Successful Australian retailers are diversifying their stock sourcing to keep customers engaged and excited with new product lines and fresh ideas as consumers move more and more multichannel in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

That trend, along with a deteriorating trust in international online e-commerce platforms, has created the perfect timing for Australian-owned and run digital marketplace TradeSquare to launch, filling a void in the wake of suspended trade shows and limitations on sales representatives. 

Already the site has attracted more than 2500 registered buyers and over 400 wholesalers offering in excess of 100,000 products.  

TradeSquare was conceived by a group of experienced Australian online retail professionals last year, an idea in the making even before Covid-19 hit the nation forcing rolling lockdowns and social distancing rules in most states. 

For buyers, TradeSquare solves several underlying pain points. Firstly, since the pandemic struck, ordering goods from overseas has become unreliable due to widespread disruption of regular supply chains. By buying local, retailers can be more reassured about delivery, have a local point of contact if something goes wrong, and support local businesses and employers.

Secondly, smaller companies have traditionally lacked access to many wholesale suppliers because their order volumes and turnover are often insufficient to warrant the vendor going setting up accounts and conducting credit checks.  

“With every buyer that signs on to our platform we perform that process once, then that company – assuming they are approved – can start trading immediately with not just one wholesaler, but 400 – and counting,” explains TradeSquare CMO Roey Balbus. “We take care of the physical transaction process.

“Not only have we removed the risk to vendors, but we are providing both the buyer and seller protection, on an easy-to-use platform. And buyers can take advantage of financial solutions, such as Buy Now, Pay Later for business with Zip.”

For sellers, TradeSquare has opened up a whole new opportunity to boost income by supplying buyers that were previously uneconomic to service. 

“The turn-key solution we offer enables them to digitise their business and access new markets without having to invest in sales reps, trade shows, marketing, customer service, accounting and technology. All their products can be displayed online, all the customers they sell to through the platform are vetted and approved by TradeSquare – all the vendors have to do is focus on fulfilment and delivering good products,” says Balbus.

Better still, TradeSquare is working to integrate its platform with third-party software systems. A technical agreement with New Zealand software company Vend will soon allow seamless integration of Vend’s inventory management tools and cloud-based point-of-sale software with the marketplace platform.  

TradeSquare is unique among its peers for being Australian owned and managed and only shipping to Australian businesses, not-for-profit organisations or government agencies. While anyone can access the site online, only registered buyers can see information such as pricing and delivery options or physically order goods. Buyers pay no premium or registration fee to shop on TradeSquare.