Sellers who host their online stores via Bigcommerce will find it easier to source products thanks to a new partnership with Alibaba, which will integrate its buyer and supplier network with the ecommerce platform.
Bigcommerce President Steven Power told EcommerceBytes research showed that 84% of online sellers find establishing a drop-ship supplier, or establishing a relationship with a wholesaler, to be a top roadblock to starting an online business.
Thanks to the new integration, Bigcommerce merchants can log in to their console and access Wholesale Checkout, Alibaba.com’s wholesale marketplace. Sellers can find products, register, and complete purchases via single-click access from Bigcommerce. A big plus for small merchants is the fact that Alibaba allows sellers to order in small quantities – and they’ll receive quotes from suppliers within 48 hours.
Four years ago, Alibaba acquired U.S. service providers, Auctiva and Vendio, in an effort to reach small U.S. sellers listing on eBay. Now it seems content to partner directly with an ecommerce platform powering and hosting small merchants.
Power said Bigcommerce has 55,000 merchants in 100 countries and is more than doubling year over year growth. Readers may remember that Bigcommerce got a boost earlier this year when eBay announced it was shutting down its ProStores and Magento Go store-hosting platforms and recommended Bigcommerce as a solution for those merchants who wanted to continue using a hosted service.
What advice does Power have for online sellers who are tentative about launching their own store? First ask yourself if you really want to do it, and take it seriously, he said. Secondly, don’t be afraid – it’s not hard to set up a store. If you have an idea or dream, there’s not much risk to setting up, he said.
More information about its integration with Alibaba.com is available on the Bigcommerce website.
