# Should your client expand to Target+? (and others)

## Overview

## Podcast transcript

**Introduction**

Hi, and welcome to another live episode of Marketplace Masters. Brought to you by MerchantSpring, the leading marketplace analytics platform for Amazon agencies and vendors. Marketplace Masters strives to go deeper into the challenges that agencies and their clients face to expand channel revenue and profits through really practical actions and insights.

### Hosts

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Paul Sonneveld

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Trent Lee

### Podcast Transcript

**Paul Sonneveld**  
I'm your host, Paul Sonneveld and today we're going to help you make the best decisions for your clients, especially when it comes to expanding on marketplaces such as Target+. Now, to help me do this, I am really excited to bring [Trent Lee](https://www.linkedin.com/in/trent-lee-2b28424/) on board to bring and share his expertise and perspectives with us.

Let me introduce him to you. So, Trent is the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of [Acenda](https://www.linkedin.com/company/acenda/), a cloud-based e-commerce software platform specializing in marketplaces. Acenda offers a unique combination of content management solutions and distributed order management systems all in one place with a wealth of experience in assisting brands on online retailers.

Trent has dedicated his career to helping him navigate the optimal strategies for selling on marketplaces, and I'm sure that given his extensive knowledge and insights, we will greatly be enriched in terms of the conversation today. Thank you so much for being on the show and being with us today, Trent.

**Trent Lee**  
Paul, thank you for having me, really excited to be talking with you and to your network.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
Non-Amazon marketplaces is such a big topic, particularly this year as profits are really being squeezed, so people are naturally looking at what else is out there.

**Trent Lee**  
Yeah. You know, companies and people in our space always ask me, "where else should I be listing your products?" And the first question I ask them is, who is buying your products? Right? Like, who are your core customers?

So, outside of Walmart, the number one big box retailer, Target, which launched their marketplace about five years ago, would be my first recommendation. We've seen really great results from our clients that are on Target. Macy's launched their marketplace at the end of last year, again, very strong performance out of that channel.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
So you mentioned demographics. So, you know the type of products that the brand manufacturers or brand sellers are trying to sell. For example, Amazon has every demographic, but when you talk about Target, you’re talking about middle to high income, mostly younger women. So, if you have products geared towards young women, you’ll perform really well.

**Trent Lee**  
It’s just like any marketplace; they want to ramp up the number of selections and technology services. It is a curated marketplace, where only invited sellers can participate. With Target, you're not going to get any competition issues as you might on Amazon.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
Can we talk a little about the content required for targeting listings?

**Trent Lee**  
Certainly! The requirements you have for listings can be more stringent than on Amazon. You have to add additional product attributes that Target requires.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
So what does the content approval process at Target look like?

**Trent Lee**  
Every piece of data that you send over is reviewed, and you should allow about four to six weeks on average to get live on Target.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
What are the most common sticking points?

**Trent Lee**  
The number one thing really is product attributes. For instance, the color scheme may differ from how Amazon categorizes it, or size descriptions may vary.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
What are the chances of succeeding as a seller on Target?

**Trent Lee**  
For our clients on both channels, many of them are averaging equal or greater sales on Target compared to Amazon due to the high volume of unique visitors and fewer sellers.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
Just briefly on who's responsible for customer service?

**Trent Lee**  
The seller is responsible for customer service, and most returns occur at the store level. Sellers can choose whether to have returns shipped back or destroyed.

**Paul Sonneveld**  
So if I'm a successful seller on Amazon, what could I expect from sales on Target?

**Trent Lee**  
Most sellers have been surprised at the sales volume on Target, as they find that it can be equal or greater than what they experience on Amazon.

**Trent Lee**  
Regarding technology, Acenda can help with item creation and listing syndication. If anyone has questions or needs assistance, feel free to contact me directly at [trentl@acenda.com](mailto:trentl@acenda.com).

**Paul Sonneveld**  
Thank you so much for joining us today, Trent. It's been very informative!