KINGFISHER PLC
Rapid delivery : courier collecting from Screwfix store that it was performing ahead of expectations , with sales from partner brands representing 8 % of its online sales that month .
“ Across the whole planet , there are around 179,000 merchants and about 24 million SKUs ( stock keeping units ) in home improvement ,” Van Oosten comments . “ At B & Q we had about 35,000 SKUs compared to a range of four and seven million SKUs across the UK .”
Developed in partnership with enterprise marketplace SaaS platform Mirakl , B & Q ’ s marketplace offering expands existing ranges and adds new categories , utilising the brand ’ s famous ‘ diy . com ’ website .
Marketplaces are growing in popularity with consumers , with nearly half ( 48 %) of online product searches now starting on marketplace platforms in key markets including the UK and US , according to Inriver . Within six months of launching the marketplace , an extra 100,000 products via selected third-party sellers had been made available to customers .
“ When you have a URL called diy . com , customers expect a high-quality product coming from trusted merchants ,” Van Oosten explains .
“ We have a lot of traffic online and in stores , and so from a business perspective , it ' s logically the next step to enrich your economic model with another line of income , which is a commission-based business . And then once you have that marketplace , you can continue in that journey around monetisation . You can offer click-and-collect , and you can offer returns .
“ Customers don ' t like to wait at home for their parcels ,” he adds . “ They don ' t like the return process , which can be quite a cumbersome process by other players . So having stores is helpful , too .”
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