Putting all sales into one channel sounds neat at first. And yes, it’s seriously a smart idea to have a website of your own because it’s your platform, it’s your rules, you set the tone, you set the well, everything. And, well, yeah, one website, one dashboard, one place to focus. Like, that feels organised, right? And yeah, sure, it can work for a bit. 

But oh, this is one of those things that seems fine until it really isn’t. Which might come off as a big surprise. Because when everything depends on one channel, even a small issue can turn into a big problem very quickly. Sure, it sounds like a big surprise because usually you’re told to only have your website, don’t rely on other platforms. But what about scaling your ecommerce business, right?

Yeah, there’s truth to that, but it still helps to use other platforms too, though.

One Platform Means One Point Of Failure

When all sales come from one place, that place carries a lot of weight. If a website goes down, sales stop. If ads stop performing, traffic dries up. If a platform changes its rules, visibility can disappear almost overnight. But you probably get the point here. Now, even without that said, it’s not like third party is perfect, like, platforms tweak algorithms. 

Besides, fees creep up, and even policies shift. But of course, when there’s only one channel bringing in money, those changes hit harder. That’s why it’s best to branch out; if one thing goes wrong, well, you’ve got the others at least. 

Customers Don’t All Shop in the Same Place

Well, you also really need to keep in mind that not everyone shops the same way, and yeah, that matters. Some people love buying directly from a brand’s website. Others feel more comfortable buying from platforms they already trust. For example, with Amazon at least, you can reach out to support if you have a problem with an item you bought. That’s just how people shop now.

Marketplaces Can Support (as in Not Replace)

Someone might see a product on social media, then go look for it on Amazon or Etsy out of habit. If it’s not there, they move on. Sure, that doesn’t sound fair, but all shoppers are different here. So basically, the sale just quietly disappears. And yes, that happens more often than people might even realise. There’s this idea floating around that selling on marketplaces means giving up control. Sometimes that’s true, but not always. 

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. A lot of ecommerce businesses use marketplaces as support, not as a replacement for their website. For example, Amazon sellers sometimes use seller fulfilled Prime so they can offer fast delivery while still keeping control of their stock and operations. That way, the Prime badge works in their favour, but the business isn’t fully tied to Amazon’s warehouses. 

Different Channels Give You Breathing Room

Having more than one sales channel gives a business room to breathe. Sure, it doesn’t sound like this (it might sound like more work and more rules). But think about it; if website traffic dips, marketplace sales might still be steady. If a marketplace account has issues, direct sales can keep things moving. You see the balance here?