The word “optimisation” is never very far from our lips here at Frooition. So who better to speak to for the third in our series of Future Gazing articles than Ashley Maroney from Optiseller?
Optiseller is a company dedicated to helping online retailers grow sales and improve performance across multiple e-commerce channels, including eBay, Amazon, and Wish.com, as well as their own eCommerce stores.
Why online marketplace optimisation will be so important in 2022
“Online selling has just got a lot more competitive in recent years,” says Ashley. “The pandemic has meant that more businesses are focusing more time, effort, and money on their online operations. This means that ‘good enough isn’t good enough on busy online marketplace like eBay and Amazon anymore.”
According to Ashley, there are many different routes online sellers should be considering on the road to optimisation — and they are all essential if they want to make the marginal gains required to come out on top.
Better quality data and shipping options
The journey to eCommerce marketplace optimisation starts with the quality of your data.
“eBay is always asking for better quality data in its regular seller updates,” says Ashley. “Too many sellers have ignored the importance of these updates for too long, and that is now impacting their conversions.”
Ashley highlights how incomplete data can have a negative impact on sales.
“The optimisation process is all about making sure all of your nuts and bolts are in the right place to ensure buyers can find your listings,” says Ashley. “It’s not just item specifics. There are many different components to the eBay SEO experience. For example, If you’ve got cross-promotions in place and you are missing images or only have a single image, you are definitely leaving sales on the table.”
Shipping is also a major consideration.
“Are you using all the shipping options?” says Ashley. “Can you ship quicker? Are you able to offer a free option?”
Ashley highlights the importance of same-day shipping.
“Clients who work with partners to aggregate their carriers or provide fulfilment services are definitely seeing an increase in their sales volumes,” says Ashley.
Promotional tools
According to Ashley, the use of promotional tools such as eBay Promoted Listings will become increasingly crucial to marketplace sellers in the coming months.
“Promoted Listings are increasingly becoming a vital optimisation strategy for eBay sellers,” says Ashley. “While this opportunity is relatively new and relatively low cost, now is the time to start experimenting with this strategy and maximising the visibility of your listings.”
Supporting local business
While the pandemic has seen many businesses shift online, it’s also made more consumers think about how they can support their local businesses.
“Social media has a big impact on buying habits,” says Ashley. “We are excited to see a lot of small businesses really getting involved in their local areas and building community across the various social channels. Another area where we see a similar shift is in environmental and sustainable messaging.”
About Optiseller
Optiseller is an eCommerce data platform that provides over 50,000 users in 160 countries with the tools they need to control, manage, and monitor their performance. The system produces rich data that online retailers can use to grow sales and improve performance across multiple e-commerce channels, including eBay, Amazon, and Wish.com, as well as proprietary and own brand. For more information, please visit: https://www.optiseller.com.
