10 Best International Marketplaces for eCommerce Sellers Looking to Expand Global Operations in 2024

The primary goal of every online seller is to get as much exposure and sell as many products as possible. Being successful in eCommerce entails a lot of hard work, quick thinking and advanced planning. Retailers generally spend a ton of money on studying their target markets, researching potential products, producing and storing them and eventually shipping them to customers. The key way they can break even and eventually start being profitable is to sell more items than they spend on all the other expenses involved in the running of a business enterprise.

Additionally, the eCommerce space is rife with competition in almost every sector. Therefore, it is in every retailer’s best interest to sell their items on as many platforms as possible in the hopes of carving out a good market share in at least a couple of them. Fortunately, in the current day and age, there is just as much competition among online selling platforms as there is among the sellers that use them. In this blog, we will take a detailed look at the nuances of international marketplaces, including the meaning, benefits, tips, and world’s 10 best online selling channels for your business.

What are International Marketplaces?

International marketplaces are online selling platforms that allow buyers and sellers from different countries to interact with each other and conduct transactions. Buyers list the products they want to sell and include important information pertaining to the item, such as size, dimensions, materials, use cases and more, while customers can browse multiple sites, identify the products they need and purchase them through a variety of methods.

These marketplaces typically offer a wide range of products and services, and facilitate the exchange of goods and services between countries through features such as currency conversion and cross-border shipping. Prominent examples of international marketplaces include Amazon, Alibaba and eBay.

The Primary Advantages of Selling on Multinational Online Selling Channels

Increases Market Visibility

By selling on international marketplaces, businesses can reach new customers in different countries, expanding their customer base and increasing their potential revenue. Most international marketplaces have user bases that span millions of people across the globe, so sellers that list their items on these platforms will instantly get access to a significantly broader base of potential customers. Even if a tiny proportion of this actually translates into sales, it is still much more than you would be able to muster using conventional retail outlets or physical stores. You may learn in detail about retail fulfillment here.

Reduces Shipping Complications

International marketplaces can help businesses overcome barriers to entry that might otherwise make it difficult to sell their products or services in other countries. Since many online selling platforms allow for cross-border transactions and order fulfillment, they also have the tools in place to deal with challenging and unforeseen situations, such as customs duties, border clearance, fees and more. This literally opens up a world of possibilities because retailers that offer their products on international marketplaces are no longer bound by the rules and regulations of specific countries.

Negates the Need for High Marketing Expenditure

Most international marketplaces have gigantic customer bases and an already established reputation, which can help to attract customers to a business’s products or services. This can help to reduce the need for expensive marketing and advertising. For instance, a customer would have more confidence in purchasing a product on Amazon because they recognise the brand and associate it with professionalism, rather than a random website that it is listed on. The names of some of these companies carry a lot of weight and can be all the marketing you need to keep customers interested.

Provides Access to Advanced Technology

International marketplaces are bastions of technology, offering the latest features to their sellers so they can out-compete their rivals on other platforms. They generally provide tools, technology and services that can help businesses to manage their inventory, fulfill orders, track customer data, monitor inventory levels, get real-time order updates and much more. This is extremely helpful, especially for small and medium-sized sellers that may not have the financial capabilities or technological prowess to get access to these facilities on their own.

Offers a Competitive Advantage

By selling on international marketplaces, businesses can gain a competitive advantage over their rivals in the same space that is not yet selling in those markets. For instance, if a brand that sells BlueTooth headphones at the cheapest possible rates is among the first on a platform like you can sell on Etsy, they will instantly capture a sizeable market share compared to brands that join after a few months, even if those brands turn out to be cheaper and maybe even better. The first-mover advantage is real and can be a make-or-break situation, especially in a cut-throat environment like eCommerce.

5 Simple Ways to Make the Most of Selling on International Marketplaces in 2023

Select an Option Based on Your Requirements

Even though selling your items on as many international marketplaces as you can seem like the right way to go, you should conduct some research as to which ones would be the best fit for your business based on factors such as recurring charges, customer base, allowed products, amount of competition, location of customers and much more. This will allow you to identify whether that marketplace coincides with your present and future business goals, helping you make a more informed decision. 

