The past week contained a lot of news that could have interesting consequences for the remainder of 2016. I am fully aware that we are only now in March but the weeks news has some very interesting consequences.

Etsy seems to be having issues with their search. If you are a marketplace operator it is imperative that you ensure that your customers can search and find items. The fact that Etsy has had this issue so many times I tend to believe that they are trying to test and extend their search technology.  Etsy has acknowledged it is experiencing a problem that is impacting search visibility. Sellers reported the problem on Friday, and Etsy has just posted the problem on its Status board (Saturday morning at 10:41 am ET): “We are currently investigating an issue with some listings not showing up in search. We’re working quickly to resolve this issue.” Read more here.

Jet.com has acquired Hayneedle for an undisclosed amount. Jet.com has a need to scale their business quickly to ensure that they can raise additional capital. By purchasing Hayneedle, Jet adds a vertical to their business that Amazon is weak in. It will be interesting to see how this synergy works in the latter part of 2016. When executives from New Jersey-based e-commerce company Jet.com came to Omaha to check out Hayneedle, they said they liked what they saw. So much so that the 7-month-old Jet required hardly a couple months’ worth of consideration to decide to buy the 14-year-old Omaha-based company, executives from both organizations told The World-Herald on Friday. Read more here.

Best Buy has closed their marketplace to focus on other channels. The simple truth is that running a marketplace is difficult and your customers are easily confused through new habits that need to be taught for buying on the platform. A seller on the Best Buy Marketplace was surprised to learn today that the retailer is closing its marketplace to third-party sellers. The Best Buy letter to sellers began with the following:  “As of February 24, 2016, we have discontinued our Marketplace business and removed all third party seller listings. We believe we can continue to provide a positive customer experience on our site through other product sourcing methods.” Read more here.

 

 

Till next week.

Every week, Hendrik Laubscher will be providing third party sellers with a selection of news stories that they need to be aware of. As a Prosper Show participant we strive to ensure that you can focus on your business while we handle all the industry news.