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The late American industrialist Henry Ford said that “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” The founder of Ford Motor Company (currently ranked No. 12 on America’s Fortune 500) suggested that a company must serve customers and stakeholders well to be a good business and do good for society.
OnBuy.com is now the world’s fastest-growing marketplace. Undoubtedly, Covid and the new normal have helped to boost traffic and sales for the England-based eCommerce company as shoppers worldwide turn to online purchases.
But there’s more to OnBuy’s success than the shift to ecommerce.
Upholding fair, transparent and ethical values
OnBuy.com was recently named eCommerce Company of the Year in the 2020 U.K. Business Tech Awards.
Founder and CEO Cas Paton shared how the U.K. company differentiates itself from other marketplace platforms to capture explosive growth and brand awareness among consumers. According to Paton, it’s about consistently upholding the fair, transparent and ethical values the business was founded upon, which results in a better experience for customers and retailers.
“Our incredible growth since launching in 2016 has been powered by our transparent, fair and ethical way of doing business. We don’t sell in competition to independent sellers who trade with us, meaning that our success is their success.”
In December, he was awarded Founder of the Year 2020 by online media publication Just Entrepreneurs. After achieving an impressive 605% YTD growth in 2020, the business achieved an enormous 800% year-on-year growth in January 2021, highlighting its unmatched upward trajectory and increasing popularity with customers and sellers alike.
Constant innovation and industry-leading initiatives
Organizers of the 2020 U.K. Business Tech Awards searches for the best tech businesses in Britain. And winning the top recognition reflects the meteoric rise of OnBuy, which was launched just over four years ago.
Since 2016, the online marketplace has grown 24,000% and is rolling out a global expansion into 42 territory-specific sites in early 2021. Paton says the company will expand to more than 140 countries in total by year-end 2023.
So what are examples of its innovative business practices? The marketplace company recently generated widespread attention by launching the biggest discount day seen in retail in late 2020. During Black Friday, OnBuy gave over £50 million in discounts to customers across every product category.
“We covered the discounts to allow retailers to have the best possible sales day at no extra cost to them, as well as simultaneously offer customers even better deals.”
OnBuy is the only marketplace to cover the cost of its site-wide sales itself, rather than simply pressuring its retailers to lower their prices.
Within a 24-hour window during Black Friday, OnBuy.com helped sellers reach £2.5m in sales.
Unparalleled growth through its unique approach
During the pandemic, OnBuy has created unmatched growth: Revenue increased from a run rate of £24million to over £200million in just one year.
The company has also invested in IT systems that improve the user experience. For example, OnBuy has partnered with leading ecommerce integrations and solutions providers to make selling as seamless and simple as possible, which results in a better experience for customers.
Cas said, “[The eCommerce Company of the Year Award] proves that the ecommerce industry is ready to recognize a better and fairer way of selling through online marketplaces. I’m delighted that OnBuy is at the forefront of a more ethical way of trading, and I’m determined that our continued growth will always benefit our loyal sellers and customers in equal measures.”
With its seller base increasing by 10% each month, the company is on track to achieve over £1billion in GMV by 2023.
As Ford said nearly a century ago, a profitable business should also do good.
Or maybe it does good, and that’s why it’s profitable.
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