Employ the Use of Marketing and Advertising

Many international marketplaces have in-house marketing and advertising facilities, and this has become a popular way of encouraging sellers to promote their products and increase their reach in a hassle-free way, while also generating profits through charges or subscriptions for the type, duration and nature of the advertisement used. Platforms like Amazon even provide courses for its sellers to learn the ins and outs of advertising. The benefits of running ads are that your products and brand will be highlighted and be more visible to potential customers if they are scrolling the site or specifically searching for a similar product.

Streamine Your Listing Pages

Listing pages carry a lot of significance, especially on international marketplaces, as it is the first interaction a customer will usually have with your brand. In that sense, you need to put as much time and effort into it as you would in decorating your physical store or designing your own website. Make the listings as appealing as possible with attractive images, product descriptions and videos, while also taking care of SEO optimization by adding relevant keywords wherever it is needed so that they will rank highly on both search engines and within the marketplace itself.

Provide a Wide Selection of Products

It is in the best interests of international marketplaces to promote the products that are doing well and garner positive customer feedback. However, not every product can hold that mantel. While some products will have to be replenished every month due to their popularity, others can remain on your storage shelves for months on end. It is important to ascertain what works and what doesn’t, and there is no better way of figuring that out than by providing customers with the option and seeing if it catches their eye and they take the bait.

Give Customers a Personalised Experience

Providing customers with a tailored experience can be a good way to help your brand stand out of the crowd. When selling on international marketplaces, you can equip customers with the ability to shop in their preferred language, opt to see prices in their own currency, offer translation facilities, provide delivery forecasts, highlight the total order amount and mention shipping prices. This will help them get more accustomed to your brand and will feel at home browsing around your page in a language and currency they are comfortable with. You can learn how to calculate shipping prices here.

Top 10 International Marketplaces to Sell Products At a Global Level in 2023

Amazon

• Founding Date: 1994
• Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, USA
• Revenue in 2022: $502 billion
• Home Country: USA
• Unique Selling Point: It is a leader in innovating new fulfillment and eCommerce solutions

With upwards of $127 billion in revenue in just Q4 of 2022, Amazon is, without a doubt, the largest international eCommerce platform in the US and around the world. You can access a large global market thanks to Amazon’s outstanding shipping infrastructure, which delivers to more than 100 countries worldwide.

For merchants to flourish, Amazon provides a wealth of resources. For instance, you can opt to manage order fulfillment yourself or use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), in which case the company would take care of the storage, packing and shipping of inventory. Additionally, you have tools for managing international sales, such as tax collection, as well as advertising and marketing programs to enhance your sales. 

eBay

• Founding Date: 1995
• Headquarters: San Jose, California, USA
• Revenue in 2022: $9.8 billion
• Home Country: USA
• Unique Selling Point: It is one of the most cost-effective marketplaces out there

​​The second-largest international marketplace operating in the US is eBay. Although it doesn’t have as large of a customer base as Amazon, this may work to your advantage if you sell speciality goods that appeal to the kind of customer that uses eBay as their preferred platform to sell on eBay.

For instance, customers between the ages of 35 and 49 make up eBay’s strongest demographic. Low costs compared to other foreign marketplaces are one of eBay’s benefits, making it a desirable option for business owners on a budget. The fees charged by eBay typically range from 10% to 15% of the total sales price. eBay offers localised services in a number of countries around the globe.

Lazada

• Founding Date: 2012
• Headquarters: Singapore
• Revenue in 2022: $12 billion
• Home Country: Singapore
• Unique Selling Point: It provides the ability to set up individualised websites unique to different markets

Lazada is a well-known eCommerce marketplace that has a strong presence in Southeast Asia and is essentially the Amazon of the region. International vendors that want to access the markets of Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia are encouraged to use this platform. A unique aspect of Lazada’s retail operations is that for each website, you can create a Lazada shop where you can cater to customers in several countries with different products, prices and descriptions of your offerings, tailored according to various factors specific to that country.

