Go Outdoors marketplace case study: book a demo to start yours
Go Outdoors is a British outdoor retail firm that provides a diverse selection of outdoor gear, clothing, and accessories for different outdoor pursuits and experiences. If you’d like to start your own marketplace like Go Outdoors, you’re facing a buy vs build decision. So before you decide to build it in-house on top of Spree open-source, consider using Vendo, which is the feature-rich Enterprise Edition cutting your time-to-market to a few weeks.
Build vs Buy a marketplace?
Employing open-source has its benefits, such as full ownership and the freedom to adapt, but these come with their own costs. Developing a complete marketplace solution is an extensive and costly endeavor, often taking many months or years, as learned from multiple marketplace projects.
If you haven’t secured a significant amount of funding, it’s generally more sensible to adopt a pre-built, all-encompassing marketplace solution like Vendo, as recommended by an expert with years of experience in billing for marketplace development.
Back to the Go Outdoors marketplace case study
Go Outdoors is a prominent UK retailer specializing in outdoor gear and equipment, catering to a wide spectrum of activities from camping and walking to fishing and cycling. Founded in 1998, it has expanded to over 60 stores nationwide, offering a vast range of products aimed at everyone from the casual weekend camper to the serious mountaineer.
Financially, Go Outdoors has demonstrated considerable growth over the years, with reports indicating a significant increase in sales and expansion in both physical and digital retail spaces. Its commitment to providing value to customers is evident through its Go Outdoors Discount Card, which offers year-round savings, price match guarantees, and exclusive deals. This strategy not only enhances customer loyalty but also positions the brand as a value leader in the competitive outdoor retail market.
The company’s commitment to quality and customer satisfaction is at the forefront of its operations. Go Outdoors takes pride in offering a wide selection of brands and products, ensuring that customers can find everything they need for their outdoor adventures under one roof.
The retailer also emphasizes the importance of product knowledge and customer service, with staff members who are often outdoor enthusiasts themselves, ready to provide expert advice and personal insights.
In addition to its commercial success, Go Outdoors actively engages with the larger community by supporting various outdoor initiatives and environmental conservation efforts. The marketplace encourages people to explore the outdoors through organized events, workshops, and sponsored activities, fostering a community around outdoor lifestyles.
This engagement not only enhances the brand’s image but also contributes to a broader cultural movement towards outdoor recreation and conservation. By maintaining a focus on customer needs, community involvement, and sustainability, Go Outdoors continues to solidify its position as a leading marketplace in the outdoor retail sector.
How to emulate Go Outdoors marketplace success?
To somewhat mirror Go Outdoors achievements, it’s a good idea to launch your marketplace quickly, within weeks rather than months. Assess how well your products suit your audience’s demands and adjust your strategies for attracting customers based on actual feedback.
Experiment with the market before fully committing to its development.
Here’s what you’d be getting with a Vendo free trial:
- Book a marketplace demo call: We’ll set up your demo marketplace and populate it with products, so you could give it a try and start selling in 14 days
- Customize your Storefront: Use the drag & drop page builder or custom CSS
- Onboard Brands: Invite your brands or choose brands from our catalog
- Select Products: Curate products and collections manually or automate it
- Embed products: Make your content, newsletters, social media shoppable
- Get Paid: Get paid as soon as products are shipped by the brands
- End-to-end automation: Brands sync, fulfillment, payouts, invoicing, taxes
When you’ve tried all that and it works, start thinking about building your own, custom-made marketplace project based on Spree Commerce. First, by decoupling the storefront and going headless with Vendo marketplace API, and later with your own backend, if you decide you really need it. Just lift and shift the storefront.
Nobody has to know what’s under the hood, right?
