“Because MarketNation integrates with D&H Distributing’s product catalog and fulfillment processes as a preferred Distribution Partner, +Shopkeepers have direct access to hundreds of world-class Brands.”
– Leslie Davis, Executive Director of Consumer Sales at D&H Distributing
MarketNation, creators of the world’s first ever collaborative Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) platform designed exclusively for Brands and their Distribution Partners, announces today +Shops™, a distributed marketplace that empowers anyone to become an online +Shopkeeper by opening their own +Shop. +Shopkeepers can visit https://plus.shop/ and apply today for their unique +Shopkeeper domain and hands-free store where their +Shop handles all the hard stuff: managing the storefront, inventory, payments, support, shipping and returns, reconciliation, tax and more.
Beyond just enabling Brands to sell on traditional marketplaces, the MarketNation launch of +Shops now enables a Brand’s products to also be sold by Influencers, Creators, Brands, Brand Affiliates, as well as Schools and other Nonprofits, to make Direct-to-Consumer, D2C Everywhere™, a reality. As a new D2C sales channel for Brands, unlike other traditional marketplaces, +Shop is a Brands only gated marketplace. 3P Resellers are not allowed on the platform. With +Shops, purchases are always directed by the Brand and/or by their authorized Distribution Partners, cutting out an unnecessary retail layer in favor of +Shopkeepers, where MarketNation serves as the Merchant of Record in every transaction. Also, rather than charging a marketplace fee, MarketNation gives 3% to 15% of every purchase to the +Shopkeeper to motivate the +Shopkeeper’s own promotion of products listed in the +Shopkeeper’s +Shop.
+Shop is a new buying venue for consumers that solves the problem for Brands and their Distribution Partners who want to make their products readily available for sale online and in a way that’s not limited to any one D2C location. Unlike other ecommerce platforms where you have to run a retail business, +Shops does the difficult tasks of shopkeeping. By enabling +Shopkeepers to easily pick their favorite Brands from the +Shop catalog and be guaranteed a 5% or more quarterly payout on their total sales, +Shops is the first hands free retail platform of its kind. Whether you’re a Creator, Influencer, Brand, Brand Affiliate, School or other Nonprofit, never before has it been this easy to promote the products you love and be rewarded for doing so.
For Brands who become Brand +Shopkeepers by listing their products in a Brand +Shop at https://plus.shop/, there will be NO MARKETPLACE FEE. By removing the marketplace fee for products sold in the Brand +Shops, Brand +Shopkeepers are encouraged to make all their products already in distribution available at the Brand +Shop. As a consequence, Brand +Shopkeepers benefit from:
- Enabling a limitless number of +Shopkeepers to select the Brand’s products from the Brand’s +Shop for promotion across the distributed +Shop Network.
- Creating a Brand.com option that doesn’t have a limited 1P only solution, but one where 3P products can be added to a Brand’s offering without taking an inventory position.
- Fulfilling purchases made at Brand.com by sourcing inventory already in distribution.
- Delivering a customer experience with consistently rich content and controlled pricing that’s uniformly displayed across the distribution chain.
- Applying, maintaining and enforcing UPP and MAP among all +Shopkeepers while selectively offering promotions and higher commissions for certain segments.
- Cross-selling with Partner Brand +Shops that give customers one place to go for everything they need as part of a unified Brand-to-Brand shopping experience.
- Giving consumers a Brands only marketplace alternative at https://plus.shop/ where authenticity is guaranteed, delivered, and rewarded for Authenticity Always™.
While Creators, Influencers, Brand Affiliates, Schools, and other Nonprofits who add a Brand’s products to their +Shop earn a commission, Brand +Shopkeepers, who sell their own products in their own +Shop, don’t. The added margin room in the Brand +Shops can be used to support future MDF programs.
For Brands and their Distribution Partners, while going Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) is an exciting opportunity, it is often perceived as unattainable. Steve Dueck, Founder CEO of MarketNation, and a pioneer in the industry says, “after having worked nearly a decade as Head of Business Development for Brands and their Distribution Partners while at eBay, I know firsthand the daunting issues companies face when attempting to sell direct. With over 100 years of marketplace expertise, that’s why our team designed MarketNation’s extensible D2C+ backend to solve the issues Brands face. D2C+ was carefully engineered to make a Brand’s products available on all the major marketplaces. Now, with our launch of +Shops, a Brand’s products can also be readily purchased across a distributed marketplace where anyone can be a +Shopkeeper for true D2C Everywhere™.”