Contrary to other options on this list, Lazada currently doesn’t impose any fixed or monthly fees on sellers. This means there are no setup fees or recurring monthly expenses while setting up and managing a Lazada account to begin selling goods.

Alibaba

• Founding Date: 1999
• Headquarters: Hangzhou, China
• Revenue in 2022: $131 billion
• Home Country: China
• Unique Selling Point: It is also a manufacturer and wholesaler for B2B online marketplace companies

Alibaba is an international marketplace you should seriously consider using because it is China’s top provider of online commerce. The Alibaba Group as a whole boasts approximately 1.24 billion monthly active users and 29% yearly revenue growth. Alibaba.com serves as the basis for numerous businesses as a manufacturer and wholesale supplier for business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

Therefore, Alibaba should be your first choice if your business involves selling goods to other companies, which need not only be located in China. You simply need to enter your details in a short form to open an account with Alibaba in order to begin selling. From there, you can instantly list your products and begin selling.

Rakuten

• Founding Date: 1997 
• Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
• Revenue in 2022: $15 billion
• Home Country: Japan
• Unique Selling Point: It offers a bunch of specialized, value-added services

Rakuten, which has more than a billion customers and operates in more than 20 countries, is the biggest online marketplace in Japan. Because of this, it has become known as “the Amazon of Japan.” Rakuten differs significantly from other international marketplaces because of a few aspects. Its own email marketing tool, R-mail, aids sellers in establishing and maintaining relationships with customers so they can earn their loyalty.

eCommerce consultancy is another service provided by the company to sellers on their respective journeys. Additionally, Rakuten also provides a cashback programme called Super Points, which fosters greater user loyalty and enables customers to get their goods at discounted prices.

AliExpress

• Founding Date: 2010 
• Headquarters: Hangzhou, China
• Revenue in 2022: $134 billion
• Home Country: China
• Unique Selling Point: It charges a very low commission compared to other platforms

With a monthly user base on the upper side of 200 million visitors, AliExpress, established in China, operates in more than 230 nations and territories. The platform has developed a reputation for hosting Singles’ Day in China, which is comparable to Black Friday as a shopping holiday. The reduced expenditure is one of the major benefits of selling on AliExpress.

Depending on your products and categories, charges can range from 5% to 8% of your entire sales. Additionally, widely known are AliExpress’ dependability and customer support. As a retailer, you will get paid as soon as your consumers receive their packages. Moreover, customers can rest easy knowing that their questions will be answered promptly and efficiently by the company’s support team.

Etsy

• Founding Date: 2005 
• Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York, USA
• Revenue in 2022: $2.5 billion
• Home Country: USA
• Unique Selling Point: It offers a dedicated market for antiques and other collectable items

Etsy is one of the most well-known American eCommerce websites. With a focus on handcrafted, vintage, and collector’s items, Esty primarily caters to the arts and crafts sector. You probably won’t find any identical product listings on other websites when you shop on Etsy, with the possible exception of the seller’s own online shop. As a result, it functions very differently from the other international marketplaces we have examined so far.

Therefore, putting things on Etsy to sell on Etsy, which is quite simple to do, makes a lot of sense if your small business is focused on arts and crafts. The setup process is also very simple because you simply need to create and account to start listing. Despite the company imposing a listing fee, the costs are still lower than those of some of the other marketplaces we’ve reviewed.

Zalando

• Founding Date: 2008 
• Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
• Revenue in 2022: $11 billion
• Home Country: Germany
• Unique Selling Point: It specializes in selling clothing and fashion products

German eCommerce company Zalando operates in over 23 markets across Europe. Its online markets offer a wide range of goods in several categories, with fashion and clothing being its most lucrative industry. In order to speed up seller registration, Zalando also employs internationally qualified support personnel. Their advice makes setting up a shop and listing products easy and efficient.

