Corona pushes digitalization in the wholesale sourcing business

For a long time, both wholesalers in distribution and retailers in procurement were very careful about using digital channels. With the cancellation of many trade fairs and reduced travel activity, marketplaces and online shops are also gaining massively in importance in the commercial procurement of merchandise. 

zentrada, Europe's largest sourcing platform for consumer goods, reports strong growth in usage and transactions in the Corona environment. In addition, the orders also show a clear shift in assortments and consumer trends.

Home office, lockdown and the mood of economic crisis are sustainably changing shopping behaviour in Corona times. Not only the online trade benefits, but also the product ranges are shifting towards everything that matters in the home environment and everyday life. And since consumers save money in times of crisis, the price-performance ratio plays a more important role in new acquisitions than brand values. 

The shift can also be seen drastically in wholesale sourcing around Christmas: "People will also spend Christmas even more in their own homes and cancel holidays. Therefore, the demand for Christmas decorations and everything that promotes a nostalgic atmosphere at home is increasing," explains Martina Schimmel. Manager zentrada Germany.

With up to 300 new registrations per day, 150,000 users per month and almost 100 percent growth in transaction volume for the current year, the Europe-wide zentrada platforms have not only achieved an economic breakthrough, but also an attractive scale for many top European suppliers. 

zentrada was founded in Germany, but meanwhile 70% of its turnover is generated in other European countries. Individual countries are still performing differently. While Central Europe leads with Germany, the Netherlands and France, Spain, Italy and Southeastern Europe still lag behind in terms of level, not in growth.

"We connect the large number of independent retailers with the major suppliers and most successful assortments in Europe", this is how zentrada CEO Ingo Schloo describes the strategy and mission.

In addition to the classic marketplace business with central ordering and financial processing, today about 100,000 articles are directly available throughout Europe via zentrada.distribution.

"In addition to the constant expansion of our assortments, we are planning to maintain growth at a high level in 2021 with the complete relaunch of our marketplace and shop designs and the increased use of artificial intelligence in the assortment recommendation," Ingo Schloo explains the future development.  

Besides innovation and digitalisation, zentrada also increasingly focuses on personal customer advice in meanwhile 10 languages, which strengthens customer loyalty and growth.

"Trade means change" - and even if there can be more than just winners, online sourcing offers more flexibility and new sales opportunities to independent retailers.