Most importantly, when Brands are confronted with the constraints of an already tight margin stack, compounded by the exceptionally high marketing costs of acquiring new customers, Brands often can’t envision how to do direct-to-consumer sales cost-effectively. But +Shop solves those issues, while still leveraging the strengths of their Distribution Partners, by specifically reducing the all-in channel costs. Namely, by rewarding +Shopkeepers with a +Shopkeeper fee, and not having an additional marketplace fee, +Shop collapses the margin stack, thereby significantly improving a Brand’s return on marketing and advertising investment. Brands are able to rely on the +Shopkeeper’s organic reach by empowering them to curate the Brands and products they like, and then make their selections available to their social media followers and/or web traffic at their respective websites. Consumers just need to look for the +Shop logo as they go from one website to the next, where everything stays unified and consistent across the same distributed platform.
While qualified +Shopkeepers are guaranteed to earn up to 5% or more of the total sales in their +Shop, joining the program is free for Brands who desire to start selling in partnership with their existing Distribution Partners. Leslie Davis, Executive Director of Consumer Sales at D&H Distributing comments “+Shops will appeal most to +Shopkeepers who may not have the resources or expertise to run a full-fledged retail business and would rather have an authority like MarketNation execute the tasks involved instead. Because MarketNation integrates with D&H Distributing’s product catalog and fulfillment processes as a preferred Distribution Partner, +Shopkeepers have direct access to hundreds of world-class Brands. As such, +Shopkeepers don’t have to house their own inventory, maintain a supply chain, or manage a warehouse to achieve end-to-end distribution of an outstanding range of products.”
Apply now to become a +Shopkeeper and reserve your +Shop URL address while it’s available at https://plus.shop/. If you’re a Brand and want to learn more about making your products available on traditional marketplaces and/or +Shops as a new D2C sales channel for your company, please contact your Distribution Partner representative today. Alternatively, you can contact MarketNation directly at hello@marketnation.com.
About MarketNation Inc.
MarketNation is a technology company helping Brands grow their marketplace presence. Based on a dropship model, MarketNation provides end-to-end Merchant-Of-Record and marketplace support services for Brands to deliver the best unified shopping experience across multiple marketplaces. MarketNation sets up and manages the Brand’s marketplace presence and hosts its collaborative platform uniquely designed to facilitate collaboration with the Brand’s In-House warehouse, 3PL Partners, Distributors, Digital, and Reverse Logistic Partners. MarketNation’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model delivers the best price, volume, and overall profitability for Brand certified new in-season, end-of-life, end-of-quarter, overstocks, liquidation and manufacturer refurbished products, while also enabling both physical and digital bundles. MarketNation serves Brands by delivering to their consumers, products that come with the promise of Authenticity Always™. Authenticity Guaranteed. Authenticity Delivered. Authenticity Rewarded. You can learn more at www.MarketNation.com.
MarketNation®, +Shop™, +Shopkeeper™, D2C+®, D2C Everywhere®, Authenticity Always® are trademarks of MarketNation Inc. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
About D&H Distributing
D&H Distributing supports resellers, retailers, integrators, and MSP partners in the retail, eCommerce, SMB, Mid-Market, Gov-Ed, NSP markets with a range of advanced technologies including computing, mobile devices, consumer electronics, gaming products, home entertainment, pro audio, digital displays and televisions, housewares, home automation, networking, storage solutions, software, printing and scanning products. D&H is ready to fill new market needs created by consolidation in the marketplace. Now in its 105th year (www.dandh.com/anniversary), its vendors, brands, and partners are confident in its ongoing ability to provide a wealth of enablement resources, multi-market expertise, credit options, and consultative services. D&H is agile in response to the needs of its partners, demonstrating resilience through decades of industry mergers and market disruption, overcoming everything from wars and recessions to pandemics.
The distributor is headquartered in Harrisburg, PA, in the US; and in Brampton, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada. Additional warehouses are located in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; and Fresno, CA. Engage with D&H toll-free at (800) 877-1200, via www.dandh.com, or follow the distributor’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter feeds, https://www.facebook.com/DandHDistributing/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dandhdistributing/, and @dandh
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MarketNation
hello@marketnation.com
650.505.5070