Without a doubt, an eCommerce marketplace integration is a strategic approach that allows online retailers to connect their online store with various popular marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. This integration enables sellers to expand their reach, tap into a larger customer base, and boost sales potential. But is this notion comprehensive enough for you?
If you still find the concept of eCommerce integration vague, the following topic is a must-read. In this article, you are about to uncover:
- What is marketplace integration?
- How does marketplace integration benefit you?
- How does this integration work?
- What are your best tools to integrate marketplaces?
Without further ado, let’s jump right into it!
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What is Ecommerce Market Integration?
The term marketplace integration refers to a process of connecting your virtual store on an eCommerce platform with any online marketplace. Explaining it more detailedly, integration is the synchronization of your online store’s database with other systems, which allows automated data transfer among multiple channels.
From our experts’ viewpoints, eCommerce marketplace integration plays a massive role in any retailer’s success, and the next section will tell you exactly why.
Some contentful marketplace you might hear:
- Amazon marketplace integration
- Etsy marketplace integration
- Walmart marketplace integration
- Facebook marketplace integration
And many more!
What Are The Benefits of Integrating Marketplaces?
An eCommerce marketplace integration is crucial for sellers looking to streamline operations and optimize their selling potential. It eliminates the need for manual data entry by automating inventory management, order fulfillment, and product syncing, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
Right below is a deeper glance at the advantages of integrating marketplaces and eCommerce platforms.
- Reduce manual information processing: Manual information processing, such as entering data from different sales channels, won’t be time-consuming and error-provoking once you integrate marketplaces. Notably, if you use a marketplace integrator, most information processing tasks and technical issues will be lifted by the provided system.
- Simplify multichannel selling procedure: Marketplace integration is conducted automatically and allows you to manage all sales channels from one central dashboard. Accordingly, selling on multiple platforms with a greatly simplified procedure is much easier.
- Expand to a new audience: You probably limit your audience reach when showcasing products or services on one sales channel. On the other hand, if you go live on more marketplaces, such as eBay or Amazon, you may expand to billions of new customers with incredible traffic and high buying intent.
- Increase accessibilities through search engines: Generally, most marketplaces have advanced search algorithms to support sellers’ visibility on search engines, which is a huge benefit. Adding to that, reports reveal that more than 80% of online shoppers search for items online before purchasing. Hence, why not choose to integrate marketplaces now?
- Enhance customers’ trust: Marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy have established a high sense of reliability. Based on that, listing your products on such sales channels helps them appear more trustworthy and legitimate to potential buyers.
- Save resources through automation: By using automated marketplace integrators, you can save time, money, and human resources. Should you be running startups or small-scale businesses, you surely need that.
How Does Marketplace Integration Work?
You have just walked through the definition of marketplace integration and its benefits. Now, it is time to figure out how eCommerce integration works!
Types of marketplace integration
- Marketplace API integration: The first method of marketplace integration is API integration. This integration method is to connect two or more selling platforms using their APIs. The API key is a code that identifies and authenticates users or contentful apps. As soon as you conduct API integration among multiple channels, you allow data from each to be exchanged and synced.
- CSV file import integration: For those online merchants who don’t have a store on the eCommerce platform, you can implement marketplace integration through CSV file import (file-based integration). A CSV (comma-separated values) file is simply a text file containing all your products’ data. In this situation, the CSV file will act as the input data; you only have to import the file into a marketplace integrator. After you have completed importing, you can connect multiple channels easily.
5 steps of eCommerce marketplace integration
Normally, marketplace integration cannot be conducted manually but through a marketplace integrator (an automated system that connects channels). And if you asked us, here is how it develops eCommerce integration in 5 steps.
- #Step 1: Connect API.
- #Step 2: Create a connection with Inventory.
- #Step 3: Transfer data (Product Upload with proper category mapping).
- #Step 4: Enable real-time sync between all platforms.
- #Step 5: Control everything from a single dashboard.
Now let’s go into details.
#Step 1: Connect API
The most important component in marketplace integration software is APIs.
If your shop is based on an eCommerce platform such as Shopify, the integrator will first communicate with APIs before establishing a connection to one or more eCommerce marketplaces. Currently, if you use the LitCommerce app, all you need to do is insert your store link to conduct marketplace integration.
#Step 2: Create a connection with Inventory
When selling on many platforms, you need a secure link between your inventory and store. It’s a good thing that the marketplace integration software ensures that the livestock numbers are updated on the shop as well as on the connected marketplaces.
#Step 3: Transfer data (Product upload with proper category mapping)
Next, when a link between APIs is created, the eCommerce marketplace integrator will send data from your shop to the marketplace. The transferred data can be items and their details (including pricing, quantity, etc.). As aforementioned, sellers can save lots of time and money by automating the entire procedure.
#Step 4: Enable real-time sync
Until there are real-time updates in numbers and statistics, listing the items isn’t going to cut it. This is where automated eCommerce integration becomes helpful to multichannel sellers.
Thanks to synchronizations, all changes occur in real time, ensuring a bi-directional flow of data between the platforms.
Note: To guarantee all data is updated on time, you should check if marketplace integration has data sync.
#Step 5: Control everything from a management hub
Now, it’s time to manage your sales channels. Usually, marketplace integration systems will offer a central dashboard to handle all the actions involved in selling through eCommerce. As a result, all there’s left is monitoring and managing from one single hub.
3 Best Tools to Integrate Marketplaces
Since we have comprehended the concept of online marketplace integration, why not look into the best integrators for online merchants?
