With the advancements in technology and the continuous growth of retail e-commerce over the years, it is appalling to see the wholesale industry still stuck in the last century. All commerce has become e-commerce. But this isn’t true for wholesale yet. Even now, with all the digitization happening around us, wholesale trades are happening over emails and phones with sales representatives trying to convert cold prospects into buyers.
Trade shows are still the preferred way for wholesale buyers and sellers to interact with each other and finalize deals. Why is convenience still not prioritized in the wholesale industry? How long do we have to wait till wholesale can catch up to retail e-commerce like Amazon and eBay? It is important to know that there are reasons why wholesale is stuck in the last century.
Reason #1 Lack of Intuitive E-commerce Website
Retail e-commerce has set the precedent for how e-commerce websites should look and operate. The years of technological advancement and changes to popular B2C e-commerce sites have given a blueprint for wholesale businesses to follow. Yet, there are not any websites that make wholesale buying and selling as simple as retail e-commerce sites, at least not with all the needed features that true wholesale really requires, like quantity discounts, worldwide boat shipping, custom manufacturing orders. High-quality photos, detailed product descriptions, selection options for color and size, user reviews, FAQs, shipping options, add to cart, and checkout options all make the e-commerce experience truly delightful.
However, the same is missing at online wholesale platforms. Strade is bringing the obvious back. We understand the conditioning of customers online and have all the features available at retail e-commerce sites with a few extra ones personalized for wholesale trades at our online platform. Strade takes a modernized approach to online wholesale that is all about simplifying wholesale trades globally. We’ve built the platform that wholesale buyers and sellers truly deserve with everything from product search and discovery to upfront discounts and easy checkout options.
Reason #2 Risk due to Fraud
Wholesale is fundamentally different from retail in terms of the average purchase value. The average purchase value at online wholesale platforms is larger than the average purchase value at retail sites. This is because businesses and distributors buy supplies in bulk quantities to save more money. However, larger transactions mean more risk to the buyer.
Buyers have to safeguard themselves from fraud by personally verifying the reputation and claims of the seller and their products. They have to go through the process of cross-checking the identity of the seller, seller’s website, registered physical location, user reviews, certificate of quality, and other things.
Even after an extensive verification, the buyer is still trusting the seller to not scam them. To counter this, Strade has a rigorous verification process for all sellers on the platform. By verifying all the details about the company and the identity of the seller, we assure a 100% safe trading environment where buyers can trust all the sellers on the platform. Combined with our secure escrow-type payment method, we make sure that buyers receive their products before sellers are paid. Only when the buyer has confirmed receipt of the shipment and quality of products is the payment released to the seller. A conscious approach to eliminate fraud means that both buyers and sellers have peace of mind in all trades at Strade.
Reason #3 Advertising and Marketing Challenges
Online wholesale has invariably favored bigger sellers over smaller ones. Even when small sellers have in-demand products at competitive market prices, the cost to advertise and market their offering makes it difficult for them to compete with big global wholesale sellers. For example, you have to get a Gold membership for at least 2000 USD to be able to gain the trust of buyers when selling on Alibaba.
While 2000 USD may not seem much for sellers in the US and Canada, it is a problem in countries with a weaker national currency like Iran, India, and Pakistan. There are countless small wholesale sellers waiting to get global exposure for their product offerings. Most of them do not have the time and capital to hire web designers, online marketers, and sales representatives to sell to buyers around the world.
In fact, most small wholesale suppliers go out of business for the very reason that they cannot advertise and market their products. At Strade, we solve this problem by giving small artisans and wholesale distributors from around the world a platform with exposure to global buyers. By simply setting up a store on Strade and maintaining their products, wholesale sellers from around the world can solve advertising and marketing challenges needed to reach buyers.
Reason #4 Limited Shipping Options
Wholesale buyers appreciate the ability to pick their shipping options. Even when they have enough stock available, they would still want to make use of a huge discount from their favorite seller. In this case, they would like to choose a slower shipping option so that they can time the arrival of new products as the existing stock is being sold, and also slower shipping options come with cheaper prices, so they can save money on shipping, while timing the arrival of the shipment. Wholesale buyers also prefer expedited shipping options in case of an urgent demand for products. By offering various shipping options, online wholesale platforms can cater to every need of a wholesale buyer.
At Strade, we have integrated shipping where buyers can see the shipping rates from their shopping cart. Both buyers and sellers can book air, ship, and truck shipping directly from their dashboard.
Reason #5 Product Quality Issues
Product quality is important for wholesale buyers. They need the quality they are assured from sellers. When product quality is not ensured, buyers lose trust in the platform, and the reputation of the seller tanks. Since the average purchase value for wholesale trades is large, it is important to ensure the quality of products before they are shipped to the destination. One way this was possible up until now was by buyers hiring private inspection companies to check the quality of products. Strade takes a two-pronged approach to the product quality problem.
- Integrated Inspections
Inspection companies are integrated into the platform to provide inspection of products. Buyers can choose the inspection company from the dashboard to check the quality of products before they are shipped to the destination.
- Secure Escrow-Type Payments
The secure escrow-type payment mode is designed to safeguard both buyer and seller interests on the platform. When buyers make a trade, payments are held and only released when the buyer confirms receiving the products as described by the seller.
Reason #6 No Financing Options
Due to the larger purchase value of trades, wholesale buyers need to have ready access to large amounts of money to avail of good discounts. In the event they are not able to buy large quantities, buyers miss out on better discounts. The need for financing options is real in the online wholesale business.
While Alibaba with its Pay Later scheme makes financing available for buyers, the feature is still limited to buyers in the United States and sellers in China. Since there are many buyers and sellers from around the world, financing options to fulfill trades is an essential feature for a revolutionary wholesale platform.
Strade solves this problem by giving buyers from around the world access to financing via 3rd party companies and through Strade.Global for their purchases. The ability to buy now and pay later in installments is a gamechanger for wholesale buyers around the globe. These are the biggest reasons why wholesale is still stuck in a century behind retail e-commerce. By solving these problems, Strade aims to revolutionize the wholesale industry where buyers and sellers can seamlessly trade online without worrying about trades going wrong.
Reason #7 Phone Calls and Long Negotiations
The part about wholesale trade that seem really outdated is the continued reliance on phone calls and emails with back-and-forth negotiations often with no concrete outcomes. Since there are no upfront discounts made available by sellers, buyers have to negotiate for better prices. This takes time and effort from both parties involved in the trade, thus making online wholesale trade unattractive for new buyers and sellers.
By offering upfront discounts, made visible on the platform, wholesale sellers can show their offering to buyers, and if interested, they can add the products to their cart and check out conveniently with quantity discounts automatically applied to the order. By reducing negotiations, Strade makes wholesale trade online a lot faster and more convenient for both buyers and sellers.
