs from obtaining multiple different products, in multiple different categories, from a single marketplace. This creates more loyal buyers, who are less likely to shop around for competitive products.
  • Sellers benefit when marketplaces are well-known and offer significant traffic, which the sellers would not be able to easily generate on their own.”

To read the full Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Digital Commerce, 2022 report, download it here.

Gartner, Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce, 2022, Sandy Shen, 11th July 2022

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