Why sell on OnBuy before Q4 2020

To say that the year 2020 has been full of surprises feels like the understatement of the decade - despite the fact this decade has only just begun! Yet even with the challenges, the truth is that the year 2020 has accelerated changes for a huge number of retail and marketplace factors. Those include some whose writing was arguably already on the wall, such as the problems facing the UK high street and the resounding success of eCommerce and online marketplaces.

In fact, research from Adobe published in August 2020 suggests that, since March of this year, 69% of British people have indulged in shopping online regularly - 57% of whom did so exclusively via online marketplaces.

That's in contrast to 13% of those online shoppers who went directly to a retailer's own website to shop. In other words, the appetite of British consumers today, more than ever before, yearns for the breadth of products, the browse factor and the overall convenience that marketplaces provide.

A golden chance for growth

While the year 2020 is certainly far from over, it's roaring towards its final quarter faster than it sometimes feels to be - with the projected growth of online sales as Q4 2020 approaches on track to more than demonstrate changing consumer habits both in the UK and abroad.

Couple that with big ticket products like the iPhone 12 or the next big video game consoles launching in 2020's fourth quarter - and it seems circumstances will come together in online entrepreneurs' favour all the more before this year sees its end.

With all that in mind, why should sellers flock to OnBuy to make the most of the online marketplace opportunities of Q4 2020? It's no secret that there are dozens of outlets by which eCommerce specialists, retailers and even brands themselves can ply their trade.

Yet with 11x sales growth year on year, an incredible 24,000% GMV growth to date, and a transparent approach that puts the online retailer at the heart of their own success - along with an expansion strategy that's equal parts internationalisation and strengthening the company's growing, trusted reputation through a £5m Q4 campaign which includes an ITV deal - there's every reason for online merchants to consider OnBuy the marketplace of choice for Q4 2020 and beyond. It could well be the choice that secures you big profits and smooth business in an otherwise uncertain economic climate.

At your side, from sign-up to sale

OnBuy's journey into 2020 has been measured in the same strides that it was first founded with in 2016 - the value of a fair deal for all, the importance of seller and customer satisfaction, and the transparency that an online seller needs to enjoy solid returns and a positive reputation with its customer base.

OnBuy is the passion project of UK-based eCommerce entrepreneur Cas Paton, who took the ideals of transparency and fairness to heart when establishing the company. "Our incredible growth figures are evidence that the market desperately needed a marketplace like OnBuy," he remarked. "Through creating an eCommerce ecosystem that benefits online retailers and customers equally, we can provide a sustainable long-term solution to selling and shopping online."

First and foremost, OnBuy doesn't hold stock of any kind, nor does the business ever intend to have any kind of inventory in the future. Rather than analysing your products and working out how to source them cheaper to then sell in direct competition with its online vendors, OnBuy's efforts are honed exclusively on maximising the sales of its retailer partners, while locking in the satisfaction of its customers.

In other words, cultivating a positive working relationship with its sellers is at the centre of everything OnBuy does - no conflict of interest means OnBuy's marketing is working with you, rather than against you.

It's powerful marketing at your side, too - much of the investment that OnBuy has made in Q1 and Q2 2020 has been in strengthening its marketing offering, both in-house and alongside trusted external partners. Much of this is down to the fact that OnBuy tripled its staff during 2020, in part to accommodate that growth in marketing strength needed for its blossoming seller community, and in part to steer the company's own course towards globalisation in over 140 countries and counting.

This puts the power of industry-leading SEO strategies along with full-blown email and media marketing to online sellers' benefit, without them having to lift a finger. Keep in mind, too, that OnBuy's strategy for expanding worldwide has consciously factored in the forthcoming outreach towards countries and territories that other online marketplaces historically haven't been able to touch, giving sellers a potential route to sales that simply couldn't be enjoyed elsewhere.

How does this help towards Q4 2020? Well, the end of this year represents the first phase of a tremendous growth period for OnBuy - one enacted with long-term viability and sustainability in mind. From partnering with leading eCommerce integration platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify, to solidifying its status as the world's fastest-growing marketplace in a confident, continuous uptick of growth and visibility, OnBuy has caught consumer attention across the UK and beyond this year.

