B&Q is launching new categories and increasing their current offerings through their new market proposition. 100,000 more home improvement products will be made available from independent vendors within six months on B&Q’s current website, diy.com, where the marketplace has been seamlessly integrated.
With millions of products to be made available through the marketplace, these new products, in addition to the 40,000 products that B&Q now sells, more than treble the selection available to customers.
Customers will be able to select from a wider range of wallpaper, lighting, power tools, and small domestic appliances at launch, which is a new area for B&Q.
Third-party sellers will offer competitive prices and quick delivery options while bringing thousands more new products from a variety of brands, such as Osram, Black & Decker, and Breville, over the upcoming weeks.
Providing More Of The Goods That Buyers Desire
Marketplaces are becoming more and more popular since 68% of UK consumers think that shopping online is most convenient on marketplaces.
B&Q has a distinguished past spanning more than 50 years. Now, diy.com is among the busiest retail websites in the UK, providing third-party retailers with access to a sizable new client base. As site traffic increases in tandem with an expanded product range, diy.com will become an even more significant asset for B&Q’s business with the launch of a marketplace.
B&Q’s new platform, powered by Marketplace Platform, will hasten the expansion of its eCommerce business. Customers will benefit from the convenience of a “one stop shop” for home improvement products hosted by a company they know and trust because it will be housed online at B&Q’s website (diy.com) and the B&Q app. At diy.com, B&Q professionals will choose all independent vendors. A verification method is used on sellers to make sure they complement B&Q’s current offering.
Customers now find it even simpler to purchase with both online and in-store advantages thanks to B&Q’s marketplace’s seamless, multichannel strategy. Customers may quickly return many items bought from the marketplace in-store thanks to the integration with B&Q’s network of more than 300 locations countrywide. In the future, Click + Collect alternatives will also be offered.
The B&Q marketplace establishes a scalable strategy for Kingfisher, B&Q’s parent company, to roll out marketplaces in other markets and banners. It accurately reflects changing customer demand, including the transition to online shopping and the desire for speed, convenience, and choice.
By creating the B&Q marketplace, other Kingfisher banners will be able to offer their customers in the UK a wider selection, which will be made possible by this scalable technological platform. The Powered by Kingfisher strategy, which Kingfisher unveiled in June 2020, has a strong emphasis on increasing eCommerce sales as well as developing a mobile-first and service-oriented client proposition.
Additional eCommerce innovations introduced by Kingfisher across the entire Group include quicker home delivery and one-minute Click + Collect options.
