During my early days at my first job in P&G Sales, my seniors emphasized the importance of store placement (Distribution). This was because in traditional offline stores, store placement was considered half of the sales process. Once the store was placed, there was an immediate impact on shelf display and warehouse stock pipeline, resulting in short-term sales impact. Once established, the channel could continue to generate steady revenue unless the product turnover rate was extremely low.
On the other hand, online store placement is slightly different from offline store placement. Apart from platforms like Kakao Gift, which is very special even on a global scale, there are hardly any cases where store placement itself is difficult. Instead, when a brand decides to place its products, the majority of e-commerce platforms welcome them with open arms. Due to the absence of space constraints online, the more varied a platform’s offerings are, the more advantageous it is for the platform.
As a result, the importance of the online store placement channel strategy is often overlooked. Even if the platform impact is minimal, placing products across dozens of malls using various seller tools as a strategy is not ideal. However, as the number of stores increases, the brand’s dominance and branding power tend to weaken. Just like in B2C, if a brand is available everywhere, it may not receive admiration from consumers. Similarly, brands that are present on any platform find it difficult to receive the traffic and marketing support that the platform provides.
While store placement in e-commerce is relatively easy, it is necessary to choose the placement channel carefully and meticulously under a strategic plan. Furthermore, the placement channel itself should be closely related to the brand’s marketing strategy and essence. For example, in the Korean market, if a brand has a high gift sales, it should consider platforms like “Gift” first. If the brand targets trendy fashion for people in their 10s to 20s, it should prioritize “Musinsa.” If the target is housewives in their 30s to 40s, then “GS SHOP” should be considered. If a brand can invest heavily in marketing and website development without the need for external channel inflow, it might be a good idea not to place products in external malls. However, this approach involves significant costs and efforts, leading many brands to adopt a hybrid model of an official website and marketplace.
#PlacementStrategy #Ecommerce #Gift #Branding #Marketplace
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