Despite the changes brought about by the restrictive nature of COVID-19 safeguard measures, the e-commerce sector has displayed incredible growth. Additionally, but not surprisingly, social distancing, the increased need for contactless career positions, and the closure of numerous small (deemed unessential) businesses throughout the country all gave the e-commerce market a boost.
Amidst talk of a global recession, e-commerce markets have been given a disproportionate share of the United States’ current economic value by way of nature itself. Forecasts indicate that the online retail industry will be worth $6.5 trillion by 2023. Since mid-April alone, US online retail growth is up by 68% compared to April 2019 – time, the continuing period of pandemic restrictions, and the necessity of purchasing essential items online will only benefit the e-commerce market more thoroughly.
If you’re an online seller looking to take full advantage of the rising e-commerce market, the direction is clear: diversify. Amazon should not be your exclusive sales channel.
A Case for Walmart’s Online Marketplace
Making use of Walmart’s marketplace for international purchases that overlap on both platforms can save you a lot of money.
If you’re a small or medium-sized business on the Amazon platform that is looking to expand, welcome aboard. COVID-19 is helping Walmart make up for the lost ground Amazon stole as soon as it became a global monopoly. With this in mind, there has been no better time to make the transition to Walmart’s online marketplace – their e-commerce sales are up by 74% from June 2019. It’s important to note that many consumers seem to be flocking to local business’ (Walmart) online stores for essential items rather than to their global competitors (Amazon).
Where Your Business Can Make A Profit
When social distancing rules went into effect across the United States in mid-March, Doug McMillion – the CEO of Walmart – reported that the company had a 400% increase in the number of customers they served (most of who are returning shoppers).
Walmart’s online grocery sales – combined with shoppers’ ability to order items online and pick them up in-store – have been the primary reason for its sudden revenue advancement.
Amazon lacks the same kind of service for online customers – because the only store chain they own is Whole Foods (a much smaller chain than Walmart), Amazon can only offer pick-up of online orders at 500+ stores.
Here’s another temporary disadvantage exhibited by Amazon due to COVID-19’s impact – they routinely struggle to keep up with customer demand and delay the shipment of non-essential (but still valuable) business items to their buyers.
By comparison, Walmart offers pick-up for online orders at 3,200 of its stores and has no such self-implemented restrictions on delivering to customers.
Customers who shop in a company’s physical store locations are also much more likely to shop in their online marketplaces – because Walmart is the largest grocer in the US, many people already buy items from their local storefronts.
With the inclusion of curbside pickup into Walmart’s COVID-19 financial management plan, there’s no reason to use Amazon for any online marketing your business does. Instead, selling your product on Walmart’s online marketplace will ensure that it reaches more people in a lesser amount of time.
Managing Transactions Beyond the Marketplace
Looking to make a profit online? Look no further than Walmart’s online marketplace. And, if you need to repatriate international sales home safely, Worldesk is your ally.
No matter how safe Walmart and Amazon’s online marketplaces are for your customers to purchase items, your company can be losing because of mismanagement of international transactions, thus causing a big financial hit on your business’ profit margin. Worldesk offers profit protection services to ensure that expected revenues remain just that… expected.
Keeping your profit margin safe is the most critical aspect of what we do, and the volatility of international currency – especially right now – is nothing to worry about when Worldesk is managing your international transactions for you.
