ASOS says that its Marketplace sales have grown 690% over the past year.
Established a year ago, ASOS Marketplace allows boutiques, vintage collectors, individuals and designers to open virtual stores, a little like US e-commerce giant Etsy.
A 10% selling fee applies to individuals for each item sold, with no listing fees or pricing menus. Boutique owners pay £50 per month (which includes being given an account manager by ASOS, the ability to customise a store front and a premium listing on Marketplace) and a 15% fee on each sale.
Retailer Alternative London said they were ‘astounded’ by the sales of their Christmas Jumper line after uploading it to ASOS Marketplace at the start of the festive season, making over £20,000 in just three weeks.
Sales have far outstripped previous seasons on Amazon and eBay, and the conversion rate is much higher; we think that’s down to the ASOS customer being a true fashion customer.”
According to ASOS, 80% of sellers use the site as a way to monetise their own wardrobes by reselling their own clothes, with the other 20% representing vintage or new fashion businesses.
Annie & the Mannequins owner Steph Cox describes ASOS Marketplace as the ‘perfect e-commerce starter kit’.
We had been uploading looks to ASOS’s Fashion Finder, when the Marketplace team approached us about starting a boutique on the site for our vintage clothing line. It’s helped us build our global customer base by providing a reputable (and fashionable) selling platform, brilliant media exposure, as well as constant support in building & promoting our brand.”
The Marketplace has also proven to be pivotal in unearthing new design talent, with one new menswear brand, Volklore, being scouted from the site to debut a spring collection on ASOS.
ASOS says that daily blog posts and weekly trend reports from the Marketplace team place an editorial component within a user-generated, content-driven e-tail environment, something that’s obviously paying off.
There’s a blog-like feel to Marketplace, and for ASOS’ 2m existing customers, it’s an appealing and straightforward way to buy vintage goods.
