As one of the largest marketplaces in the world, Amazon US is the place to be for retailers—but even the most successful Amazon marketplace sellers and seller consultants are realizing that it's not the only platform they should sell on. 

Increased seller competition and evolving consumer behavior have led Amazon businesses to expand into new ecommerce marketplaces like Target Plus (Target+), Walmart, Lowe's, and more. With a strong market expansion strategy in place, retailers can diversify their market share to achieve sustainable marketplace growth and protect their brand in the process.

What are the benefits of market expansion?

For many Amazon sellers, it's no longer enough to be on just one marketplace or to focus on a core product assortment—especially as competition continues to accelerate over product offerings, pricing, shipping, promotions, customer service, and the overall experience for both consumers and retailers. 

In today's ecommerce landscape, there's a huge opportunity to unlock marketplace growth by replicating your Amazon success in other sales channels. As an Amazon seller, market expansion can help you: 

• Increase visibility: Expanding into additional markets amplifies your brand's presence across sales channels, resulting in greater brand recognition and more eyes on your products.
• Expand market share: Launching into new online marketplaces can give you a competitive advantage—particularly in emerging sales channels with limited competition.
• Reach new customers: Strategic business expansion enables you to enter new markets or expand product offerings to connect with new audiences and broaden your customer base.
• Improve brand protection: Marketplace expansion increases the ability to maintain control over your brand's presence, proactively safeguard against unauthorized sellers or counterfeit products, and ensure a consistent brand experience across marketplaces.
• Reduce costs and mitigate risks: With business expansion, you can strategically adapt sales and inventory strategies to reduce seller fees and minimize the risk of revenue loss related to a suppressed Amazon listing, seller account issues, or policy changes.

Now that you know why marketplace expansion is beneficial for your Amazon business, the next step is figuring out how—this is where a business expansion strategy comes into play.

What is a business expansion strategy?

An Amazon business expansion strategy is a detailed plan that outlines the importance of market expansion for your brand, includes specific goals and sales metrics, and explains your approach to product expansion or marketplace growth.

A successful market expansion strategy requires a deep understanding of each marketplace, particularly when expanding to international sales channels. Online marketplace industry analysis can provide valuable insights into the competitive landscape and answer questions like: How saturated is the marketplace? Does seasonality affect website traffic or competition?

Analyzing online marketplace trends can also uncover unique consumer behaviors. For example, do they prioritize reviews above all else, or are they more feature-focused? How does a brand's reputation impact the customer's buying decision? Do they search similarly to Amazon shoppers, or are there subtle keyword variations?

If you're ready to expand beyond the Amazon US marketplace but lack the time or expertise to execute a business expansion strategy, partnering with a multi-channel expert like SupplyKick can simplify the process and accelerate sales growth on your behalf.

What are the top online marketplaces?

As competition continues to increase on the Amazon US marketplace, savvy brands and sellers are looking to market expansion as a way to diversify their market share, reach new customers, and establish long-term sales success—but how do you know which sales channel is right for your brand? 

Amazon Marketplaces
Amazon US is one of the best online marketplaces to sell on, but it's not the only market Amazon sells to. Amazon marketplace sellers can capitalize on their efforts and reach more customers by expanding into international sales channels like Amazon CA, Amazon UK, and the Amazon MX marketplace. Plus, existing Amazon marketing and advertising strategies can be adapted for Amazon's international markets.

Target Plus Marketplace
Since its launch in 2019, Target Plus (Target+) has emerged as a top sales channel for Amazon businesses to expand into. Unlike other ecommerce platforms, Target Plus is an invite-only program—meaning third-party retailers can't simply sign up and start selling. Target marketplace sellers benefit from limited competition, simple seller fees, returns support, and access to Target's dedicated customer base.

Walmart Marketplace
In 2021, Walmart opened its ecommerce shelves to third-party sellers and now offers its own version of Amazon FBA, called Walmart Fulfillment Services. As a newer sales channel, Walmart's ecommerce platform is less saturated than Amazon and charges a lower referral fee—making it especially appealing to become a Walmart marketplace seller.

Lowe's Marketplace
For Amazon retailers with products in categories like tools and home improvement or patio lawn and garden, becoming a Lowe's marketplace seller presents a unique opportunity for sales growth. The Lowe's ecommerce marketplace enables vendors to reach a highly specialized, loyal audience within a less competitive landscape.

Expand to more online selling platforms with a trusted partner.

Marketplace expansion can get complicated. SupplyKick partners with high-potential brands to simplify the expansion process and accelerate sales growth. With over a decade of ecommerce experience, our team of marketers, advertisers, brand managers, and logistics specialists applies expertise across marketplaces to develop and execute product assortment and expansion strategies, catered to each brand’s specific category, objectives, and goals.

Interested in learning more about how we can help your business expand across Amazon US, Amazon International, Walmart, Target Plus, Lowe’s, eBay, and beyond? Connect with our team.