Reflecting on OnBuy's second consecutive year of 600% revenue growth, in defiance of global economic concerns that have matured as 2020 has gone on, CEO Cas Paton was highly positive. "We've evidently found the right formula for success," he said. "We're already running at £120 million in sales, and we haven't even launched globally yet. Ahead of our phased launch into over 140 countries, where we'll have the widest reach of any online marketplace, we're investing heavily in our UK headquarters, with a massive Q4 2020 planned."

Ending on a high

As we wrap up 2020, OnBuy intends to pour its efforts into ensuring a successful Black Friday and winter shopping season, but also to launch exclusive sales featuring its online retailers. Select products from online vendors signed up to OnBuy will be made available to customers at a discount, yet with a generous budget allocated by OnBuy itself to cover the costs of those discounts, sellers will benefit from additional promotion and visibility without the usual cost.

Considering OnBuy's Black Friday 2019 netted £1 million in sales entirely for its seller community, with not a single fee being taken by the business in the process, it's safe to say that Q4 2020 presents a superb opportunity for online vendors of all kinds to make a strong debut with a marketplace keen to do things differently.

Underlining all this has been the journey OnBuy has been taking in parallel with its UK growth into globalisation, with those sellers able to ship internationally spreading their wings to embrace a new, worldwide audience - at no additional cost. Summer 2020 saw OnBuy's first overseas efforts bear fruit, and as you might expect, this growth is set to continue into Q4 2020 and far beyond.

Having locked in a record-setting 24,000% growth over a four-year period, OnBuy's vision is to realise £2 billion in sales by the year 2024. CEO Cas Paton's confidence, following a successful £5 million Series A investment round, is practically infectious. "We expect to multiply our millions-strong audience this year by five, which will further accelerate our 24000% growth. We're projecting a turnover of £2 billion in sales by 2024, and we're set to claim 3-5% of the £84 billion UK eCommerce market in the next three years."

Tailored to your success

Just as OnBuy has a dedicated customer service team to help handle enquiries from your potential client base, so too is there a dedicated account handling and seller support team to ease the journey from listing a product, through to sales and aftersales support. These are UK-based experts, who handle online retailers' issues personally - no automated responses, no passing the buck.

Sellers can also benefit from the OnBuy Deals platform, a frequently updated part of the website that attracts thousands of customers daily - customers whom sellers can reach through OnBuy's efforts, freeing them up to pursue profits and productivity elsewhere.

As you can imagine, OnBuy Deals are only going to become more appealing to customers as Q4 2020 approaches, yet selling with OnBuy in time for the final quarter of the year puts just as much power in online vendors' hands too. There are plenty of reasons for that - one being the Boost system OnBuy uses at sellers' discretion.

Giving your sales a Boost

Online vendors who sell with OnBuy have the opportunity to use Boost, OnBuy's risk-free ad service, for their products. Boost lets sellers invest in various tiers of additional marketing - including external marketing to draw customers to your listing, prominent positions across the website, and so on.

These can be completely controlled by how much the seller invests in the Boost platform. Better yet, as it's a cost per acquisition (CPA) service, Boost doesn't take the fee from a seller unless the product sells through the increased exposure, making it a risk-free way to enhance a product's visibility for merchants of all kinds.

Your chance to end a startling year stronger

OnBuy's ascent is one being implemented with confidence, but not without consideration of the fast-changing nature of the times we live in. Nevertheless, the growing number of online retailers entrusting themselves to this marketplace, coupled with consumers finding the site due to effective marketing, the search for a good deal or even mistrust in larger platforms, has all come together to create a sellers' landscape for Q4 2020 that simply hasn't ever been seen before.

With OnBuy's own growth and investment, the forthcoming launch of incredibly must-have products in time for the festive season, the appetite all too apparent in the British public and beyond, and the opportunity for online retail entrepreneurs to make a relatively low-risk foray into getting their goods live in front of a new audience, the chance to stake a claim in time for the lucrative fourth quarter of the year presents an opportunity that's not to be missed.

There's success enough for everyone if you're looking to sell with OnBuy - whether as your new platform of choice, to accentuate your existing revenue streams or simply to participate in an online marketplace success story that's set to skyrocket throughout the 2020s. Yet as the ramp up to Q4 2020 begins, sitting on the fence biding your time is no longer the answer - stake your claim and be part of the movement!