What exactly are ecommerce partnerships?
An e-commerce partnership is a deal between a business and a third party (whether that’s another business, influencer or organization) with the aim of broadening their reach and driving sales.
Why partnerships matter more than ever
More and more e-commerce businesses are turning to partnerships as their go-to marketing channel. Why? Because working with people or businesses that already speak to your ideal customers is one of the most efficient (and low-risk) ways to get in front of new audiences.
And in this noisy digital landscape, that matters more than ever. With 86% of people experiencing ad blindness and trust in traditional marketing at a record low, consumers are tuning out. Instead, they’re turning to the sources they do trust - like friends, communities, and the brands or voices they already follow. Partnerships give you a direct line to that trust.
What are the different types of e-commerce partnerships?
There’s a huge variety of business models under the umbrella of e-commerce partnerships. Here’s a quick guide to some of the most popular:
Dropshipping
When a retailer doesn’t hold inventory themselves and instead uses a third party supplier to lower risk.
Affiliate marketing
The ‘affiliate’ (marketing channel) promotes another brand’s products in exchange for commission per referral. This affiliate can be an agency, content creator, blogger, newsletter - basically anyone with an established audience that can be leveraged.
Influencer marketing
When a popular social media personality promotes a brand or product to their loyal and engaged followers. Giving the brand reach in return for their payment.
White label
When manufacturers mass-produce products (often electronics) and sell them to multiple businesses who add their own labels before selling.
Private label
A similar practice, but the manufacturer only sells to one business.
Sponsorship
Where a brand provides resources, often monetary, in exchange for promotion. The promoter could be an influencer, celebrity, event or organization.
Collaborative Commerce
An equal exchange of strengths and audiences to drive collective growth with minimal ad spend. This can look like:
- Brand to retailer partnerships: A brand selling their products on a retailer’s storefront, utilizing each’s expertise.
- Brand to brand partnerships: Cross-selling and co-creating products together.
- Multistore integration: Centralizing branches within one business.
- Marketplaces: A platform of many businesses with a unified mission.
How to find the right e-commerce partners
Use social media to find online e-commerce communities, attend in-person B2B events to network with other store founders or join Syncio Marketplace to get 900+ quality partner store options at your fingertips.
In your search and initial meetings, these are some qualities you should be seeking:
- Similar values
- Open communication
- Complementary (not competing) product categories
- Unique value proposition
- Reciprocal enthusiasm
Click here to read a more in-depth guide on finding the right partner.
How to track the partnership’s success
Now you know how to form a partnership, here’s how to check whether it’s on the right track. These are just some of the metrics that you can measure.
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC): You can measure the effectiveness of your partnerships by dividing all marketing costs incurred for the partnership by the number of new paying customers gained from the partnership within a defined period.
- Traffic number and source: Track where customers are coming to your store from (ie partner referral). This will help you understand the overall top-of-funnel impact of your partnerships.
- Conversion rate: Your store’s conversion rate is also a good measure of whether your partnerships are having a desired effect. For example, if you notice that referred traffic from partners has a significantly lower conversion rate than other channels, there may be some misalignment in your audiences.
- Social media engagement: This is particularly relevant if you’re undertaking a sponsorship/influencer partnership. Track impressions (how many people have seen the post), click-through rate, likes and shares.
- Sales: One of the simplest ways to measure a partnership’s success is by looking at the revenue it’s generated. See how much you’ve made in sales from specific partnership activities (like selling a partner’s products in your store). Also track how your gross income has changed since the partnership began.
Before you even begin the partnership, set measurable KPIs to work towards. For instance, you might want a 20% increase in referral traffic. Schedule regular check-ins to make sure the partnership is on track to reach your shared goals.
Throughout your collaboration, we recommend using UTM tracking. This is a code at the end of URLs that can be used to measure where traffic is coming from. From this you can see the direct impact of the partnership on sales.
Successful partnerships in action
E-commerce partnerships come in all shapes and sizes. Here are some examples of partnerships, vastly different in form but equal in success, to give you inspo.
PAZ Lifestyle (dropshipping with a mission)
PAZ Lifestyle is a curated online marketplace for sustainable products. They use a dropshipping business model to offer a wide variety of products and serve a large audience, while minimising risk. Their business is entirely built on partnering with and selling like-minded brands who meet their ethical standards. With 1000 partnerships and counting, they’re making an impact much bigger than they could alone.
The affiliate phenomenon
Go onto just about any influencer’s TikTok page and you’ll hear them mention an affiliate link or discount code for everything from what they're wearing to decorating their house with. Even Meghan Markle has hopped on the affiliate bandwagon. As with all influencer marketing, this model works when promoted by a channel that viewers know and trust. Australian women’s fashion brand Princess Polly has built their Gen-Z empire by partnering with influencers and giving them unique discount codes to share with their followers.
Warby Parker (influencer campaign hit)
Warby Parker is a D2C eyewear brand that leveraged partnerships with micro-influencers to reach new customers. They had seven partnerships in total which spanned across Instagram and Youtube in a campaign called “Wearing Warby”. Audiences saw their favorite influencers sporting the brand as they went about their days, weaving in the product naturally. The winning factor here was that they partnered with influencers who already loved their brand, lending credibility and authenticity to the campaign. Viewers clearly believed it too, seeing as the campaign reached 800,000 people.
Ribbon Kitchen (brand + retailer growth)
Ribbon Kitchen is a non-toxic kitchenware and lifestyle brand that leverages partnerships to expand their reach. They collaborate strategically with the right retailer partners, who share their high-quality standards, health-consciousness and sustainability focus. By partnering with curated online stores in complementary categories, they’ve grown their loyal customer base. They keep these partnerships running smoothly by utilizing Syncio’s inventory automation.
KOOKAI (multistore magic)
At first you may not consider this a partnership, seeing as the collaboration is internal. But with 40 boutiques and online stores across Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK, leading fashion retailer KOOKAI harnesses the principles of Collaborative Commerce every day.
Each branch of this brand acts as a partner, and they constantly communicate to rotate stock and share strengths. They centralise and sync inventory with Syncio to act as a united whole.
Ready to form your own partnership? Here’s your 30-day action plan
Days 1-5
- Search for compatible partner stores on Syncio Marketplace.
- Create a shortlist of 2-5 potential partner options.
- Brainstorm a few possible directions per partner.
Days 6-10
- Refine your pitch using this guide and AI prompt.
- Start reaching out by clicking ‘Invite to connect’.
- Make sure to include your contact details and ask to schedule a quick initial call.
- Start initial calls to gauge their enthusiasm and the feasibility of a partnership.
Days 11-20
- Draft a partnership agreement and refine it as you continue discussions.
- Establish your partnership goals and ways of measuring success.
- Make sure your plans are mutually beneficial.
- Work out logistics like commission splits and set up Syncio to make inventory management hassle free.
Days 21-30
- Send out and sign the initial agreement when ready.
- Begin with a small collaboration to test customer reception, like selling a limited run of your partner’s products. If it’s successful, make longer term plans and revise your partnership agreement to something ongoing.
Wrapping up
E-commerce partnerships are the key to standing out in a crowded market. While they come in many forms, the best partnerships are an exchange of what each business does best.
Look for a partner store that complements your offerings and has aligned values. Start finding your perfect match through Syncio Marketplace.
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