Module: Introduction to E-Commerce

Topic: E-Commerce Marketplace & Website

Speaker 1 – Ahza Haziq, Senior Business & Partnership Executive, Webstore PRO

Speaker 2 – Elaine Tham, Marketing Manager, Shopline

Speaker 3 – Loqman Firdauz, Consultant, Business Development, Shopee Malaysia

Most people presume that online marketplace and e-commerce websites may be the same thing. Though both of them are used for online business purposes, there are some basic differences between them. For instance, a marketplace is an online platform where the website owner allows third-party sellers to sell on the platform and invoice the customers directly, i.e., various sellers can market their products to the customers.

The marketplace owner does not own the inventory; neither does he invoice the customer. In fact, it is a platform for both the sellers and buyers, similar to what you see in a physical market. On the contrary, an e-commerce website is a single brand online store or multi-brand online store where a specific brand sells its own products on their website. The inventory is owned by the website owner only. The website owner also invoices the customer and pays the value added tax.

There’s no option to register as a seller, similar to what you see at a retailer shop. And it is customer specific. An e-commerce website is also called single vendor website where a one store owner can operate the website for selling goods. To say in a different way, a marketplace may be an e-commerce website, but not all e-commerce websites are marketplaces. Actually, the best place to sell online differs from vendors to vendors depending on their products, needs, and goals.