MerchantPro has invested over 100,000 euros in applications that help platform traders scale their business

Aurel Constantin 21/04/2021 | 15:33

The functions that allow merchants to create their own affiliate programs, manage their own marketplace, or offer customers the option to create regular subscriptions for certain products are some of the features MerchantPro invested in during the first quarter of this year. The value of the investment amounts to over 100,000 euros, and estimates show that the new directions applied in the context of the global product strategy will generate an increase of over 30% this year for the local SaaS eCommerce platform MerchantPro.

2020 and the pandemic that marked this year accelerated the development of the eCommerce area far beyond expectations and forecasts. The profound changes in consumer behavior dictated the directions in which MerchantPro decided to accelerate development. Thus, the first quarter of 2021 was marked by the implementation of new functionalities, which would ensure a competitive advantage to stores operating on the SaaS eCommerce platform.

In the first quarter of 2021, there were increases by 110% in the value of orders, respectively by 82% in the number of online transactions for the stores created on the MerchantPro platform. In this context and after a 2020 with sustained growth, the interest of traders in complex solutions has increased. Thus, MerchantPro has developed functionalities, some for the first time in the area of SaaS eCommerce platforms, to come as solutions for the development needs of online businesses: own affiliate programs, marketplace infrastructure, automatic and recurring orders. They allow traders on the platform to expand their business to new online verticals.

Scaling the business through the marketplace

In the next period, MerchantPro will launch a new functionality, for the first time for the online market in Romania, respectively the application that transforms any online store created on the platform into a marketplace. Through this new tool, MerchantPro traders will be able to allow partner sellers to list their products in the marketplace, thus diversifying by selling new items, but without managing additional stocks and also having a clear traceability of their sales.

To support several possible business strategies, the functionality leaves marketplace owners free to decide how to add products from third-party vendors or how orders are processed, and these operations can be provided by partners as well. Regardless of the approach applied, the merchant on the MerchantPro platform has absolute control over the functioning of the marketplace, so that the brand and its rules are respected.

At the quarterly level, we noticed a 110% increase in the value of orders placed, compared to the same period last year, in stores hosted by MerchantPro. The tendency of the Romanian consumer to maintain online purchases is obvious, therefore the need to offer our partners a competitive advantage is even more important. In fact, for the whole year we set out to develop features to help MerchantPro stores strengthen their online presence. Retailers are very receptive to change, being open to implementing solutions to ensure their accelerated development and even expanding into new verticals or international markets, says Arthur Rădulescu, CEO and founder of MerchantPro.

Affiliate & Referral – sales increase

One of the functionalities developed for the first time for the Romanian market by MerchantPro is the affiliate program, which can be implemented by each merchant, having total control over cash flow, performance indicators, allocated budget and duration of campaigns.

Affiliate sales can usually account for 20% of total sales of merchants who use this system, being a preferred option in the marketing strategy especially by stores that are at the beginning of the road and want to test tools that do not requires large investments of time and budget. At the level of the platform, this functionality was implemented by over 10% of the active stores, in the first week after its launch, states Arthur Rădulescu.

Subscription type orders – predictability in sales and stock efficiency

Figures from 2020 highlighted several segments that recorded spectacular increases, such as food retail, cleaning and household products, but also care products. The analysis of the Romanian consumer’s behavior highlighted a new trend, of recurring purchases, and MerchantPro developed a functionality that brings predictability in revenues and efficiency for customers.

Thus, the developed function covers all technical aspects, such as the possibility to set multiple types of subscriptions and predefined periods depending on the type of products, automatic placement of the order at the default time or automatic payment processing. Activation of this service has direct applicability especially for those who sell food, cosmetics and detergents or pet food.

Along with these new features, MerchantPro has already implemented multi-store synchronization solutions, developments for multi-warehouse operation and international sales. Also, at the end of last year, MerchantPro Connect was launched, a system of APIs and connectors that allow easy and fast integration with third party solutions such as ERP systems, WMS, CRM, billing or management, sales management, fulfillment.

În prezent, pe platforma MerchantPro sunt active peste 1.500 de magazine online locale. Pentru acest an, patforma vizează o creștere cu 30% a cifrei de afaceri și a numărului de magazine față de 2020. Cifra de afaceri MerchantPro în 2020 a fost de 625.000 euro, în creștere cu 25% față de anul precedent.

Currently, more than 1,500 local online stores are active on the MerchantPro platform. For this year, the platform aims to increase by 30% the turnover and the number of stores compared to 2020. MerchantPro’s turnover in 2020 was 625,000 euros, increasing by 25% compared to the previous year.

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