As the largest e-commerce ecosystem in Latin America, the MercadoLibre platform has attracted more and more cross-border sellers. Among the many new sellers, there is a common question that bothers them: should they choose to sell a large number of goods or focus on boutique stores? Let’s explore the differences between these two types of stores in detail, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
1. Advantages of selling goods.
Strong flexibility: sellers who sell goods have more choices when selling goods, because there is no fixed customer audience, and they can flexibly choose different products. This flexibility allows sellers who sell goods to get started quickly and quickly put a large number of goods on the shelves.
Quickly test the model: With the help of professional MercadoLibre selection tools, sellers who sell goods can quickly find links that other sellers have already sold and follow them. In this way, even novice sellers can quickly test the model and quickly understand the market reaction.
Low capital investment: sellers who sell goods are self-delivered, and there is no need to invest a lot of money in stocking when starting a project, which reduces the risk of project launch.
2. Disadvantages of selling goods.
Disordered orders: Due to a large number of goods, procurement time and cost are high. Sellers need to constantly communicate with merchants on other supply platforms to confirm product specifications and delivery time, and the purchase quantity is small, which takes more time and money.
Strict time limit, the store is easy to turn yellow: the platform has strict requirements on the warehouse entry time of self-shipping sellers. Failure to meet the requirements will cause the store to turn yellow, which will in turn affect the freight and order volume.
Many customer complaints: Since the products on the shelves are listed in batches, sellers do not understand the goods sold, resulting in frequent customer complaints.
Easy to infringe and high risk of closing the store: Blind distribution of goods is likely to cause infringement problems, and violation of platform regulations may lead to store closure.
The overall gross profit is low: the lack of supply chain makes it difficult to control the quality of goods, and the return rate increases, thereby reducing the overall gross profit.
Three, the advantages of boutiques.
Brand precipitation: Boutiques are more likely to accumulate traffic and form brands, and a stable customer base helps to improve sales efficiency.
Category professional: Boutiques are more professional in a certain category or customer audience vertical field, and can better grasp market demand and product quality.
Lower risk of customer complaints: Boutiques usually have a better understanding of products and supply chains, reducing the possibility of customer complaints.
Fourth, the disadvantages of boutiques.
The initial start-up is more difficult: boutiques may need to spend more time to build brands and accumulate traffic in the early stages of opening a store.
Limited to specific categories: Boutiques have a limited sales range and need to choose from specific categories, which makes them relatively less flexible.
In summary, both general merchandising and boutique stores have their own advantages and disadvantages. General merchandising is suitable for novice sellers who want to follow trends, test models quickly, and get started at low cost. Boutiques are more suitable for sellers who already have some experience and have a deep understanding of specific categories or customer groups. Regardless of which type you choose, sellers need to constantly learn and adjust strategies during operations to improve sales efficiency and customer satisfaction.