2024 Mirakl Summit World Tour: Key Takeaways From Retailers and B2B companies
Mirakl concluded its annual Summit World Tour that included stops in Munich, Madrid, Paris, London, and New York. Business leaders around the globe discussed how they are investing in eCommerce through strategies including marketplace, dropship and retail media.
The Summit world tour featured panel discussions with industry experts like McKinsey and Havas, customer Q&As with brands like ASOS and Boelter, and networking opportunities for attendees to connect with peers and learn from each other's experiences. Here are key highlights that offer insights into the top priorities for eCommerce growth in 2024.
1. Reevaluate your current eCommerce strategy
The theme of this year’s world tour, "Go Beyond," is a guiding principle for business leaders looking to drive scalable eCommerce growth.
The keynote sessions highlighted the current state of eCommerce, the impact of platform strategies, and ways businesses can adapt to the swiftly evolving digital landscape. A key takeaway is businesses face many priorities for their digital business, such as replatforming an eCommerce platform or consolidating ERP systems. As a result, it can be easy to get stuck in these types of optimizations of a digital business rather than focus on true business transformation like adopting a marketplace or dropship strategy. It can pay off when businesses go beyond optimizations: Mirakl clients grew by 50% in gross merchandise value this year.
“Going beyond is all about creating more actionable data about what customers want, what your suppliers sell, how much they sell it for, where they sell, what they sell, and using that data to actually fuel your growth,” Adrien Nussenbaum, co-founder and co-CEO of Mirakl said during keynote sessions at the Summits. “So, go all in. Try innovative, disruptive, growth-oriented strategies. This is the spirit of ‘Go Beyond.’”
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2. Craft an effective marketplace platform business case
Attendees at the NYC Summit had a unique opportunity to participate in a “Building a Business Case” session with leaders from Mirakl’s Platform Advisory Team. This session was designed to impart the steps for creating an effective platform business plan and helping business professionals understand the strategic elements required for success in today's competitive environment.
A strong business case serves as a forcing function for all internal stakeholders to align on the purpose of their platform strategy. Crafting a comprehensive business plan simplifies the process of identifying opportunities, costs, risks, and key performance indicators (KPIs) crucial for an effective platform model tailored to your business.
Yan Tseytlin, executive director at Henry Schein, shared his experience crafting an effective platform business plan from scratch.
“Working back from the customer, we want to ensure that we offer what our customers want. We need to focus on great selection, great price and convenience because without that, there's no point in doing any of this,” said Tseytlin. “The KPIs that underline this project make sure that we think about our eCommerce holistically and that the marketplace plays a role in that.”
Tseytlin’s insights underscored the significance of a well-rounded approach to business planning, ensuring that all aspects of the platform, from selection to pricing to user convenience, were meticulously considered to achieve the desired adoption rates and business success.
3. Test and learn with marketplace and dropship platform models
Marketplace and dropship models continue to drive digital growth for businesses across industries. In fact, marketplace and dropship platforms grew at six times faster than overall eCommerce in 2023. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing a marketplace or dropship strategy, so retailers shared slightly different approaches to test, learn, and drive growth at their business using one or both platform models.
Global media publisher, Hearst, is forging a new path by bringing the power of marketplaces to the publishing world. Hearst's marketplace initiative is designed to deepen customer relationships by providing more accessible and comprehensive information.
“This is a huge opportunity to deepen our relationship with the customer, and we can bring them all of that information. We know we're experts, that's what our editors are,” says Jeanne Barrueta, senior vice president of marketplace at Hearst. “That's where the marketplace came into the picture and we developed a platform that more deeply integrates with sellers, we can get better product data, real-time pricing, and start to surface a lot of that information to our customers.”
The most successful marketplace and dropship programs aren’t built and run in silos. British fashion retailer ASOS, for example, illustrated how a marketplace model helps their team expand assortment across their entire digital business and increase profitability at scale, and with less risk.
“From a marketplace perspective, it will enhance our profitability of our wholesale businesses as well, where we're not taking those bets to buy that product,” said Chris Peduto, head of partnership management at ASOS.
A marketplace model enables ASOS to test and learn the new products and styles that customers want to buy, so they can adjust their buying decisions accordingly. By employing innovative strategies and leveraging technology, ASOS has carved out a distinct space in the market, offering a seamless shopping experience and a vast selection of products.
4. Expand reach with retail media
Retail media is a hot topic in eCommerce, with businesses across the globe rethinking their approach to advertising. More businesses are integrating retail media into their platform strategy as a way to deliver hyper personalized offers at scale.
For eCommerce retail giant Secret Sales, a robust retail media strategy is crucial to keeping up with their growing customer base and expanding range of brands.
“At Secret Sales we have 2,000 brands and growing every month. We are launching retail media because how are we going to make sure that each brand that comes on is appearing in front of the right customer and enough customers?” said Ekow Mensah, vice president of retail media at Secret Sales. “The benefit of starting retail media for our brands is that we can make sure brands large and small are all getting visibility across different customers.”
By leveraging data and technology, Secret Sales can optimize ad placements and improve the overall shopping experience for their customers. This strategic move not only supports brand growth but also enhances customer loyalty and satisfaction.
5. B2B companies continue investing in eCommerce
Digital transformation continues to grow in the B2B space, with more businesses looking to modernize their strategy to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market. This shift is not just about adopting new technologies, but also about reshaping business models and customer engagement practices to better align with the digital age.
Commercial food services provider Boelter invested in a marketplace model to help manage all of the different vendors that they work with as a part of their operations. Additionally, eCommerce enabled their 95-year-old business to transition into the digital age while maintaining a strong brand identity.
“ECommerce is not for the faint of heart. You gotta run at this. And it is moving so fast. You, you can't just dabble. It's bringing everything you got to it,” said Nik Ellickson, president of Eleven36, a Boelter company.
Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Company also invested in digital transformation to differentiate themselves from the competition.
"If you don't do it, think about who else will. And what is your plan for the case that someone else does it?," said Markus Wolf, global product owner, SIRVIS at Coca Cola.
It’s time to “Go Beyond”
Mirakl's annual Summit World Tour successfully brought together business leaders and industry experts from around the globe, fostering insightful discussions and valuable networking opportunities. By highlighting the top priorities for eCommerce growth in 2024, the event provided attendees with a clear vision of the future and the strategies needed to thrive in the platform economy.
