Marketplacer is an Australia-based Software as a Service (SaaS) company equipped with the tools and functionality to supercharge commerce, building successful and scalable online marketplaces at speed. Whether you are a retailer, brand, distributor, franchise, or community, Marketplacer makes growth easier. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Marketplacer CEO Jason Wyatt to learn more about the company.
Jason Wyatt’s Background
(Photo: Jason Wyatt, CEO and Co-Founder Marketplacer)
Wyatt’s background is not typical for an entrepreneur in the tech industry. Wyatt said:
“The story starts with bikes, actually. Bikes were a big part of my life growing up in Australia, and it was one of the things my childhood mate and Marketplacer co-founder Sam Salter bonded over. When we grew up, it continued to be a hobby, but by then, I had become a chartered accountant in London, and Sam was working for major publications in Australia, selling classified advertising. Despite the distance, we stayed in touch, and on a trip back to Melbourne in 2007, we naturally started talking about cycling and wished we could both work on something more directly related to our passion.”
“That conversation led us to the creation of BikeExchange, a marketplace for bikes. I moved back to Melbourne and we took the plunge as business partners and built a very successful company that provided a global marketplace for millions of buyers and sellers to connect for everything related to cycling equipment and product. It was a dream come true to be focusing on something that we had bonded over as kids.”
Going From BikeExchange To Marketplacer
How did you go from BikeExchange to Marketplacer? Wyatt shared:
“As Sam and I built BikeExchange, we realized just how powerful the marketplace model is for bringing together buyers and sellers. As our success increased, other entrepreneurs would come to us to ask about how to build similar marketplaces, but for totally different types of products. It turned out that the marketplace-building expertise we had acquired building BikeExchange was really valuable for things that had nothing to do with cycling. That led to successful ventures where we partnered with those other entrepreneurs who brought their expertise in those other products and services. It made us realize this was a lot bigger than bikes, and a lot of companies could benefit from being able to create and participate in these e-commerce marketplaces. That’s the genesis of Marketplacer.”
Formation Of Marketplacer
When was the company officially founded, and what were the first few years of growth like? Wyatt reflected:
“We officially launched the company in 2016 when we released the first iteration of our SaaS solution. We focused on Australia at first so we could enhance the platform as we worked on successful marketplace launches with numerous customers based there. We’ve since expanded to the US and Europe, where we’re seeing significant expansion.”
Opinion About The Retail Industry
The retail industry has changed dramatically as a result of the pandemic. How has all of that impacted your business? Wyatt replied:
“You’re right. The past few years have dramatically changed consumer buying behavior. Overnight, e-commerce went from a convenience to a necessity for consumers – and the growth of e-commerce has only accelerated since then. As more consumers have used e-commerce more, they have become very savvy about the kind of shopping experience they want. Every consumer-facing company, whether they are a global company or a home-based business operating out of a garage, needs to know their customers and be responsive to what they want. That’s where marketplaces – and Marketplacer – come in. Businesses use our technology to augment and enhance their commerce architecture while opening the door to more sellers and shoppers.”
“I have long been a believer that online marketplaces are extremely good at those two things. They know who their customers are, they know what their interests and needs are, and they bring together sellers who are all focused on listening to those consumers. I believe that’s at the heart of why marketplaces are growing so much.”
Growth Of These Marketplaces
What kind of growth are these marketplaces seeing? Wyatt noted:
“Last year alone, the top 100 e-commerce marketplace had sales of more than $3 trillion dollars, according to stats I saw in Digital Commerce 360, which follows the marketplace space closely. The growth of third-party marketplaces has exploded since Sam and I first created BikeExchange in 2007. That number has grown 500%, and the diversity of marketplaces is amazing. It has become such an important way for customers to find out about companies and how companies connect with and sell to customers.”
Third-Party Marketplaces
Third-party marketplaces are marketplaces where a variety of sellers are brought together on a single site, right? Wyatt answered:
“Yes, e-commerce sites where customers can buy from multiple sellers are considered a third-party marketplace. The third parties are sellers. They come in a few different flavors. The three most common models are pure marketplaces, mixed marketplaces, and retailer-operated marketplaces.”
Three Flavors
Can you talk more about the three flavors? What are the differences between them? Wyatt pointed out:
“The most visible example of a pure marketplace is eBay. eBay doesn’t make any of its own products. Its focus is to bring together sellers and buyers and facilitate transactions by handling the technology, payment processing, etc. eBay is not the only example, though. There are lots of pure marketplaces like this. In fact, that is what BikeExchange was when we started.”
“Amazon is an example of a mixed marketplace. In fact, it’s the biggest one in the world. Amazon not only sells its own products in their marketplace, but they have thousands and thousands of third parties who also sell on Amazon.”
“The third most common model is the retailer-operated marketplace, which is typically run by larger retailers that operate the marketplace in addition to their own online e-commerce site. Their main e-commerce site would only sell their own products, but they also operate a marketplace under their branding that includes curated third parties who have been invited to be sellers.”
“Regardless of the model, the key is for these marketplaces to understand their customers and be responsive to their interests. That’s a simple concept to say but putting it into action is challenging because of the technology and processes involved. If you try to build all that from scratch, it takes a very long time, costs a lot of money and is fraught with risk. At Marketplacer we help marketplace companies avoid all of that.”
Marketplacer’s Platform
What are some of the key things your platform enables companies to do? Wyatt explained:
“At a high level with Marketplacer’s flexible technology, thriving community, and proven expertise, we empower retailers and brands to grow by integrating third-party seller inventory into their platforms.”
“More specifically, we facilitate remarkable growth for sellers by providing them with the seamless opportunity to reach our extensive network of leading operators, who collectively draws in 2 billion annual visitors and generate an impressive $35 billion in annual e-commerce sales.”
Commercetools Partnership
You’ve announced some major partnerships recently. The newest is with commercetools. Can you tell us about that? Wyatt noted:
“Yes, this is big news not only for us but for the many companies that use the commercetools platform. For those who don’t know, commercetools is a leading composable commerce platform. It allows companies to respond rapidly to market opportunities by dynamically tailoring shopping experience and scaling in a flexible way as companies grow.”
“We love working with the commercetools team, and Marketplacer is proud to be the first marketplace platform to be part of their new Connect ecosystem. This will enable companies to quickly integrate Marketplacer into their e-commerce environment and take advantage of the platform technology much faster and easier. Together with commercetools we are aligned on our core mission of helping e-commerce companies grow their business and connect with their target customers.”
Revenue/Growth
After asking Wyatt about the company’s growth and revenue, he commented:
“We don’t share revenue numbers but I can tell you that we’ve helped more than 90 businesses to execute their own successful marketplace strategies, which, in turn, connects more than over 20,000 businesses worldwide and more than 5 million products.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Wyatt affirmed:
“The entire Marketplacer experience has been meticulously crafted to prioritize speed, ease of use and flexibility from the very foundation. Whether you’re navigating the sales process, implementing our platform, integrating third-party sellers, managing day-to-day operations, or striving for revenue growth, we’ve streamlined every step to ensure a fast and seamless journey.”
U.S. Expansion
The company’s U.S. expansion seems to be a major focus. What makes the U.S. market so attractive right now, and can you share any preview of what to expect in this market in the year ahead? Wyatt concluded:
“Forrester expects that 68% of B2C e-commerce will come from marketplaces in 2023 alone. Therefore, I’m confident we’re in the right business and in the right markets to win.”
Additional Resources
Making the Marketplace Model Work for You (Webinar)
Third-party Marketplaces: What to Watch For (Webinar)
