ONLINE MARKETPLACE

Value Proposition

• Business models also include a value-proposition statement.
•  A value proposition refers to the benefits, including the intangible ones that a company hopes to derive from using its business model.
• In B2C EC, for example, the customer value proposition defines how a company’s product or service fulfills the needs of customers.
• In other words, it describes the total benefits to the customer. The value proposition is an important part of the marketing plan of any product or service.

ONLINE MARKETPLACE

• An online marketplace, sometimes called an electronic marketplace, is an e-commerce site where third-party companies can sell their products or services to consumers.
• All of the transactions are processed through the website owner.
• For example, when you visit Amazon's online market, you can purchase books and other goods directly from Amazon, but you can also find - and buy - products from sellers all over the world.
• Another example is sharing economy platforms, like eBay and Etsy, where sellers ''share'' in the space to make profits, bring together all types of independent sellers into a one-stop shop that is convenient for consumers to not only check prices for the best deals, but do so all under one electronic roof.

Types of E-Marketplaces

We distinguish two types of e- marketplaces: private and public.

Private E-Marketplaces

• Private e-marketplaces are those owned and operated by a single company. starbucks.com , dell.com , target.com , and united.com sell from their websites.
• Private markets are either sell-side or buy-side. In a sell-side e-marketplace , a company, (e.g., net-a-porter.com or cisco.com ) will sell either standard or customized products to individuals (B2C) or to businesses (B2B); this type of selling is considered to be one-to-many .
• In a buy-side e-marketplace, a company purchases from many potential suppliers; this type of purchasing is considered to be many-to-one , and it is a B2B activity.
• For example, some hotels buy their supplies from approved vendors that come to its e-market. Walmart ( walmart.com ) buys goods from thousands of suppliers. Private marketplaces can be open only to selected members and are not publicly regulated.

Public E-Marketplaces

• Public e-marketplaces are in many cases B2B markets. They often are owned by a third party (not a seller or a buyer) or by a group of buying or selling companies (referred to as a consortium ), and they serve many sellers and many buyers.
• These markets also are known as exchanges (e.g., a stock exchange). They are open to the public and usually are regulated by the government or the exchange’s owners. 

Customer Interaction Mechanisms

Several kinds of interactions exist among sellers, buyers, and e-marketplaces. The major B2C mechanisms are

• webstores ( storefronts)
• Internet malls

Webstores

• A webstore ( or storefront) refers to a single company’s (or individual seller’s) website where products and services are sold Webstores may target an industry, a location, or a niche market (e.g., cattoys.com ).
• The webstore may belong to a manufacturer (e.g., geappliances.com and dell.com ), to a retailer (e.g., amazon.com and wishlist.com.au ), to individuals selling from home, or to another type of business.

Note : that companies that sell services (such as insurance) may refer to their webstores as portals .

• A webstore includes tools known as merchant software (available in a suite), that are necessary for conducting online sales. The most common tools are an
• Electronic catalog ; a search engine that helps the consumer find products in the catalog;
• an electronic shopping cart for holding items until checkout;
• e-auction facilities where auctions take place;
• a payment gateway where payment arrangements can be made;
• a shipment center where shipping arrangements are made;
• customer services , which include product and warranty information and CRM.

Microsites

• A microsite is a webpage(s) that acts as a supplement to a primary website, but is external to it. It expands on the content by adding editorial, commercial, or educational material.

Electronic Malls

• In addition to shopping at individual webstores, consumers can shop in electronic malls (e-malls). Similar to malls in the physical world, an e-mall (online mall) is an online shopping location where many stores present their catalogs.
• The mall charges commission from the sellers based on their sale volume.
• For example, E Mall of Maine( emallofmaine.com ) is an e-mall that aggregates products, services, and providers in the state of Maine. It contains a directory of vacation services and product categories and the vendors in each category.
• When a consumer indicates the category he or she is interested in, the consumer is transferred to the appropriate independent webstore .
• This kind of mall does not provide any shared services; it is merely a directory. Other malls, such as choicemall.com , or etsy.com
• Webstores, Malls, and Portals provide some shared services. Both yahoo.com and ebay.com operate electronic malls.

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sagar gupta