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How to Boost Your Online Sales – Get to Know Kaufland.de
Online sales are developing rapidly in the post-pandemic world. In particular, online marketplaces are gaining in importance. While Amazon is the unquestioned global leader, smaller e-commerce platforms are not without a chance. They can be a good way to start a company's foreign expansion. In our article, we will discuss the most important issues related to selling on Kaufland.de.
What are you going to read about?
- Online Marketplace and the Growing Importance of E-Commerce
- Not Only Amazon
- Kaufland.de—What Should You Know About It?
- Why Is It Worthwhile to Sell on Kaufland.de?
- How Does Selling at Kaufland.de Work?
- Costs Related to Selling on Kaufland.de
Online Marketplace and the Growing Importance of E-Commerce
The rise of ecommerce in the post-pandemic reality is a widely discussed fact. According to the data compiled by Euromonitor, the share of online sales has increased from 15% in 2019 to 22% by June 2022. The Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group estimates that retail e-commerce sales will reach USD 5 trillion by 2025. So, what growth opportunities does the industry offer to sellers?
Your own online shop is not the only option available. The aforementioned Alvarez & Marsal Group study states that online marketplaces account for more than 40% of post-pandemic online sales and constitute the lion share of total e-commerce. These platforms are also growing quickly. This statement is confirmed by the forecast prepared by OC&C Strategy Consultants group. It claims that the growth of online marketplaces is going to stay at 15% per year. Moreover, they will have equalled direct retail by 2025. 45-50% of total consumer online spending will be transactions conducted through online marketplaces.
Not Only Amazon
Undoubtedly, Amazon is the leader when it comes to online marketplaces. At the same time, it remains a difficult platform for beginner sellers to master. Why? Amazon sets stringent standards for sellers, and failure to meet them can result in a decline in sales. The reason for the sales decrease might be even an account block.
Take a look at our ‘How to Sell on Amazon’- a Step-by-Step Guide, and learn about the formal requirements for entering Amazon.
As a result, other e-commerce sales platforms are not without a chance against the unquestioned leader. In this article, we take a closer look at one of the European leaders and explain why you should give it a go.
Kaufland.de—What Should You Know About It?
The German market is not only one of the largest European markets (58 million consumers), but also one of the fastest growing in the e-commerce sector. The value of online sales in Germany was estimated to be $81.9 billion in 2021. It’s also worth noting that the German market makes up 25% of the European e-commerce market.
Kaufland.de is one of the most popular marketplaces in Germany. According to statistics provided by the platform, it is growing seven times faster than the entire German e-commerce market. In the past five years, Kaufland.de’s gross merchandise value (GMV) has increased by 92%. In the same period, the entire German e-commerce market has seen an increase of 13%. Local versions of Kaufland in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania are also popular in their respective countries.
Kaufland belongs to the Schwarz Group, which is the largest retail group in Europe and the fourth largest such group in the world. Kaufland.de was established following Schwarz’s acquisition of the Real.de marketplace. As such, it was already significantly developed at the start of its operation.
Why Is It Worthwhile to Sell on Kaufland.de?
Thanks to its wide range of products, Kaufland.de boasts 32 million visitors per month. Shoppers can purchase electronics, furniture, household goods, garden and DIY tools, sports equipment etc. The products sold on Kaufland.de belong to 5,000 categories. This means an opportunity to reach a very precise audience.
Interestingly, the demographic structure of Kaufland.de shoppers is made up of people between the ages of 25 and 54. The average basket value of buyers who use the platform is EUR 80.69. It is higher than the EUR 50.63 for eBay and EUR 37.84 for Amazon.
Furthermore, according to Sistrix, the offers presented on Kaufland.de are more visible to end customers than those from About You, Zalando, Media Markt, Wayfair, and Mano Mano. The reason for this lies in effective marketing tools that also target the Google algorithm.
How Does Selling at Kaufland.de Work?
Logistics & Adding Offers
Even for people with no previous experience selling via an online marketplace, it is easy to start selling on Kaufland.de.
An integral part of selling on the marketplace is the careful preparation of the logistics process. In addition to the standard form of dispatching goods, i.e. delivery by courier, there is also the option of using the Fulfilment by Kaufland model. Similarly to the Amazon platform and the FBA model, it involves shipping the goods to logistics centres. Subsequently, Kaufland.de delivers the package to the target customer.
An advantage of the Kaufland Global Marketplace is that you can list products on three markets simultaneously on Kaufland.de, Kaufland.sk, and Kaufland.cz.
The way to add products is comparable to the implementation on Amazon. It is done by with the use of EAN codes by selecting one of the following options:
- manually via the Seller Portal,
- via own software or middleware solution,
- via Kaufland.de API,
- via CSV file.
Marketing & Customer Support
Regarding marketing, Kaufland provides the retailer with a great deal of support. The platform offers the following multi-channel solutions:
- SEA (including Google Shopping),
- SEO,
- price comparison,
- Display Ads,
- brochures for customers,
- possibility to win a Buy Box,
- e-commerce apps and software for entrepreneurs.
Kaufland.de is focused on supporting new sellers, so the help centre works very efficiently. Sellers can contact the support via phone or email.
In addition, Kaufland.de has also taken over from traders the processing of payments for orders placed. It does not matter which payment method the consumer has chosen.
It should be noted that customer support on Kaufland.de is very extensive.
Costs Related to Selling on Kaufland.de
Clear and transparent terms and conditions are one of the major advantages of the Kaufland marketplace. They are without any hidden costs.
You can decide between 2 plans. The Basic Plan currently costs EUR 39.95 per month. The second option is the Basic Plan + Linking, which costs EUR 49.90 and gives you the possibility to link to your online shop.
It is worth mentioning that the first 30 days of use are free of charge. Furthermore, the subscription can be cancelled at any time.
Additionally, Kaufland.de charges a sales commission. For electronics and white goods, the fee amounts to 7% of the final price. In the case of perfumes and sports equipment—10% of the final price, and for jewellery—16% of the final price. The commission for most categories is 12.5% of the final price.
Conclusions
Kaufland is rapidly expanding its network in Central Europe. Although it has specific requirements you need to fulfil to start selling, it is a less restrictive platform than a global giant like Amazon. You can take advantage of your competition not yet moving there. So, why not take such a natural step in the development of your e-commerce business?
Dear Seller, do you need help in starting to sell on Kaufland.de? Let us help you build your position in the new distribution channel! Please fill in the form here.
