With the growth of the online market, it’s now easier than ever to purchase desired products without visiting a physical store. However, the high fees associated with online platforms have driven increased interest in operating one’s own mall. Let’s explore the benefits of having your own mall and the strategies for successful operation.
Increase in Own Malls Due to High Fees
Prominent online platforms include Baedal Minjok, Musinsa, and KakaoTalk Gift. However, these platforms impose high fees on brands that join. Sometimes, these fees can exceed 30% of sales, which is more than 10% higher than fees at department stores or large supermarkets. As a result, more companies are looking to establish and run their own malls.
Advantages of Operating Your Own Mall
1. Ease of Collecting Customer Data
With your own mall, you can directly collect customer information. Customer data is crucial for companies, as it can be used to increase conversion rates through insights into consumption/behavior patterns, preferences, and reviews.
2. Enhanced Brand Value
Your own mall showcases only your brand’s products and services. This strengthens brand identity and allows you to increase repurchase rates and loyalty through brand image enhancement strategies based on customer data.
3. Reduction in Fees
Running your own mall reduces dependency on distribution platforms and lowers fee burdens. In the long term, the strategy shifts to improving customer experience and brand value through your own mall.
Challenges in Operating Your Own Mall
The most significant challenge in establishing your own mall is attracting customers. To compete with other well-known online platforms, you must actively promote your own mall and establish customer acquisition channels. Additionally, without efficient management, costs can rise.
Tools for Building Your Own Mall
1. Cafe24
Cafe24 is a shopping mall-building tool that offers customizable services. It provides various e-commerce features and can be integrated with internal systems such as CRM and ERP via OpenAPI. However, it may be challenging for non-developers due to coding requirements.
2. I’m Web (I’mweb)
I’m Web offers an easy-to-use interface that allows you to build a shopping mall using drag-and-drop functionality. It provides various templates that even beginners can use easily. However, it may lack in feature diversity.
Effective Marketing Strategies for Your Own Mall
1. Hyper-Personalized Marketing
Basic personal information is not enough. Segment your customers in detail and differentiate their experience by offering coupons to those hesitant to purchase.
2. Exclusive Product Creation
Create exclusive products that can only be purchased on your own mall to add scarcity value and stimulate customers’ desire to buy.
3. Implementing a Simplified Payment System
When the payment process takes too long, customers are likely to hit the cancel button. Introducing a simplified payment system is recommended to shorten the payment process.
Conclusion
Own mall marketing can help attract potential customers and increase loyalty among existing customers. In the long run, it also benefits the survival of the business and enhances brand value. By adopting a marketing strategy suited to your company, you can gain a competitive edge in the market.