Who said Online Marketplaces don’t look out for their Online Sellers?

Understanding the importance of online sellers, ecommerce companies are taking steps to keep their sellers a step ahead of the others. Leading ecommerce companies have introduced facilities for sellers to make things easier for them. Some of these initiatives are meant especially to encourage the small and medium businesses to enter the online sphere.

We decided to list out some of the major plans and programs that leading online marketplaces have launched for their sellers.

Useful initiatives by Online Marketplaces for better Online Selling

1. Snapdeal Capital Assist 

One among India’s top three ecommerce companies, Snapdeal has enabled its sellers to avail of quick loans through its platform Capital Assist. Sellers can get working capital auto-approved through Capital Assist, which was introduced in 2015.

Vijay Ajmera, the company’s senior VP explains how it has helped, “This programme has particularly benefited first generation entrepreneurs. We will continue to work towards empowering the SMEs to help them expand their businesses, tap wider opportunities and encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship among them.”

2. Amazon Seller University 

Amazon, one of America’s leading online marketplaces, introduced a comprehensive training system for its sellers, complete with YouTube tutorials, online courses and expert advice. Amazon has noted that Seller University has become popular with sellers in Salem, Guwahati, Panipat, Aurangabad, Karur, and Bhilai, to name a few cities. It also has a discussion forum where sellers can connect with each other.

3. Shopclues AdZone 

AdZone is a platform where Shopclues’ sellers can bid for advertising slots. Sellers can put up their ads on the portal in the form of either a banner or a featured ad. Anyone with an active Shopclues account can bid for the ad space.

4. Snapdeal Advisor Program 

Snapdeal introduced a support system for its sellers through its advisor program. Each seller is to be assigned a dedicated advisor, who will guide the seller through all aspects of the seller’s activities. The SD Advisors are the company’s employees who will be trained for the role.

Seller Advisor program has three aspects to it:

• SD Seller On-boarding Advisor – to help new sellers get on board
• SD Training Advisor – to give customised training to sellers
• SD Star & Ace Seller Business Advisor – to give advanced training in business plan and market insights to select sellers

5. Flipkart Seller Protection Fund (SPF) 

Flipkart came up with the SPF to protect its sellers against unscrupulous buyers.

(Image courtesy Flipkart)

The SPF aims to protect the sellers on the online marketplace from lost goods, buyer tampering or stealing products, or any damage to the product in transit.

6. Paytm Force

Paytm introduced its ‘Force’, a team of experts who will assist the sellers with an end-to-end set of services. The Force comprises of ecommerce experts who will provide help in account management, cataloguing, order fulfilment and help with any queries at the sellers’ doorstep. Sellers can choose to pay per service, or choose from a weekly or monthly fee.

7. Flipkart Spotlist

Spotlist was introduced with the aim of providing sellers (small and medium sellers in particular) cataloguing and listing services. Mobile Spotlist partners will travel to the sellers’ locations and help them take pictures of their products and show them how to list the products online. Sellers will be trained in skills that will help them set their products apart from their competitors. 

8. Amazon Tatkal 

Small and medium sellers can now sign in to Amazon in an hour through its feature ‘Tatkal’. It is yet another mobile system, which will travel across the country and help sellers sign up and begin trading on Amazon. The technical and time consuming process that has put off many non-tech savvy sellers from going online has led to Tatkal.

Gopal Pillai, Director and GM, Seller Services at Amazon says, “Our conversations with hundreds of SMBs reveal that there is a high level of interest among them to get online and start selling, but they are unable to overcome perception barriers of the process being time consuming, tedious and complex. As a result many interested sellers tend to put off onboarding tasks. As always, we worked backwards from seller needs and conceptualized Amazon Tatkal. We believe this initiative will help sellers to overcome these constraints, get them onboard, and start selling on the Amazon platform with speed and ease.”

So there you have it, some of the latest offerings from leading online marketplaces for sellers. If you need any help with your ecommerce needs, reach out to us at Browntape, India’s top ecommerce service provider.