Marketplaces and Transformations in Retail: the Ecosystem of Services of Companies Operating In Brazil

Abstract

Multifaceted platforms that mediater online transactions between multiple users are called marketplaces. This new business model has expanded over the past 20 years and these companies have started offering some services. Research on such changes is scarce in Brazil. Thus, the present work aims to analyze the services offered by the four main companies that act as marketplaces in Brazil: Mercado Livre, B2W, Via Varejo and Magazine Luiza. It is a qualitative and descriptive research with secondary data and documentary analysis. As a result, a change in market positioning was identified with the transformation of the business into an ecosystem of services for retailers and customers. Services were identified in different areas, such as marketing, logistics, finance, information systems and also people management. The work contributed to the expansion of the literature on this business model, providing a brief contextualization about these companies and their strategies. It also provides elements that can help managers to better understand the various elements that must be considered in order to act in partnership with a marketplace.