Merchants can use Zalando Fulfillment Solutions to access Zalando’s international networks, experience and markets. The company has numerous warehouse facilities spread out over Europe as well as logistics partners in numerous European nations.

Shopee

• Founding Date: 2015 
• Headquarters: Singapore
• Revenue in 2022: $19 billion
• Home Country: Malaysia
• Unique Selling Point: It has a vast fulfillment network in South East Asia

Shopee is undoubtedly Malaysia’s leading online marketplace, with more than 50 million monthly visitors. Customers adore Shopee for more reasons than only its large selection of goods. It is also mobile-friendly to use and has affordable delivery costs. Buyers can find everything they want on this eCommerce site. Foreign vendors who have completed fewer than 100 orders are exempt from commission fees and are allowed to list products for free on Shopee.

Additionally, the platform enables you to provide customers with a range of payment alternatives, such as cash on delivery, ATM transfers, debit and credit cards, and cash on delivery (COD). It is also simple to fulfill orders because there are many well-established fulfillment facilities in Southeast Asia that will take your products and send them to Shopee customers.

Best Buy

• Founding Date: 1966
• Headquarters: Richfield, Minnesota, USA
• Revenue in 2022: $48 billion
• Home Country: USA
• Unique Selling Point: It is very easy for even small businesses to get onboarded

Best Buy is another international online platform you can think about selling on. Even a tiny firm can apply to become a Best Buy seller, contrary to the belief that you need to be a huge brand to sell there. You may also be startled to learn that Best Buy ranked just below Amazon but ahead of Apple on the list of North American retailers of consumer electronics in terms of sales.

These figures are tough to ignore and, combined with the Best Buy brand association your business can take advantage of, make it a big international marketplace for your business, despite the opaque application procedure, which makes it unclear how difficult it is to get accepted.

Conclusion: How WareIQ Can Enhance Your Selling Fulfillment Capabilities on International Marketplaces in 2023?

International marketplaces provide multiple benefits to retailers looking to maximize their exposure, sales, and profits without having any additional drawbacks that are already present in every retail space. They enable businesses to expand their reach and access new customers. The benefits of selling on these platforms include increased market reach, reduced barriers to entry, lower marketing costs, access to new technologies and lowered trade risks. However, businesses should also be aware of the challenges they may face, such as language barriers, cultural differences, regulations, taxes, tariffs and shipping logistics. But with the right approach and a marketplace fulfillment partner like WareIQ, you can navigate these challenges and successfully sell your products on the international marketplace of your choosing.

WareIQ is an India-based eCommerce fulfillment company that has emerged as one of the fastest-growing options in the country. We offer multiple fulfillment-related services, such as a nationwide network of fulfillment centers for eCommerce, custom WMS software, and more. Additionally, our WareIQ Global platform can ship internationally to more than 220 countries and territories around the globe. Some of the key services we offer include:

Worldwide Shipping

To offer dependable and affordable shipping services to more than 220 countries and territories around the world, including the UK, US, EU, and Australia, we have worked with the majority of major international shipping companies, including FedEx, DHL, and more.

Suggested Read: 10 Fastest and Cheapest International Courier Services in India

Various Options for Inventory Storage

In order to provide localised storage facilities in the nations you would like to ship to, including the UK, we have worked with numerous warehouse and fulfillment firms worldwide. Additionally, we also give you the option of keeping your SKUs in India and exporting each order as it comes in.

Last-Leg Delivery

In the majority of foreign countries, we offer last-mile fulfillment facilities right to the customer’s door to ensure they are satisfied with their experience.

Flexible and Economical Rates

Along with numerous incentives and discounts on large orders, we provide some of the most affordable rates in the sector.

Multiple Marketplace Integrations

Our custom WMS is able to integrate with most online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify and more, so you can synchronize your order and inventory data across all of them in one digital location.

International Marketplaces: FAQs

Supercharge your fulfilment with WareIQ now, contact our team.