#1. LitCommerce
Developed by the reputable shopping cart migration expert – LitExtension, LitCommerce is rising as a powerful multichannel selling solution. In general, LitCommerce allows selling across multiple channels with ease and affordability.
When using this app, sellers are likely to benefit from the following impressive features:
- Multichannel Connect: The multichannel connect feature makes it easy to integrate different platforms all at once. Especially, no technical expertise is required!
- LitCommerce QuickGrid: This is a spreadsheet-style interface that lets you edit listings on a central screen. In addition, you may edit products individually or in groups. Besides, the app enables you to bulk update products using LitCommerce’s Templates and Recipes.
- LitCommerce LiveSync: The third feature creates almost instant sync among pricing, inventory, and orders from your integrated marketplaces. Once you switch on the LiveSync function, overselling or out-of-stock problems are no longer your concerns.
- Integrated Order Flow: As you turn on the Integrated Order Flow, all existing orders from any marketplace will be pulled into your eCommerce platform’s dashboard. From there, you can choose to review orders before fulfilling them or have LitCommerce import directly into your existing order flow. Afterward, it is time for centralized multichannel fulfillment.
LitCommerce pricing tiers start from $0/ month. Therefore, if you are unsure about this solution, you can still experience it without spending anything!
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#2. Sellbrite
Talking about online marketplace integration, Sellbrite is a multichannel selling tool that helps small to medium businesses integrate marketplaces. Overall, Sellbrite will simplify the selling procedures and let users manage pricing, inventory, etc., from a centralized seller hub. Moreover, Sellbrite provides sellers with reports and analytics for performance tracking, which may help with further conducts within a business.
Sellbrite’s pricing tiers start at $0/ month, but its free plan barely has a sense of functionality. Therefore, Pro 100 ($29/ month) is the lowest milestone sellers may kick-off. Keep in mind that this plan only suits you if you have 100 orders per month. If your orders exceed 100, Pro 500 or Pro 2K will fit you more.
#3. CedCommerce
Last but not least, CedCommerce is an all-in-one and contentful plugin to integrate marketplaces with eCommerce stores.
Discussing it further, CedCommerce is well-known for its user-friendly interface and a wide of tools for eCommerce businesses to conduct marketplace integration. Besides, this integrator has features for pricing, inventory, and order management.
CedCommerce pricing plans vary from $0 to $259 per month. The most recommended tier is Standard (for 300 orders/ month). Meanwhile, their free plan has a limit of 10 orders. On the other hand, if you are running a medium-scale business, you will need to go for higher pricing tiers.
eCommerce Marketplace Integration: FAQs
- 1. What is marketplace integration?
Marketplace integration is a process of connecting eCommerce stores with other marketplaces. Once the integration begins, it will allow data synchronization among all connected platforms.
- 2. What is a marketplace integrator?
A marketplace integrator (also known as a marketplace connector) refers to an automated system that carries out the integration process and takes care of technical tasks. Moreover, a marketplace integrator can come in the form of plugins or apps.
- 3. What are the advantages of marketplace integration?
Here are the six outstanding advantages of integrating marketplaces:
- Reduce manual information processing
- Simplify the multichannel selling procedure
- Expand to new audience
- Increase accessibility through search engines
- Enhance customers’ trust
- Save resources through automation
- 4. Why eCommerce marketplace integration is important for multichannel sellers?
Ecommerce marketplace integration is crucial for multichannel sellers because it allows them to sell across many platforms at once. Not to mention, exposure to new marketplaces and segmentations is likely to lead to a rise in sales potential.
Finally, eCommerce marketplace integration will likely save resources and reduce the risk of errors during the multichannel selling process.
- 5. What are the features to look for in a marketplace integrator?
- A centralized dashboard to manage stores: A marketplace integrator should always provide a single dashboard where you can monitor inventory numbers and new orders received, dispatch those orders, or modify the product.
- Real-time synchronization: Real-time synchronizations between the connected platforms are important. It ensures that all the figures, including Inventory numbers, Orders, and Product Details, are updated on all ends in real-time.
- Automated cron: When integrating with the eCommerce marketplaces, you’ll have the option of using automated cron jobs to eliminate manual mistakes. Specifically, a cron is a series of instructions or commands that inform the server to run a pre-defined procedure in a pre-determined time.
- Multi-listing management: As part of eCommerce marketplace integration, you should be able to bulk-upload and manage items on your shop and marketplace.
- Unified orders management: As you integrate marketplaces, you should be able to accept, reject, ship, and remove orders from a single spot. Furthermore, as you use a marketplace integration system, you can set an advanced option to acknowledge orders received on the orders automatically.
- Multiple user accounts: Another perk of marketplace integration is that it allows multiple user accounts to manage connected sales channels in a streamlined manner. Also, the function can be useful when the same marketplace is operating in different countries.
- Live notifications: With real-time alerts, you’ll never be out of the loop. With the eCommerce marketplace connection, vendors can keep track of new orders, rejected orders, low inventory statistics, and more.
The Bottom Line
The benefits of marketplace integration are immense. It allows sellers to leverage the vast customer base and established infrastructure of popular marketplaces, increasing visibility and driving sales. The integration also provides centralized control and real-time data synchronization for efficient management across platforms.
Hence, if you are ready to unlock the next chapter of multichannel selling, why not give it a try? When integrating different marketplaces, you can use LitCommerce as your supporter. We are always honored to become your accompany!
In case you are on your way to learning about eCommerce, check out our Retailer Blog and join the LitCommerce Facebook community to update the latest news and insights in this field.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have more questions about eCommerce or multichannel selling. We are always here to help!
