Last week (June 2, 2021) L’Oréal USA’s B2B retailer SalonCentric announced a new marketplace on its website to be launched in September. The e-commerce feature is expected to triple the site’s product selection offered to salons and stylists.
SalonCentric partnered with marketplace SaaS platform Mirakl, which have been developing marketplaces almost non stop for companies recently as marketplace sales swell. According to recent research, making up made up 62% of global e-commerce sales in 2020.
SalonCentric anticipates that the new marketplace will add 350 new vendors to its site, a big boost from the current 100-some brands online and in its 600 stores. It also anticipates being able to offer new categories on the site, including salon equipment and hair extensions.
According to Mirakl co-founder and CEO Adrien Nussenbaum, the marketplace model is quickly growing for B2B e-commerce. In mid-2020, Mirakl partnered with Salesforce to integrate the Salesforce Commerce Cloud into its marketplaces.
On top of Amazon, a wide range of retailers, like the US mega-retailer Walmart, have also added marketplaces to their websites.
Bertrand Fontaine, president of SalonCentric said the move was done to better assist salons and stylists to have a one-stop destination to better run their business.
“It’s a change of business model, so you need to change your way of thinking,” Fontaine says, adding it’s essential to be open to more vendors and less concerned with cannibalisation of existing products.
The marketplace will exist in tandem with SalonCentric’s existing e-commerce and store business.
