OUR COMPANY
Subscribe to newsletter
Thank you!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
.png){kind=icon}
“Do we really need marketplaces?”
It’s a fair question - especially if you’ve already invested heavily in your tech stack, perfected your on-site experience, and built a solid customer base.
Your DTC site gives you:
So why complicate things by adding marketplaces to the mix?
Here’s why:
The most successful brands I see aren’t choosing between DTC and marketplaces - they’re combining both.
And when done right, the two don’t compete - they amplify each other.
The case for marketplaces
Over the past 18+ years, We’ve worked closely with hundreds of brands navigating this exact decision. Some were skeptical. Some were burned by previous marketplace experiments. But the ones that integrated their DTC and marketplace strategy intelligently?
They scaled. Fast.
Here’s why marketplaces are worth it - even when your DTC engine is already purring:
Built-in discovery
Think of marketplaces as the shopping malls of the internet.
People are already there, credit card in hand, searching for products like yours. You’re not trying to drive cold traffic to a site - you’re stepping into a place with built-in intent.
For emerging brands, marketplaces are often the fastest way to:
Get in front of new customers
Enter new regions
Test product demand in real time
You skip the long warm-up cycle of paid social or SEO and go straight to shoppers.
Instant trust
Customers might love your DTC site… after they get to know you. But the first time? Trust can be a hurdle.
Marketplaces like Amazon, Zalando, and others lend credibility through association. Shoppers feel safer buying from a platform they already know - especially if that platform has strict listing or shipping standards.
Think of it like being invited to play in a league with big brands. You're on the same field, wearing the same uniform. That matters.
Digital ads can be murky.
ROAS calculators are often wishful thinking.
And media spend can balloon without delivering real results.
Marketplaces offer a refreshingly simple model:
You sell → You pay a commission.
No upfront ad spend. No “brand awareness” guesswork. Just performance-based cost.
Launching a new channel usually means more people, more processes, more tools.
But marketplaces - when connected through a platform like Sello - can be added without stretching your existing team thin. We’ve seen brands expand into 10+ marketplaces with minimal headcount growth. Why?
Because automation, smart data flows, and integration do the heavy lifting.
No one’s manually updating stock levels across five platforms. No one’s copy-pasting descriptions into clunky CMS tools. The system handles it - so your team can focus on strategy, not survival.
Because DTC still matters - a lot.
Your DTC site is your brand home.
It’s where you:
But DTC alone can limit your reach.
That’s why pairing DTC with a smart marketplace strategy is so powerful. You’re combining depth with breadth.
We’ve helped over 1,000 brands make the leap from DTC-only to omnichannel - and the results are consistently strong. Not just more revenue, but:
When your systems are integrated and your data flows smoothly, marketplaces stop being a burden - and start becoming a serious growth lever.
You don’t need to pick a side.
You don’t have to sacrifice your brand to grow your reach.
You can have both - a strong DTC site and thriving marketplace sales.
It just takes the right setup.
(We can help you with that)
So if you’re sitting on a great DTC site and wondering what’s next…
It might be time to stop choosing - and start connecting.
Want help expanding into marketplaces (without losing your mind)?
Let’s talk.
Christoffer Andersson, CEO & Founder
.png)